Anne Hathaway on Unrealistic Beauty Standards and the Obsession with Aging

I think we can all agree that if there is one word we can use to describe Anne Hathaway, it’s radiant. Whether she’s on the red carpet or the city streets, Hathaway is always sporting a glowing face and a welcoming smile. Not only does the 40-year-old silver-screen star glow on the outside, she’s just as sparkling on the inside, which was made even clearer this week when she sat down with Japanese skin-care brand, Shiseido to discuss her beauty philosophy, from the unfortunate obsession with aging to postpartum expectation.

Hathaway on Aging

In this day and age, it’s almost overwhelming the amount of products on the market geared towards anti-aging. For the Princess Diaries star, though, aging is not something to be avoided. “Aging is just another word for living,” Hathaway began to People. “And what you do with it from there is personal and up to you. I feel great—I feel better than I did in my twenties because I’m taking much better care of myself.”

The star also explained how each decade of life is so different from the last, and how that is nothing to be wary about, either. “In my 30s, I had to give up alcohol. I couldn’t do it anymore,” she began. “I couldn’t lead the life that I wanted while drinking. And in my 40s I’m finding I have to support myself differently nutritionally. I want to go back and talk to my 25-year-old self who felt like she didn’t have to do anything and just be like, ‘Oh honey, honey, there’s a whole other world out there and it tastes like an avocado.’”

Hathaway on Postpartum Expectations

For any new moms or anyone at all who has experienced the journey of giving birth, the societal expectation for a postpartum “snapback” is not a fun one, and even star’s like Hathaway herself have struggled with the unrealistic beauty standards put onto postpartum bodies. “People don’t talk about this and it really made me feel better when I found out about it. It takes three years for your body to fully recover from a pregnancy,” she explains. “I didn’t snap back. I want to be very, very clear about that. With my second, it took every minute of those three years. Let your body be a body. There’s nowhere to get to. It’s just now. Be present and take care of yourself and don’t set expectations.”