Monday, January 30, 2023

Jamie Lee Curtis says 'people lost their minds' when she posed topless at age 50

Erin Donnelly
Sun, January 29, 2023 

Jamie Lee Curtis says her 2008 topless cover caused a stir. 
(Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)

On Saturday night, actress Jamie Lee Curtis was honored with the Career Achievement Award from AARP The Magazine. But it's not the first time the publication — which shines a spotlight on people aged 50 and older — has shown the star some love.

In an Instagram post shared ahead of the magazine's annual Movies for Grownups Awards, Curtis, 64, reflected on appearing topless on the cover of its May/June 2008 issue. Then 50, the Halloween star posed naked in a swimming pool for the Andrew Eccles-lensed shoot, causing quite a stir.

"People lost their MINDS that I was TOPLESS!" Curtis, who just scored for her first Oscar nomination for her supporting turn in Everything Everywhere All at Once, shared. "A perfect statement about how weird people are about older people having any sexuality whatsoever."



Curtis's post drew support from the likes of Naomi Watts and her former Freaky Friday co-star, Lindsay Lohan. Supermodel Paulina Porizkova, no stranger to provocative photo shoots that challenge conventional thinking about aging, commented, "Yup. Apparently, older women should give that up."

Curtis has been unapologetic about aging on her own terms. In the 2008 issue, the True Lies star spoke about letting her hair — now silver, nearly 15 years later — go gray and learning to love the mature version of herself.

"I want to be older," she told the magazine. "I actually think there's an incredible amount of self-knowledge that comes with getting older. I feel way better now than I did when I was 20. I'm stronger, I'm smarter in every way, I'm so much less crazy than I was then."

In more recent years, the Trading Places actress has spoken out about society's obsession with plastic surgery — which she has admitted trying and hating — and using filters to look younger.

"I've also been an advocate for not f***ing with your face," she said during an appearance on the U.K. talk show Lorraine in 2021. "And the term 'anti-aging.' What? What are you talking about? We're all going to f****ing age. We’re all gonna die. Why do you want to look 17 when you're 70? I want to look 70 when I'm 70!"

Last year Curtis shared that she is focusing more on acceptance and less on vanity.

"When I brush my teeth, of course, I look in the mirror," she said during a talk at the Radically Reframing Aging Summit. "When I pluck my eyebrows, of course, I look in a mirror. But when I get out of a shower, I just don't stare at my now 63-year-old body in the mirror. I'm not denying what I look like, of course I've seen what I look like. I am trying to live in acceptance. If I look in the mirror, it's harder for me to be in acceptance. I’m more critical. Whereas, if I just don't look, I'm not so worried about it."

Speaking at the Movies for Grownups Awards this weekend, Curtis expressed her appreciation for aging.

"At the end of the day, what I love most about grownups is that we are more alike than different — grownups suit up and show up each day, regardless of the way our cards were dealt," she said in her acceptance speech. "It's the beauty of grownups and I'm honored to be considered one because it's a badge of honor that I wear proudly on my face, on my body, in my mind and in my soul."

Michelle Yeoh opens up about being a film star at 60: 'The older you get, they see you by your age'


Erin Donnelly
January 8, 2023

Michelle Yeoh opens up about aging, infertility and her morning routine. 
(Photo: REUTERS/David Swanson)

Life at 60 is pretty good for Michelle Yeoh, who is generating Oscar buzz with her lead role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. ("Your loss, bro," she shot back when former co-star Jackie Chan texted to say that he'd been offered the plum part, originally intended for a man, first.)

But in a new interview with Seth Doane for CBS Sunday Morning, the Malaysian actress admitted that she was surprised to be cast "at this point in my career."

"The older you get, they see you by your age rather than see you by your capability," the martial arts-trained star explained.

Yeoh choked up when she recalled the "joyful" validation of the film's writers and directors, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (a.k.a. "the Daniels"), trusting her with a role that was not only physically demanding but also required the ability to navigate both comedic and dramatic moments.

The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress grew emotional as she spoke to Doane about how meaningful it is "when someone gives you the opportunity to show what you're capable of."

That validation was unexpected for Yeoh, given her fears about seeing her "spectacular career" grind to a stop with every birthday.

"You don't want it to just slow down or end because you have gotten to a certain age," she said. "And you start getting scripts where the guy, the hero, is still in his 50s, 60s ... some even more. And they get to go on the adventure with your daughter. And then you go, like, 'No, c'mon guys, give me a chance.' Because I feel that I am still able to do all that."

Yeoh also opened up about stepping back from the film business after getting married to producer Dickson Poon in 1988, with the intention of devoting herself to motherhood. But when she learned that she "couldn't have kids," the Tomorrow Never Dies star left the marriage, explaining, "I knew that this was a family who needed kids." All the same, making that choice was "devastating."

"It is life," she told Doane. "Now I have godchildren — beautiful godchildren. They are like my extended family."

She's also found love with French motor racing executive Jean Todt, her romantic partner since 2004.

And while Yeoh's days these days are a whirlwind of red carpets and award shows, they all start the same: with stretches in bed and a meditation apology of sorts to the body she's about to use in another daring stunt.

"Please forgive me. I'm sorry. Thank you. I love you," Yeoh tells herself in an on-camera demonstration of her morning routine. "This body takes a lot of bumps and bruises, so that is my way of saying thank you to it."


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