Ana de Armas knows a thing or two about movie stars — both from personal experience and from playing Marilyn Monroe in Blonde on screen — and now, she’s opening up about how she believes the “concept of a movie star” has become unrecognizable in the years since Monroe’s heyday. 

When talking to Vanity Fair for its Hollywood 2023 Issue, de Armas touched on her turn as the iconic actress and explained why she doesn’t think Hollywood produces the same caliber of movie stars today that it used to. 

“I feel like the new generations don't have that concept [of mystery surrounding fame], because of social media,” she said. “There is so much information out there and oversharing. The concept of a movie star is someone untouchable you only see onscreen. That mystery is gone." 

She continued, “For the most part, we've done that to ourselves — nobody's keeping anything from anyone, anymore.”

De Armas also credited this lack of mystery, along with a need to set boundaries, as her own reasoning behind deleting social media. “At this point I only have Instagram, and I barely use it because I just feel like things are always wrong on social media,” the actress shared. “If it was up to me, I would delete Instagram right now, but I can’t. I understand that I’m not just an actress. I have other brands that I’m working with and I have other commitments. It’s been good for Blonde and for films that I want to talk about.”

She then added that although she understands its place in the industry, she doesn’t know if she’ll ever fully master the art of social media: “It’s tricky because you feel the pressure to share some personal insight, or something about your private life, to keep people interested in you,” she said. “You have to find a balance somehow, which I find very difficult.”