- Jamie Lee Curtis shared her true feelings about aging.
- The 64-year-old said she has “no time to waste” when it comes to work and creative projects.
- Her latest endeavor, a graphic novel titled Mother Nature, is out August 8.
Retirement is the last thing on Jamie Lee Curtis’ mind. Instead of slowing down at work, the 64-year-old is speeding up: Alongside ongoing projects like Haunted Mansion, she’s currently promoting her graphic novel, Mother Nature. She recently discussed it at San Diego Comic-Con, where she also got real about aging and how time is affecting her career.
“I’m 65 years old this November,” she said, per People. “I have no time to waste. I joke about it, but I’m going to die way sooner than later, and therefore, I have sh*t to do! This is one of the things that I needed to do, and I’m excited about it.”
She told fans that she’s had the idea for Mother Nature since she was 19. The story follows activist Nova Terrell, who sets out to take on a corporate oil company in an attempt to avenge her father’s mysterious death. Along the way, she learns of the a “malevolent, long-dormant horror” that threatens her community.
Initially, Curtis didn’t think she could write a book—but her husband, Christopher Guest, and years of experience in entertainment ultimately gave her the confidence to first write it as a screenplay.
“‘I came home and I said to my husband, ‘I should hire somebody to write Mother Nature.’ He said to me, as Christopher does, very quietly: ‘Why don’t you?’” she recalled.
And so she did—which is the perfect example of her ethos that it’s never too late to try something new. “We may well make this into a movie at some point. That would be fun,” she continued. “Maybe I’ll direct it, maybe I’ll co-direct it, maybe I’ll be in it, and maybe I’ll do all of it.”
That attitude comes from Curtis’ rejection of a Hollywood “sell-by date”—one that is slowly lifting for aging women in the industry. “I have a motto now, as I am past that sell-by date, which is, ‘If not now, when? If not me, who?’ I say it to myself every single day,” she told InStyle early last year. “And after more than 40 years in the business, I am busier today than I have ever been in my entire life.”
Since then, she’s gotten even busier. She starred in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which earned her an Oscar win, and more recently, she delivered an Emmy-buzzing performance in season 2 of The Bear, which she called “the role of a lifetime.”
“My strategy is just to show up, get into the process, and don’t fall prey to any of the bullsh*t of show business,” she told InStyle. “Be game and be prepared for whatever happens.”
That strategy clearly continues to work for her—so why stop now? We can’t wait to get our hands on a copy of her graphic novel.
Kayla Blanton is a freelance writer-editor who covers health, nutrition, and lifestyle topics for various publications including Prevention, Everyday Health, SELF, People, and more. She’s always open to conversations about fueling up with flavorful dishes, busting beauty standards, and finding new, gentle ways to care for our bodies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University with specializations in women, gender, and sexuality studies and public health, and is a born-and-raised midwesterner living in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and two spoiled kitties.
