Linda Hamilton, 69, says she’s feeling at home in her own skin.
Speaking to AARP in an interview published on Wednesday, the “The Terminator” actor said she wants to age with grace by embracing the lines and features that show the life she has lived.
“I do not spend a moment trying to look younger on any level, ever. I have just completely surrendered to the fact that this is the face that I’ve earned. And it tells me so much. And sometimes it’s stuff I don’t want to hear,” Hamilton told AARP.
At this point in her life, there are more important things to worry about than her appearance.
“I don’t chase beauty, and I don’t chase longevity particularly,” she added.
Still, Hamilton said she aims to stay healthy while living “fully planted in the moment.”
“But not all the time — sometimes it is just a jelly donut. I’m not rigid, which is a fantastic way to get older,” she said, adding that she’s tried “to stay as fluid as possible” throughout her life.
“One definition of happiness is being in the middle of a fast-moving river and not trying to swim to the left or the right side. And that, truly, is kind of what my life has been. It’s been a great, fun ride,” she said.
Hamilton, who stars in the latest and final season of “Stranger Things,” said she attends physical therapy three times a week to stay in shape for her role.
She added that her workouts change depending on what her body needs that day.
“It was Pilates, it was yoga, a lot of free weights, machines, cables, everything. And I kind of love that: to go in and not have a chest and back day, but just have a ‘what do you need to loosen up and stretch out today,'” Hamilton said.
Embracing aging also means finally taking on the bucket-list items she’d delayed, a change she said was fueled by her twin sister’s death five years ago.
“It sure did shake me up a little bit, the huge loss of my other half. I started doing some bucket-list things. I started jumping horses again after 40 years,” Hamilton said.
Despite all that, she’s found plenty to appreciate about getting older.
“I fully inhabit myself in a way that I never did when I was younger. I’m not trying to please anyone or prove anything or show off,” she said.
Hamilton added that she’s satisfied with her career, and that she’d found “a great balance between work and life.”
“And yet I’m managing to still be part of my community and not leave all my friends behind because I’m working. I have found a way to weave it together very beautifully. I certainly feel like everything is a blessing right now,” she said.
Hamilton has spoken about aging in the past, too.
In an October 2019 essay for Glamour, Hamilton said she’s proud to be her age.
“I keep saying, ‘Why does 40 have to be the new 60? Why can’t 60 be the new 60? Why do we have to color everything with this idea of eternal youth?'” she wrote.
Speaking to Us Weekly in November 2019, she criticized Hollywood’s obsession with youth and her appearance.
“Of course people are going to look at me and say ‘Oh, she got old.’ Yes, I did, and I have so much more to say as a strong, experienced life-ridden woman,” Hamilton said.
