Sarah Jessica Parker has shared her candid perspective on ageing and why it means that she cannot be “the person” people expect her to be.
The 57-year-old Sex and the City star opened up about her stance on ageing, and her physical appearance, during a recent interview withVogue France. According to Parker, while she doesn’t “feel any pressure” to look a certain way, she sometimes has the “impression” other people are the ones concerned about her appearance.
“Like the fact that I have wrinkles or white hair. I think there are more interesting things to do with my time, don’t you?” she explained. “One day I was sitting next to a very close friend, a woman younger than me. I wasn’t wearing any make-up, my hair was pulled back in a bun, with some grey hair, and it caused quite a fuss.”
Parker went on to recall how she’d felt like she was viewed differently because of her age. However, she also noted that she won’t change how she looks for the sake of others.
“At the same time, there was also a younger man sitting right next to me, also with grey hair, whom I love, by the way, and no one made a thing of it!” she continued. “I just really can’t be the person that others expect me to be.”
The And Just Like That star also revealed that she’s not worried about getting older, since she doesn’t “really think about [her] age”.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s denial or that I just don’t want to face reality!” she added with a laugh. “I don’t see the point of trying to suspend time. Of course, I do care about my appearance from time to time and I do want to look presentable when it’s appropriate.”
The television producer further emphasised that she “really can’t do much” regarding “what people think about her appearance,” before revealing that the most important thing for her is to feel comfortable in her appearance.
“How do I feel when I wear a dress? That’s what matters,” she said. “I dress in a way that makes me feel good and I hope that it’s also interesting for people.”
She also shared her perspective on the passage of time, and what it means to her, adding: “What really matters to me is to be around for as long as possible to see my children grow up.”
Parker is the mother of 13-year-old twins, Tabitha and Marion, and a 20-year-old son, James, who she shares with husband Matthew Broderick.
During her conversation with Vogue, the actress also addressed how she feels mentally and physically now, in comparision to when she was in her 30s. Although she confessed that she can’t say she “feels better in [her] body,” she noted that in her “head,” she “absolutely feels 100 per cent better”.
She credited this feeling to life experiences, explaining: “With time, you accumulate all this experience, knowledge, and information, you make mistakes, and you learn. The more you learn, the better you know how to react and deal with challenges, problems, or disappointments.”
This isn’t the first time Parker has shared her optimistic perspective about getting older. During an interview with InStyle in June, she said that the main reason she thinks about her age is because of her career.
“I’m forced to think about it because of what I do for a living and because other people seem to want me to think about it or they’re thinking about my age,” she said.
At the time, she also acknowledged that “anxiety” around getting older is “legitimate” due to the “huge amount of focus and attention on women and ageing”.
“I’m confounded by the fact that we simply don’t talk about men that way,” Parker added. “It’s bizarre to me that we are still so transparently sexist about these things.”
