Do not call Zooey Deschanel a “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” anymore.
It The New Girl alum explained how she feels about being associated with the pop culture term, first coined in 2007 by AV ClubAuthor Nathan Rabin, which typically describes a quirky, somewhat nerdy and attractive female character who gives a male protagonist a deeper meaning to his life.
Deschanel said that “I don’t think it’s accurate.” Guardian in an interview published July 21. “I am not a girl. I am a woman. Although it doesn’t hurt me, I feel that it can make a woman seem one-dimensional.
When asked if she is getting fewer roles as a manic pixie dream girl, and if positive changes such as the #MeToo movement has shifted Hollywood away from female tropes, the 42-year-old responded, “I think the tendency is still to make women one-dimensional, so you have to add dimension, if you can. There is more room to display complexity the more screen time that a female character has, although there have been some changes, I am optimistic.