Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up about how she’s “embracing” getting older, as she called out the many societal pressures women face as they age.
In a recent interview with British Vogue, the Goop founder, 50, addressed the “double standard” that women must maintain their beauty as they get older, while older men are often celebrated for their age – affectionately nicknamed “silver foxes”.
“I think it’s culture’s problem. It’s not ours,” Paltrow said, reflecting on how women are judged more on getting older than men. “As women, we want to be healthy, we want to be ageing. This idea that we’re supposed to be frozen in time is so weird.”
The mother of two went on to praise fellow actor Andie MacDowell, who decided to stop colouring her hair and allowed her natural greys to grow instead. “I love it when I hear somebody like Andie MacDowell, with her beautiful grey curls, talking about embracing ageing and the difference between how we handle a George Clooney,” Paltrow said.
“It’s handsome to go grey [as a man], but for women it’s like, ‘What do you plan to do about your wrinkles and your ageing skin?’” she continued. “There’s definitely a double standard.”
The lifestyle guru then expressed that women should be allowed to age however they wish, regardless of beauty standards or what society thinks of them.
“I think we want to be setting examples of how you can age. Every woman should do it how they want to do it,” Paltrow added. “Some women want to address every single thing aesthetically, and some women want to be a fabulous French grandmother who doesn’t ever do anything. Everybody should be empowered to do it how they want to.”
As for the Oscar-winning actor, she told British Vogue that her favourite skincare treatments include regular facials – facial massages and lymphatic drainage – as opposed to subjecting the skin to laser treatments, noting that she’s “a little freaked out about using lasers on the face.”
However, she maintained that there’s no wellness treatment that’s too “out there” for her.
Paltrow, who shares 19-year-old daughter Apple and 17-year-old son Moses with ex-husband Chris Martin, also revealed the beauty lessons she’s passing down to her model daughter. “I think the most important thing is how you take care of your body, from a nutritional and strength aspect,” she explained. “These things don’t only impact the way that you look as you age, but how you feel as you age.”
She continued: “I think just to invest in your relationships and be present with the people that you love. Give to them and listen to them, and then they will be present with you. That’s really it. You measure the happiness of your life by the quality of your relationships.”
Many fellow celebrities have spoken out against the “double standard” that women in Hollywood face when it comes to ageing. In May, fans defended Sleepless in Seattle star Meg Ryan after the Daily Mail described her as looking “unrecognisable” during her “first public outing in six months”.
“She looks fabulous” one person tweeted, while another said: “Leave Meg Ryan alone.”
“It’s called ageing you remorseless f***ers,” tweeted British TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp, “And it’s articles like this which push women in the public eye to extremes. This kind of thing boils my blood!”
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham also spoke candidly about ageing in a recent interview with The Sunday Times, in which she admitted that she wouldn’t want to experience her twenties again.
“I am comfortable with who I am. I accept how I look. I make the best of what I have,” she said. “I feel, professionally and personally, really accomplished at 49. I consider how I apply my make-up. But I like how it feels being older. I wouldn’t want to be 25 again. I was the kind of young woman who would look in the mirror and see what needed to be improved upon, as opposed to what actually looked OK.”
Meanwhile, actor and activist Jane Fonda recently shared that she’s the “happiest [she’s] ever been” at 85 years old.
