PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIANNE WILLS HANNAH ROSA EWIS-LOPES, GETTY IMAGES, NIGELHILLIER, STEVE ULLATHORNE. *201 P
ILLBEING (PAW) REPORTPAINAND GLORY★★★★
PedroAlmodóvar delivers this
late-career masterpiece, with
Cannes’ Best Actor winner
Antonio Banderas and Penélope
Cruz in this autofiction tale of
an ailing film director. Sublime.A GUIDE TO SECOND
DATE SEX★★★
Howeverbad your dating
history, it won’t compare to
the awkward encounter in
this comedy starring George
MacKay and Alexandra Roach.BLINDED BY THE
LIGHT★★★
GurinderChada (Bend It Like
Beckham) tells a heartfelt true
tale about a Bruce Springsteen-
obsessed Pakistani teen (Viveik
Kalra) living in 80s Luton.ONCE UPON A TIME
IN HOLLYWOOD★★★★
Tarantino’slatest is a dazzling
drama, starring Leonardo DiCaprio
as a fading actor and Brad
Pitt as his stunt double living
in 1969 LA. Jaw-dropping.FILMBYJAMESMOTTRAMThroughout history
and in popular
culture, the cat lady
has been portrayed
as a man-hating, mad
spinster with cupboards
full of Sheba. In
medieval times, witches
had their black cats,
while the Victorians
portrayed female cat-
loversas pitiful feline-
cuddling old maids.
The perfect embodiment
of the character comes
inThe Simpsons’ Dr Eleanor Abernathy,
a delusional hoarder with plenty of
pussiesready to hurl at passers-by.
Regardless of where such tropes
originated, Brooklyn-based fashion and
beauty photographer BriAnne Wills is
determined to redefine the hackneyed
term‘cat lady’, one stylish shot at a time
ina new heart-warming photo series,
Girls And Their Cats. Out this month to
coincide with International Cat Day
(8 August), the book features photos
from her four-year passion project,Meet the photographer who
is out to crush the stereotype
of female feline ownersVIEWPOINT50 striking portraits of
independent and artistic
women and their beloved
felines, alongside profiles
and facts that are unique
to each pair.
‘I wanted the world to
see cat ladies the way
I see them,’ says Wills. ‘As
cool, interesting, caring women, who
just really love their cats. I’m
tired of women being
generalised and labelled
because of their choices.’
Originally launched as an
Instagram account in 2015,
Wills is bombarded every
day with emails from women
wanting to have their picture
taken. The fact that her
movement debunking the
mad memes is gainingworldwide momentum is hardly
surprising – 25 per cent of British
adults have a cat, with an estimated
population of 11.1 million pet cats.* And
according to Mintel, cat ownership
peaks in the 25-44 age group.
Obviously, 35-year-old Wills has cats
in her life, too – Tuck and Liza. ‘They’re
so loving and cute, and make me laugh
every day,’ she says. ‘My husband
travels a lot for work and
they make sure I’m
never lonely or sad for
too long. They’ve also
made me more patient.
I always say that people
who “hate” cats haven’t
met the right one.’
Girls And Their Cats by
BriAnne Wills is out
on 20 August (£17.99,
Chronicle Books)CO
OL CATWOMENGirlsAnd Their Cats
byBriAnne Wills (right
with Tuck and Liza)
features portraits such
as this one (left) of Mrs
Brown and her cute
feline Jayde Fish