Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Helen Mirren are just some of the celebrities who are showing how to be beautiful and graceful in today’s youth-obsessed culture.

Aging is, actually, a beautiful process and those celebrities are showing us how to understand that. Wrinkles, fine lines, and grey hair are pieces of evidence of life. Of memories, of love, laugh, sadness, disappointments… And because of that, we all should try to live by a very powerful quote by Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique: “Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength.“

Meryl Streep – “Life is a gift – embrace getting older”

 

One of the biggest divas of our time is in her seventies and she’s still as graceful and beautiful as ever. Meryl Streep is an incredible actress, but we can also learn a lot about aging from her. One of the things she said in one of her interviews is:

Don’t waste so much time worrying about your skin or your weight. I think the most liberating thing I did early on was to free myself from any concern with my looks as they pertained to my work. Develop what you do, what you put your hands on in the world. You have to embrace getting older. Life is precious, and when you’ve lost a lot of people, you realize each day is a gift.

Sarah Jessica Parker – “There is nothing brave about aging naturally”

 

As one of the most influential fashion icons, SJP is a great example of how you can still look fabulous in your fifties and beyond. When she recently appeared in public with gray hair, someone said that she is so brave. She said there is nothing brave about aging naturally.

I just don’t understand why I’m supposed to be spending that much time thinking about [aging]. We never talk about that with the other sex. We don’t say to them: ‘Here’s a cream to pretend this didn’t happen.’

She continued:

We spend so much time talking about the accumulation of time spent adding up in wrinkles, and it’s the weirdest thing that we don’t say it adds up to be better at your job, better as a friend, better as a daughter, better as a partner, better as a caregiver, better as a sister. Instead, it’s: ‘How do we suspend the exterior? How do we apologize for it? How do we fix it?’

Helen Mirren – “Other people call it growing older, but I call it growing up”

 

When you think about a confident superwoman, one of the first names that come to mind is Helen Mirren. The legendary actress has always been an inspiration for her amazing work and her no-nonsense attitude and graceful aging. In one of her interviews, she said:

Other people call it growing older, but I call it growing up.

Helen Mirren is showing us that aging can be fun and that we should enjoy every phase of our lives. Embrace the changes, love yourself, and don’t worry about what other people think.

My mother once said, ‘Never worry about getting older. I know the thought of you being 45 when you’re 25 is, Oh, my god! Who wants to be 45? But it’s amazing because when you get to be 45, you’ll realize it’s actually very cool and you don’t want to be 25 again.’ And I have to say, she was absolutely right.

Andie MacDowell – “Aging is not about losing your beauty”

 

Andie MacDowell, a longtime L’Oréal ambassador, is choosing to embrace her natural beauty and redefine aging for women.

We evolve and we age, and this is part of the process,” she continued, adding that we do not generally ask men these questions about aging. “Aging is not about losing your beauty.”

MacDowell says she hopes to continue to ensure older women are represented in the beauty industry and know they can look and feel confident at any age.

Jamie Lee Curtis – “This word ‘anti-aging’ has to be struck. I am pro-aging”

 

Big stars are always under the spotlight and often have to deal with criticism. Jamie Lee Curtis is one of those celebrities who decided to use her platform to speak out against the unrealistic standards society imposes on women, especially regarding aging.

In one of her interviews, she said:

This word ‘anti-aging’ has to be struck. I want to age with intelligence and grace and dignity and verve and energy.

And really, after we achieve a certain level of maturity and confidence, most of us just want to age beautifully. That’s just one lesson we can learn from Jamie Lee Curtis, who is still rockin’ in her sixties.