Lily-Rose Depp is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her famous parents Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis by establishing an acting career.

The 16-year-old made her onscreen debut in 2014's Tusk and has gone on to star in four other movies, including Yoga Hosers and Moose Jaws, and now Lily-Rose explains the prospect of acting full time is something she wants to do over and above her modelling assignments.

"For me, it's simple: I like to act," she tells Vanity Fair. "It frees me. I want to make it my craft.

"I was backstage at my mother's concerts; on (my father's) films, as well as my mother's. I loved the costumes and makeup. As a child I wanted to be a model or a singer."

Lily, who is already a top model after walking the runway for Chanel last year (15), admits her father expressed some reservations when his daughter first told him about her acting dreams, but she argued mum and dad had already left school to pursue their passions at her age.

"They were in no position to tell me, 'Get your diploma first'," she jokes.

Although she spent her life around films, she first caught the acting bug on the set of Tusk.

"It's there that I really took a liking to filmmaking," she says. "I loved getting under the character's skin. I had fun. It vibrated inside me."

In her latest film, The Dancer, Lily portrays dancer Isadora Duncan, and director Stephanie Di Giusto is impressed by the young actress' performance.

"This girl isn't afraid of anything," she says. "She has a way of moving her body and an incredible ability of abandonment. Lily-Rose was made for the role of Isadora Duncan."