Jamie Lee Curtis, 63, Says She’s ‘Pro-Aging’ and That ‘Anti-Aging Has to Be Struck’

• Jamie Lee Curtis is embracing her age and says that she doesn’t want to “hide from her age, as if it was a bad thing.”
• During a recent virtual summit with Maria Shriver, Curtis opened up about her thoughts on getting older.
• “This word ‘anti-aging’ has to be struck. I am pro-aging. I want to age with intelligence and grace and dignity and verve and energy,” said Curtis.

Jamie Lee Curtis isn’t focused on the negative beauty connotations centered around aging.

The 63-year-old actress recently spoke with Maria Shriver for the Radically Reframing Aging Summit presented by Sounds True and Shriver Media, and got candid about her thoughts on growing older.

“This word ‘anti-aging’ has to be struck. I am pro-aging,” said Curtis. “I want to age with intelligence and grace and dignity and verve and energy.”

Beauty to her is so much more than what’s on the outside and she expressed that she felt society has gotten rid of the term “natural beauty.” “I am an advocate now for natural beauty because I do feel there has been a genocide on natural beauty,” said Curtis.

Last month, Curtis even shared a makeup-free selfie on Instagram, calling it a “gotcha’ moment.” “Often the most unflattering image, we are often looking down, to remind us of our humility, humanity, and lack of hubris in this filtered world we all exist in on this platform,” Curtis wrote in her caption.

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The Halloween Ends actress has been vocal about Hollywood’s treatment of actresses above a certain age. Which just so happens to be a facet of the Radically Reframing Aging summit. Created to challenge society’s views on aging, the summit has set up powerful conversations with inspirational celebrities, performers, writers, and more to inspire people to live a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled life, at every age.

“I don’t want to hide from (my age) it as if it’s a bad thing,” said Curtis during the conversation. “We’re all learning that people are on fire from it. It’s an inside job, we’re so confused on the outside, but the joy of being my age is an inside infrastructure.”

And she is living up to her every word. From starring in recent horror movies to launching her own podcasts (Letters from Camp and Good Friend), Curtis is keeping herself busy and enjoying everything that life has to offer.

Her thoughts on working against life’s clock can also serve as an inspirational lesson to us all.

“I am 63-years-old. My mother died at 76; my father died at 85. I have no effing time to waste,” said Curtis. “My motto is, ‘If not now, when? And, if not me, who?’ And, that has unleashed me and freed me, and allowed me to do everything I’m doing with zero attachment.”

But that doesn’t mean she’s immune to shadows of insecurity. “When I get out of the shower, I turn my back on the mirror. I don’t stare at my now 63-year-old body in the mirror, I turn my back at it… I’m trying to live in acceptance. And, if I look in the mirror, it’s harder for me to be in acceptance. I’m more critical.”

And in the past, Curtis hasn’t always had the confidence, coping skills, and positive outlook on life that she has now. After battling addiction and getting sober in her 50s, she decided to take charge of her life in a different way. “For me, looking in the mirror and looking at the problem of my lifelong substance abuse…a family disease that has decimated my family...the ability for me to look in that mirror and look at the problem and take some action for myself, was the true first shedding of the old idea that there is a possibility of something new.”

That’s not all she’s letting go of—she opened up about shedding other unneeded stressors. “It’s this stripping away the unessential aspects of your life. I’ve stripped away my hair. I could never figure out what to do with my effing hair. I couldn't figure it out… so I finally figured it out—cut it off!” she said during the summit. “I have stripped away the things that are not essential to me. I’m not a fashion girl, so I wear basically black or navy blue. I keep my hair short… so I can get done with the quotidian aspects of my life, so I am free to do the creative aspects of my life.”

We couldn’t be happier for this chapter of Curtis’s life (and career!) and we’re so excited to have her as a role model and leader shattering myths about age and beauty.

Shauna Beni

Shauna Beni is the Associate Commerce Editor at Prevention. An NYC native and beauty product lover, Shauna has written for Beauty Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, and ABC News. She enjoys testing out new beauty products, watching makeup tutorials on Youtube, and binge-watching her favorite shows on Netflix. When she’s not writing, you can find her taking Zumba classes at Crunch, trying out natural curly hairstyles, and giving her friends advice on what makeup and haircare products they should buy. Follow her on Instagram @Beni127.