Camila Mendes on Detaching From Riverdale and Showing Her "Most Shameful and Ugliest Parts"
Have you heard the news? Camila Mendes is one of Who What Wear's three cover stars this month, joining Jonathan Daviss and Victoria Monét. My colleague sat down with Mendes for a wide-ranging interview discussing Riverdale, body image, turning 30, and a Gwyneth Paltrow–approved wellness retreat called the Hoffmann Process, among other topics.
"I had to detach myself from overidentifying with my role on [Riverdale] and what it meant to people,” Mendes told Who What Wear. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I let the comments penetrate my mind too much." Mendes went on to explain how doing other projects outside of the teen mystery show allowed her to "gain [her] sense of self back."
For Masters of the Universe, her newest role, Mendes worked on her physical strength to portray the warrior Teela, but she also embraced a very different kind of strength that's no less heroic: vulnerability. “I want my willingness to be vulnerable and show the deepest, most shameful, and ugliest parts of myself through my characters to help others connect to their own feelings," Mendes told us. Curious to learn more? Read our full interview with Mendes here.

Erin got her start as a Who What Wear intern in 2011—back when the site only published a single story per day. (We have since increased that number twentyfold.) She graduated magna cum laude from USC and lives in Los Angeles. In college, she also interned at Refinery29, where she was promoted to editorial assistant and then assistant editor. After nearly three years at R29, she came back to WWW in 2015, where she is now the Associate Director of Fashion News. From the Oscars to the Met Gala, she leads the site's entire red carpet coverage strategy. She specializes in celebrity and fashion news but also enjoys writing travel features and runway reports. She frequently contributes to WWW's social accounts and has a sizable following on her personal TikTok.