They say life begins at forty but with Jane Seymour, it seems like the older you get, the more fun you have.
The actress became the oldest model to pose for Playboy when she made her third appearance in the magazine four years ago, at 67, to inspire women of a certain age who may have lost their sparkle.
Now 71, she says she found it very liberating, telling us she felt like she could help women who might have “given up”.
Jane, mum to Katherine, 40, Sean, 36, and twins John and Kristopher, 26, found fame in 1969 in the hit film Oh! What A Lovely War, directed by Richard Attenborough – through whom she met first husband Michael Attenborough, marrying him in 1971.
In 1973, she played Bond Girl Solitaire opposite Roger Moore’s 007 in Live And Let Die, then landed award-winning roles in other films and TV series.
She also showed off her comedy skills in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers, playing a politician’s wife with the hots for Owen Wilson’s lothario character.
Fans delighted in seeing her character Kathleen – or Kitty Cat – try to seduce Owen with her new breasts and it’s a role that changed everything for Jane.
“I saw Owen a few days ago,” the star tells us from her Malibu home. “And I said, ‘Owen, you know what? Since that movie, it doesn’t matter what career I ever had before, or since. I am now The Tit Lady!’”
Despite four divorces, she’s never given up on love. Her old friend, producer David Green, 72, became her boyfriend eight years ago. But while she’s clearly very happy, Jane doesn’t want him to put a ring on it and become hubby number five.
Jane’s living life on her terms. So it’s no wonder she leapt at the chance to play an amateur detective in her latest TV drama.
But what made her want to pose for Playboy for a third time aged 67?
"I just thought, 'What? Why would they want a woman in her mid to late sixties to do Playboy?' I was never going to be naked, but they were going to be celebrating being a woman at my age.
"And I just thought, ‘well, you know, that might be inspirational to some women who kind of give up.’"
Jane has heard stories of women giving up at a certain age "all my life".
"People have said, 'When I had my first child, my husband told me I had to cut my hair off.' Like, really?" she scoffs.
"And then I meet women who say, 'I never cut my hair. Even though I have four children. I told my husband until Jane Seymour cuts her hair, I’m not cutting mine.'
"And then I point out the only reason I didn’t cut my hair is I had it cut once and I wanted it to flip – but it flops!"
Jane has always inspired women to flaunt what they have, and she admits starring in the film Wedding Crashers "literally changed everything".
"People suddenly said, 'Oh, my God!' and then they kept scrolling to see if they could see me naked, but I never was actually naked. Ever," she said
"And it’s so funny on planes, I could see guys going back and forth, back and forth, thinking 'She must be naked somewhere.'"
It’s hard to believe the actress is in such great shape at 71 - but she doesn't live by a strict diet.
"Not strict but I just had my green juice from the garden, I grow all my organic vegetables there," she said.
"I like Mediterranean-type foods, I eat fresh vegetables and fruit.
"And I tend not to eat meat, though I eat fish or sometimes some chicken. And I don’t drink too much, ever. I mean, I don’t have an issue with it. So a glass of wine or two at the end of the day, depending on whether I’ve got to work the next day."
Jane has a gym at her house but says she rarely uses it.
"What I tend to do is some ballet exercises. I’ll put my leg up on the kitchen counter and stretch," she said.
"I never smoke and I don’t even like medications. You know, even when I’ve had major surgery and they give me Codeine, I can’t wait to not take it."
Jane is in a relationship with British film director David Green and they met when he was a young director at the BBC.
"They wanted to make a movie about Mata Hari and they sent him to America because they said, 'Jane Seymour counts as an American so we can get funding if you can get her to play Mata Hari.'
"I met him and loved his movies. And I said yes. Then they never made the film, it fell through."
It took them years to get together after meeting through work but stayed in touch as they have mutual best friends.
"So we’d kind of met socially a bit but we’d never gone out. He was married for 24 years. And so was I," she said.
"And we had the same number of children. Then his wife parted with him. And I found myself single and we found ourselves sitting on my balcony with our mutual friend realising we were both single and probably dating the wrong people."
Jane says at 71 she has no plans to remarry.
"I don’t feel any need to," she said.
"I know he’d marry me but I just said, 'Why? You really want the number five next to your name? I’m not going to do that to you!'"
Now Jane is back on the telly playing devil-may-care amateur sleuth in Harry Wild.
"I thoroughly enjoyed being Harry. I think a little Harry has rubbed off on me. And a bit of me rubbed off on Harry," she said.
"I’m hoping people love it as much as I do, because I think it’s brilliantly written. And it’s fun, it’s comedic and it’s empathetic. You care about all the people. It’s the kind of material I want to watch."
And she thinks the show will encourage older women to be more adventurous with their life choices.
"I think that’s going to be a thing: Are you a Harry Wild? Is there a Harry Wild in you? Would you – given half a chance – do what she does? She is so much fun to play!"
