How to see aging as a beautiful adventure, according to Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell certainly knows how to navigate transitions. After making her name as a top model, the South Carolina native turned her attention to Hollywood, starring in '90s films like Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral that remain favorites three decades later. These days, the 66-year-old actress is winning hearts with her refreshing take on aging, rocking gray tresses on the red carpet and declaring “I want to be old” in an interview with Katie Couric.
“I am a huge advocate of trying to live in my power,” MacDowell, a L’Oréal Paris ambassador, told Yahoo Life in an interview ahead of the brand’s annual L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth celebration of female changemakers. “I think that's really important: to look for your strengths and what you have to offer — your wisdom, your knowledge, things that you have that you didn't have 20 or 30 years ago.” From surrounding herself with “really interesting, smart older people” to being open to taking her fitness routine in different directions, the star is reveling in her evolution. Here are the lessons on aging MacDowell wants to share.
You can keep making your mark
Celebrating her own worth is something that MacDowell works on every day, and aging has changed her perspective on the concept of acceptance. “I used to always hate the word accept,” the Sex, Lies, and Videotape star says. “I used to think it was such a disempowering word. But the reality is it is part of the process [of aging]. You are not young, and there are things that you have to go through because you are an aging person.”
Still, aging doesn’t have to mean being relegated to the shadows. “I don't want to be left out,” says MacDowell. “I don't want to be told that I am of no use. I want to feel vibrant. You want people to perceive you as a vital part of our society.”
To that end, it’s important to “wake up every day to know that you have a purpose and that you are an interesting person, and that your age doesn't stop you from feeling that, or from being perceived that way,” she adds.
Honor your limits
Although MacDowell points out that injuries can happen no matter your age, some are more prevalent as the years go by. Case in point: She's currently managing a torn labrum in her hip. “It's not fun,” she says. “For about four years, I had [platelet-rich plasma injections], and I'm getting ready to go to the doctor to figure out what the next step is. It’s a bummer, because I'm very athletic, and I think that's probably the problem. I did a lot of Bikram yoga, which I should have never done.”
Now she's listening to her body and tweaking her approach to fitness. “I'm learning how to do gentle yoga and to be comfortable with that,” she says. “I just mean doing a flow that suits my body, listening to what my body says to do. And I love to walk. Right now, it's a little uncomfortable, which breaks my heart, because my favorite thing to do is walk. I'm an avid hiker and walker. I love exercise. Pilates and water aerobics are going to be something really easy for me. I used to swim, so I'll probably start swimming again.”
Be open to pastimes you once dismissed
Aging can — and should — convince you to reconsider activities you might have previously shrugged off. “I said that I would never learn to play bridge,” recalls MacDowell. “When I was younger, I pooh-poohed it. [I said] that I would go to France and learn a foreign language first. But I might learn to play bridge because it's really good for your brain, and I'm around all these people who are doing that. So why not? Now, as I'm aging, I think it might not be a bad idea.”
Surround yourself with positive people who inspire you
MacDowell says she is “very fortunate” to be surrounded by “positive” people who are similarly embracing aging. “I think it's really important to surround yourself with people whose perspective is something that makes you feel good,” she points out. “If you're around people that are negative, you're going to feel negative.”
Her social circle is also frequently practicing exactly what she preaches. “[They] are strong and powerful and vibrant and interesting and creative and giving back,” she says. “A lot of people that are doing work in their community. I really like preservation, so I'm lucky to be surrounded by a lot of people [who are helping] preserve land and space for humans and animals.”
One of the people in her beloved circle just happens to be MacDowell’s sister, who is 18 months her senior. “She was a teacher, and now she leads overnight backpacking trips in the Appalachian mountains,” says the actress. “I know she's fierce. She takes care of everybody. She's a powerhouse. She's so strong.”
Find a role model you admire
When it comes to showing just how captivating and beautiful aging can be, MacDowell is undoubtedly a role model to others. But who does she herself look up to? Jane Fonda. “I never really got to super-talk to her until recently, and I asked her questions, and I got to know her a little bit better, but I've been in awe of her,” says the Ready or Not star. “At L'Oréal in Cannes, we all go to the same room and we do our hair and makeup together. She sat on the floor and was writing a speech. I was just blown away with her. And she's brilliant, you know? She's really smart. She's out there fighting for what she believes in, [she’s] feisty and interesting. I love seeing women that are making a change in the world and using their wisdom and their abilities to continue to be a force to reckon with.”
MacDowell hopes she might be able to “follow in [Fonda’s] footsteps a little bit." She adds: “I would never try, but she can inspire me."
