With the rise of 'tweakments' like Botox and facial fillers that, to some extent, appear to reverse the effects of time - not to mention the damaging impact of the unrealistic filters that are now commonplace online - it's little wonder that the concept of 'growing old' (and all that comes with it) can feel daunting.
It's a feeling that Kristin Davis, star of Sex and the City and its reboot And Just Like That, knows all too well. Opening up about the pressures of ageing in the public eye, the 56-year-old told New Beauty: 'It can be extremely stressful to be ageing and to be compared to your much, much, much younger self.'
'If I was from a regular life, I would feel fine; I would feel great!' she added. 'I’m healthy, I’m strong, I’ve got this little three-year-old son, and I carry him around and it’s all good – but, no, I’m on television, where every bit of my physical being is analysed.'
Another trigger, Davis explained, is how she often puts herself side-by-side with her SATC character Charlotte York Goldenblatt, who she's played since 1998. Speaking about the comparison, she revealed she finds it 'stressful and difficult' when she looks back at her younger self, thinking she looked 'great'. Those comparisons have, of course, increased since the release of the show's new spin-off, And Just Like That, which explores what life is like for women in their 50s.
'[Creator Michael Patrick King] is very much, "Listen, none of us are not trying to look like we used to look",' explained Davis. 'Charlotte still has her style that she had before, but now she’s 55, which we dealt with in the first episode and it’s an ongoing storyline.'
Despite that, the actor reminds us that ageing isn't something to be afraid of. In fact, she admits, there's plenty of things she's welcomed as the years have passed. 'Some [things] are great, like wisdom, feeling grounded, life experiences and those wonderful things.'
Her honest conversation about ageing is not the first time Davis has opened up about how she looks. In recent weeks, she was forced to respond to criticism over her appearance on the SATC reboot. Speaking to The Sunday Times Style, she said: 'Everyone wants to comment, pro or nay or whatever, on our hair and our faces and our this and our that. The level of intensity of it was a shock,' adding that paparazzi on set would be 'trying to get bad pictures.'
She continued, 'I feel angry and I don’t want to feel angry all the time, so I don’t look at it, I just know it’s there.'
Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
