Chelsea Leyland | |
|---|---|
 Leyland interviewed at New York Fashion Week 2014 | |
| Born | London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, Cannabis and Epilepsy Activist, Model |
| Website | http://chelsealeyland.com |
Chelsea Leyland is an English disc jockey, cannabis and epilepsy activist, and model. [1] [2] [3] She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, United States. [1]
Leyland was born in London, England and attended Bedales Boarding School. She moved to New York City after graduating high school to pursue an acting career. [4] [5] She studied method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute prior to becoming a DJ and became interested in deejaying after recommending a DJ friend for various fashion events. [1] [4] [5]
Leyland has earned the moniker “fashion's DJ” from her work in the fashion industry. [6] She has been recognized for her eclectic DJ style, with her selections including hip-hop, rock, reggae, electro, house, metal and other genres including music from the 1950s and 60s. Leyland deejayed The 2018 DVF Awards. [7] celebrating Philanthropists and Style Powerhouses, [8] Pal Norte's 2018 Music Festival in Monterrey, Mexico, [9] Chelsea is also a Beats 1 host with Apple Radio, [10] and has spoken out about her activism in podcasts including Steve Hash and Ally Hilfiger's "Sit In" [11] and Ovid Therapeutics' BoldMedicine. [12]
Leyland deejayed at the Stylecaster NYFW Celebration and for the opening of a new Burberry store at Bloomingdales in New York City, New York in 2011. [13] [14] She has also deejayed for Cole Haan in New York City, New York. [15] [16] She deejayed at Valentino's Fashion Night Out and his Benefit for the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts. [2] [17]
Leyland deejayed for Armani during Aramani's 2013 Travel Style showcase and Milan Fashion Week 2013. [18] [19] [20] She also deejayed for designer Naeem Khan on three separate occasions. [21] [22] Other notable designers she deejayed for include Fendi, Missoni, Chanel, Vogue, Christian Louboutin, Prabal Gurung and Diane von Furstenberg. [6] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
Leyland's deejay debut was at Valentino's 2010 Fashion Night Out Celebrity Poker Tournament. [2] [6] [21] [28] Leyland opened for Duran Duran at Paper magazine's 2011 Beautiful People event. [29] She also opened for Diplo and Santigold during her work for fashion designer Cole Haan. [15] [30] She has worked with Nicki Minaj and deejayed alongside Harry Styles of One Direction during London Fashion Week in 2013. [31] [32]
Leyland deejayed for Ben Watt's annual Shark Attack Sounds Fourth of July party in 2011 and 2013. [33] [34] She also deejayed for the 2011 Brazil Foundation Gala at the New York Public Library [35] and for eBay and Jonathan Alder during the 2011 opening of The Inspiration Shop. [36]
Leyland has deejayed for artists including Damien Hirst's gallery opening at the Soho House in Berlin, Germany and for Kehinde Wiley's Art Basel show in Miami, Florida. [6] [37] She has also deejayed at the Whitney and Guggenheim museums and for curator Vito Schnabel. [38] [39]
Leyland deejayed in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2013 for the opening of an exhibit at the Holon Design Museum. [40] She also deejayed at the 2013 amfAR Gala in Sao Paulo, Brazil and in Marrakech, Morocco for social networking site ASmallWorld. [41] [42] She has deejayed in Milan, Italy and Berlin, Germany twice. [6] [20]
Leyland suffers from a form of epilepsy called 'Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy' which she has been battling with since her early teens. Leyland's sister suffers from a more severe form of epilepsy and as a result lives in full-time care at The Epilepsy Society [43] in the UK. In 2016 Leyland came off of all pharmaceutical medicines and has been treating her epilepsy with Cannabidiol (CBD) ever since. It has had a dramatic impact on her health, and she has been seizure free ever since. [44] Leyland began co-producing "Separating the Strains" [45] in 2017, a documentary accompanying Leyland on her journey as she explores the medicinal cannabis climate in both the US and UK. The film aims to de-stigmatize both epilepsy and cannabis.
In 2017, Leyland was featured in Harpers Bazaar [46] sharing her personal story and discussing her work as an activist. Leyland has been featured for her work as an activist in numerous publications including Teen Vogue, [44] W Magazine [47] Gossamer, [48] MILK, [49] Stoned Fox, [50] and Miss Grass' video series. [51]
Leyland has been showcased in MTV and Unilever's Dove brand's women DJ campaign. [52] Leyland was the face of Cole Haan's 2012 fall promotional campaign. [3] [16] She is professionally represented in the United States by William Morris Endeavor (WME). [53] [54]
Leyland has also appeared in the independent films Charmed and The Best Man. [55] She starred in a fashion short film by StyleCaster entitled Snow Blind . [56]
Leyland closely supports the Epilepsy Society, a UK based epilepsy and neurological organization [57] which provides full-time care for her sister, Tamsin. Chelsea collaborated with Mark Cross to design a handbag giving a percentage of sales to the Epilepsy Society. [58]
Leyland participated in the 2012 Charity Meets Fashion charity fashion show. [59] She was an honorary chair for the 2012 Charity Ball Benefiting Charity: Water and has worked with ACRIA, a HIV/AIDS charity. [60] [61] Leyland deejayed for the Free Arts NYC charity art auction on multiple occasions. [62] [63] She also deejayed for The Museum of Art and Design's Young Patrons Gala. [64] [65]
Leyland's father owned London-based restaurant Foxtrot Oscar prior to its sale to chef Gordon Ramsay [1] [66] and managed the London Playboy Club during the 1970s. [66] Her sister is epileptic and autistic. [1]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)