Ileana D’Cruz, who made a sparkling Bollywood debut in Anurag Basu’s Barfi! (2012) opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, has now shifted her focus from the paparazzi-filled lanes of Mumbai to a quieter life in Texas with her husband Michael Dolan and their two sons. While she continues to balance her passion for acting with motherhood, Ileana admitted that one part of celebrity culture doesn’t sit well with her — her children being photographed.
Why she finds it unsettling
Speaking to NDTV, Ileana said she would be deeply uncomfortable if her babies were papped in India. “It would definitely have been hard for me to be photographed with my babies. It would just be incredibly confusing for them. And it’s not fair to them because they wouldn’t understand what is going on. I would not be okay with it,” she shared.She added that her worry comes from wanting her children to have a sense of normalcy without the constant flash of cameras.
Her rapport with Mumbai paparazzi
At the same time, Ileana acknowledged that she has always had a respectful relationship with the photographers in Mumbai. “I’ve had a good relationship with the paps in Bombay, and every time I have told them, ‘Listen, I’m not comfortable, please don’t take a picture,’ they’ve actually respected my wishes. So if it were to come to that, I think they would understand not to take pictures of the babies,” the actress explained.
Life beyond films
Ileana tied the knot with Michael Dolan in 2023 and welcomed her first child, Koa Phoenix Dolan, that August. The couple recently became parents again, with the arrival of their second son, Keanu Rafe Dolan, on June 19, 2025. Even as she cherishes family life, Ileana hasn’t stepped away from cinema. Her latest film, Do Aur Do Pyaar (2024), saw her sharing screen space with Pratik Gandhi, Vidya Balan and Sendhil Ramamurthy.
