Everything We Know About Elsie Hewitt — the 21-Year-Old Model Accusing Ryan Phillippe of Abuse

Ryan Phillippe‘s ex-girlfriend Elsie Hewitt filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging he kicked her, punched her and threw her down a flight of stairs.

Hewitt, 21, claimed in the suit that the actor “grabbed [her] upper arm so tightly that his grip left heavy bruises on her arm hours later. He then braced his body and threw her down his staircase as hard as he could.”

Phillippe, 43, has vehemently denied the allegations, both in a statement via his rep obtained by PEOPLE and on Twitter, where he wrote that he was “saddened and disgusted” by the accusations.

“Domestic violence is a very real and tragic issue faced by many women the world over and should never be used to vengefully slander or as a ploy for monetary gain,” he said. “This is wrong. This is not who I am. Every one of my accuser’s allegations are false.”

Described by her lawyer in court documents as “a rising model with a massive social media presence,” here’s what we know about Hewitt.

She’s modeled for popular fashion brands.

Though only in her early 20s, Hewitt has already landed big gigs with famous brands like Guess.

She’s a Playboy model.

Hewitt was named Playboy‘s Miss June 2017, sharing a glimpse of her photos in an Instagram post in late June.

“Here’s a pic of me holding a huge pic of me as da june girl for @playboy,” the caption read. “Thanks to this whole amazing team for supporting me and making this so special. I love u all.”

She’s originally from London.

Born and raised in London until the age of 10 when she moved to her current home of Los Angeles, Hewitt told Playboy she’s been working since she was 15 and is “totally independent.”

She’s a romantic.

“[Love is] the best thing in the world,” she told Playboy. “I love to love, but it’s not replaceable. It’s not rational. It’s not something you can decide with your brain. Your brain will tell you one thing, but your heart will do something completely different. You know what’s right. You know what’s wrong. Sometimes it just gets to the point where you’re like, ‘I don’t even know what I’m doing.’ ”

“[Romance] doesn’t have to be a grand gesture,” she added. “It doesn’t have to be expensive. I think time is the most valuable thing. More than anything, I appreciate quality time when you feel you’re really connecting with someone.”

She may be a model, but she’s maintenance.

“I don’t care about looking perfect,” she told Playboy. “I don’t wear makeup. I just got my first haircut in six years. My hair was down to my butt. I chopped off 12, 13 inches, and it’s still long.”

“Sometimes I wish Instagram didn’t exist, but it’s such a big part of the modeling industry and of our lives, so I use it to my advantage,” she said. “I have the power in my own hands to show what I want to show. Pictures are often one-dimensional, but there’s a personality behind the image. There’s an essence and a spirit — that’s what I love.”

“I’ve been told no countless times because of the way I look,” she added. “If part of me feels discouraged by that, I use it as ammunition to work harder. I just continue to shoot and create on my own.”

“Recently, I’ve been realizing not everyone has the same heart I do. There’s a lot that people don’t know about me,” she admitted. “I’m very sensitive, even though many people just see me as another sexy girl on Instagram.”

She celebrated her 21st birthday with a rockstar.

Hewitt celebrated her 21st birthday with none other than Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger. In a photo she shared on Instagram in March, the two smiled at the camera while Hewitt held an arm across the rock legend’s shoulder.

“me n mick at my 21st,” Hewitt wrote in the caption, in which she wore a vibrant red dress and tiara to commemorate the celebration.

She’s dabbled in acting.

Last month, Variety announced that Hewitt would star alongside Wild n’ Out‘s Cristian Oliveras in an upcoming television show called Turnt. The series is a teen soap about a romance in the age of social media.

Though early in her acting career, it seems Hewitt is already used to the red carpet life. Last March, she posed alongside Chantel Jeffries at the Kids Choice Awards.

She’s friends with Vine and YouTube stars such as Matt Cuttshall and Josh Peck.

She’s a foodie.

When Hewitt isn’t sharing sultry selfies and bikini-clad pictures, the model often posts photos of her calorie-packed meals.

“My favorite thing is going to restaurants to eat,” she told Playboy. “Italian food is probably my favorite, especially pasta. I also love a really good steak. I like filet mignon with béarnaise sauce. And I have a huge sweet tooth. I love desserts. I love food.”

Over the weekend, she stared adoringly at a cheeseburger in an Instagram photo, writing, “I said yes. I went #offthemenu and ate 2 of these today. And fries and mac n cheese and a neopolitan milkshake!!! Ya. No I’m really full.”

“My lunch,” she simply captioned a July 2016 Instagram photo of a pair of burgers with two sides of french fries.

A few months later, Hewitt couldn’t contain her excitement while holding a plate of french fries. Alongside a blurry photo of herself smiling, Hewitt wrote: “I was really excited about fries.”

She’s an optimist.

“It’s a cliché, but it’s important to be positive and believe in yourself, because what you put out is exactly what you’ll get back,” she told Playboy. “Think how many unhappy people there are in the world who don’t realize that happiness is a choice. I think life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent the way you react to it. If you believe and hope, things will be okay.”

“No matter where I am, who I meet or what I’m doing, I’m always kind and warm to people, because you never know what’s going on in someone else’s life,” she added. “There’s so much hate and anger in the world as it is. Everybody should be lifting each other up, especially women. There are enough men who are awful to women; we all need to be nicer to each other.”