Cara Delevingne is a good example of someone successfully transitioning from modeling to acting. She's had some small roles in movies, but she's also had some main starring roles as well. 'Valerian' is pretty much her movie, despite having a costar, and she did excellent. As far as being a believable badass, she pulled it off. She showed off her mysterious side in 'Paper Town.' Bad ass and mysterious are definitely two ways you want to describe Wonder Woman.
Like some of these other actresses, Cara is no stranger to the superhero world. Cara did already play a role in a DC movie with her role in 'Suicide Squad.' I'm sure she would have preferred the Wonder Woman role over being Enchantress in that movie. She's too young for the role though, which is why she was ultimately passed on.