Julianne Moore just offered up one of the simplest, most refreshing outlooks on aging we've heard come out of Hollywood in a long time.
The 56-year-old actress recently sat down with InStyle and confessed that she has no plans to turn back the clock when it comes to outward appearance. Instead, she makes a conscious effort to embrace who she is every day both on and off set.
"I mean, let's not talk about this idea of 'Oh, no! I'm going to be 40!' You could be dead," she told InStyle. "It's a privilege to age! Even in scripts, they'll refer to a character as 'aging.' Well, everyone is aging."
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That fact, despite all of the ads for age-reversing creams and expensive surgical procedures, is indisputable: You're older now than you were when you first started reading this, and that's that.
The fixation with youth and beauty in the United States has been incredibly lucrative for makeup retailers and cosmetic surgeons. In 2016, Americans alone spent 16 billion dollars on cosmetic procedures. That's way more than it cost to rebuild after Hurricane Rita hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005.
But going under the knife isn't the only thing prompting millions of Americans to hand over their money. On average, people in the States spend $300,000 over the course of their lifetimes on makeup and skin-care products. Don't get me wrong, I'm a product junkie, too, but it's hard to read that number without wincing.
Moore recognized the danger of getting too caught up in looking sprightly and made a really good point about the way the quest for the fountain of youth is portrayed in art.
"In literature and in movies, when people try to stop the process, it always ends in disaster," she said. "I think it's really important to be where you are." I couldn't agree more, though I do find it funny that Hollywood has pushed the above message in films while also being the main culprit in setting unrealistic beauty standards.
Aging isn't just about appearance, though. Moore told InStyle that as she's gotten older, her overall approach to life has changed.
"The older I get, I find, the more I prepare," she said. "I thought when I was younger that I was prepared. But, it just pales in comparison to the amount I do now. Maybe being young, you think, 'Well, I know how to do this!' and the older you get, the more you realize that you don't know anything."