On the surface, with her thick-framed glasses, dowdy dress sense and shy nature, Natalie Viscuso is a world away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
But the 34-year-old American is in fact a former teen reality star brat, movie exclusive and model who’s dating Superman – and could be kryptonite for his career following a black face controversy.
British actor Henry Cavill, who played the DC superhero for a decade, has been dating Natalie for three years and the couple keep a relatively low profile.
Indeed, outside of rare public snaps – including last Sunday leaving a London hotel – the only glimpse fans have into their relationship is on social media playing board games or lauding their pets, plus the odd red carpet appearance.
However, Cavill, 40, appears besotted with his partner, leading some fans to speculate whether she could become Mrs Cavill.
A movie source said: ‘Henry and Natalie have a close bond and are very supportive and protective of each other.
Henry Cavill made a rare appearance with his Hollywood exec girlfriend Natalie Viscuso as the pair were spotted leaving a central London hotel on Sunday morning
Henry Cavill and Natalie Viscuso are pictured at the UK premiere of the third season of The Witcher in June last year
There were calls for Cavill to be dropped from The Witcher because of his association with Viscuso, who sparked fury in 2021 when blacked-up pictures from 2008 Namibia trip resurfaced online
‘Some of Natalie’s previous antics have threatened to derail his career but that’s now very much in the past and they’re looking forward to a bright future – on and off camera – together.’
Since making his acting breakthrough in BBC series The Tudors, Cavill has become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors.
He’s perennially linked with the James Bond job, bagged the iconic role of Superman in four movies, plus the lead role in Netflix hit The Witcher.
But in an era where clean-cut reputations are key to longevity in Tinsel Town, Cavill would not have welcomed Viscuso’s past controversies coming to light within their first year of dating.
In 2021, his association with Netflix came under threat after Viscuso became embroiled in a ‘cultural appropriation’ row when pictures surfaced of her sporting blackface on a modelling shoot in 2008.
Angry fans wanted the streamer to axe Cavill as a result, forcing Viscuso to make a public apology in a bid to draw a line under the saga.
The pictures featured her dressed in east African tribal attire and her skin coloured from the neck down in what appears to be Otjize, a pigment – made out of butterfat and ochre – used by the Himba community of Namibia to protect themselves from harsh climate.
They were taken when she was appearing in a 2008 MTV reality show where she spent time with an African tribe in Namibia who dressed her in native clothing as part of an initiation ceremony.
The Superman actor, 40, was beaming as he stepped out into the sunshine hand-in-hand with Natalie, 34, on Sunday
In 2022, the two went red carpet official, attending their first event together: the Enola Holmes 2 premiere in New York City (Pictured)
The Superman actor confirmed he was dating Natalie in April 2021 on social media with an adorable chess photo and caption
Viscuso said: ‘Firstly, I’d like to say that I’m sorry if this image surfacing has caused any offence. It is a photo from 2008 for a TV show in Namibia.
‘The tribe I was living with painted my skin as part of an initiation ceremony and an acceptance into their culture.
‘Never in a million years did I think that this would be offensive, in fact, I felt honoured that they would initiate me.
‘However, with the lessons that we are all learning in today’s climate, it is important that I recognise that this is potentially hurtful. My deepest and most sincere apologies.’
Viscuso’s reality TV career kicked off with MTV’s Super Sweet 16 series, which documented the glamorous lives of young super-rich teens living off their parents’ wealth.
Her father is multimillionaire nightclub mogul Michael Viscuso and she lived with him, and stepmother-to-be Melissa, in California where her 16 birthday party – which cost $450,000 – was filmed as part of the show.
Speaking in the 2015 episode, which also saw Viscuso drive her father’s Ferraris and Bentleys and show off her wardrobe filled with Gucci, Dior, and Louis Vuitton-branded clothes, she says: ‘Money really is not an object to me. I’m really spoiled.
Natalie is the former Vice President of TV at Vertigo Entertainment but had a brief taste of life in front of the camera as a teenager on the MTV hit My Super Sweet 16 (pictured in January)
Natalie Viscuso found fame on MTV’s Super Sweet 16
‘Sometimes I feel guilty for that, but I deserve everything that I have because I’ve always been just the nice girl, never the rich girl.’
Despite her ditsy nature on the teen show, she graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Art with a bachelor’s degree in 2011, where she was also involved in extracurricular activities and received academic honours, before going on to worki in the scripted television departments at the Weinstein Company and ITV Studios.
In 2013 she became vice president of television and digital studios at Legendary Entertainment, the firm who produced Cavill’s films Man of Steel (2013), where it’s believed they first met, and Enola Holmes (2020).
Viscuso is currently vice president of Vertigo Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based production company behind Prime Video’s Them: Covenant.
Writing on Instagram shortly after news of her position broke, she said: ‘Genre storytelling has been the beating heart of who I am ever since I was a child.
‘I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to translate that passion into a career and to have done so with some of the best in the business.’
Despite keeping most parts of their relationship private, they have shared the occasional sweet snap playing chess, walking their dogs or cooking together
Natalie and Henry shared a French Bulldog named Meat, but he sadly passed away in April 2022
Her relationship with Cavill’s came to prominence in April 2021 after the pair were snapped taking a stroll in London.
A few days later, the pair confirmed their romance on Instagram, with the duo both sharing a snap of themselves playing a game of chess.
Cavill captioned the post: ‘This is me looking quietly confident shortly before my beautiful and brilliant love Natalie destroys me at chess.
Viscuso wrote: ‘Just teaching my dear Henry how to play some chess..or..maybe he let me win?’
The couple made their red carpet debut in October 2022 at the New York premiere of Henry’s Enola Holmes 2, two months before they announced their first film collaboration, a live-action adaptation of the Warhammer tabletop miniature game, which is currently in production.
