Camila Morrone wants you to know that she’s more than her relationship.
The model-turned-actress has been steadily carving out her own foothold in Hollywood, starting with 2018’s Never Goin’ Back and, more recently, her starring role in the indie film Mickey and the Bear — for which she’s getting major critical praise.
But many first think of her as Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend. She made headlines about it herself earlier this year when she addressed some backlash over her age gap with the actor (she’s 22, he’s 44, and people commented about it all over social media).
The couple reportedly started dating in 2017. Speaking to The Los Angeles Times, Morrone said she understands the public’s natural fascination with the relationship, but she also thinks there has been enough time to move on from the news.
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“There’s so many relationships in Hollywood — and in the history of the world — where people have large age gaps,” Morrone said. “I just think anyone should be able to date who they want to date.”
Morrone said she hopes her work in projects such as Mickey and the Bear will make her more than “DiCaprio’s girlfriend” in the public eye.
“I think more and more now that people are seeing the film, I’m slowly getting an identity outside of that. Which is frustrating, because I feel like there should always be an identity besides who you’re dating...I understand the association, but I’m confident that will continue to slip away and be less of a conversation,” she told the L.A. Times.
Morrone’s turn in Mickey and the Bear is the start of what she intends to be a long and successful career in Hollywood. She recently told Refinery29 that she’s looking for more roles like Mickey Peck, both dramatic and comedic, that allow her to explore complex, independent characters. Morrone relishes in challenging people’s preconceptions about her.
“Having been a model earlier in my career, it's been very hard for me to break through from that image,” she told Refinery29. “I always play roles that are not going to glamourise that side of me, and [instead] show the more raw, natural side — which is how I am in real life. It's hard for people to wrap their brain around it.”