From Heather Graham to JLo and Gwen Stefani, these stunning celebs are all members of a VERY exclusive club
FIFTY-THREE is the new 21, if actress Heather Graham is anything to go by.
She wowed fans this week by sharing a picture in a tiny white bikini – and looking pretty much the same age as when she starred in Boogie Nights in 1997.
Heather says her glowing skin and toned physique are down to a gruelling workout routine, avoiding sugar and alcohol and getting a whopping 12 hours sleep a night.
But she’s not the only woman in the Fab At 53 Club.
Hayley Minn reveals the other celebs who are looking better than ever at 53 . . .
JENNIFER LOPEZ
DOB: July 24, 1969
WHAT’S the secret to the actress’s flawless skin? Olive oil, apparently.
J-Lo said in 2020: “I haven’t ever had Botox to this day.
“I’m not that person.
“I don’t have anything against people doing that, it’s just not my thing.
“I’m more about a natural approach to skincare.”
She also swears by olive oil, thanks to a tip from her mum.
She said: “It’s a cure-all for your hair, your skin, your nails, your body.
“It was like nature’s magic ingredient.
“That’s the thing that makes that natural glow.”
GWEN STEFANI
DOB: Oct 3, 1969
SHE barely looks to have aged since bursting into the charts with No Doubt in 1996.
But the singer admitted that ageing was the catalyst for launching her beauty brand GXVE last year.
Gwen said: “I just want to look as good as I can at any age, like we all do, and share that quality make-up truly does make a big difference in how you feel.”
She’s always been known for her red lipstick, but she now mixes it up a bit more, trying things “she didn’t think suited her a decade ago”.
She explained: “It’s just one of those things when you age, and your face constantly changes – you try new ways to look different, and look the best you can.”
RACHEL WEISZ
DOB: March 7, 1970
THE Oscar-winner believes she’s got wiser with age and that life is easier when you are older.
Rachel said: “Everybody’s ageing and we’re all going to die.
“Getting older, there’s a reality about mortality, but it’s hard to be young, too.
“It’s hard to not know who you are.
“My twenties were painful at times.
“Now I have wisdom and experience.
“I know what interests me in a way I didn’t before.
“I’m much more focused on what matters to me.
“I waste less time. There’s a huge relief in that.”
UMA THURMAN
DOB: April 29, 1970
UMA has starred in some of the biggest films over the past three decades, including Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction.
But Uma was once fearful of ageing in Hollywood, after being told at a young age she was well past her peak.
“It freaks me out a little less these days,” she said in 2008.
“The characters I get to play as a mature woman are so much more interesting than the ingenues I got to play as a kid, so I feel OK about it.”
MINNIE DRIVER
DOB: Jan 31, 1970
FOR actress Minnie, keeping her voluminous curls strong and healthy is key to looking young.
She has also spent the last 25 years surfing as a hobby, and has no intention of stopping due to her age.
She said: “It bugs me the whole idea that I have to change anything about my life, because I feel exactly the same on the inside.”
NAOMI CAMPBELL
DOB: May 22, 1970
STARTING her career at 15, Naomi hasn’t stopped modelling on magazine covers and catwalks since.
“I don’t feel old,” she said.
And her ageless skin may just be down to one tip she has.
She explained: “I personally don’t sleep in air conditioning.
“I don’t like it.
“It gives wrinkles, I believe.”
It could also be her two-year-old daughter keeping her young, having become a mum in 2021 at the age of 50.
She said: “She is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
RACHEL HUNTER
DOB: Sept 8, 1969
IN her 2016 TV series Tour Of Beauty, Kiwi supermodel Rachel travelled the globe in search of the secret to age-defying looks.
It helped change her mindset as she reached her 50s – and put her off surgery.
She said: “I was always questioning the non-invasive procedures.
“I’m surrounded by them.
“I live in Los Angeles where there’s a lot of influence to those types of procedures – the Botox and fillers, things like that.
“My thoughts have changed drastically now.
“I’m a lot more centred within myself.”
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES
DOB: Sept 25, 1969
THE Welsh beauty has always been famed for her looks, but Catherine says she feels more empowered than ever at the age of 53.
In a recent interview, she added: “Something about getting older was that I don’t take a lot of s**t from people.
“Not that I’m snappy, or that I’m looking for s**t from people.
“I just don’t take it, and I don’t take it in a very gracious way.
“And it’s only something that comes from experience and it’s only something that comes from being 53.”
THE AGE YOU STOP GIVING A FLYING FIG
By Ulrika Jonsson
WE give ageing a hard time, when, in actual fact, it should be the opposite.
After a life spent in pursuit of youth – youthful looks, attitudes, dress sense, sexual desire – the truth is that ageing is actually pretty darn good.
Pictures of actress Heather Graham looking swell in a bikini at the age of 53 not only suggest a woman with confidence, a woman in control, but also a woman who is really comfortable in her own skin.
And as if to back that up, a recent survey says that 53 is the golden age – because it’s the age at which we feel sexiest.
I can confirm this to be true.
I am about to turn 56 but despite worrying about hitting 50 and what “old age” would bring, I needn’t have fretted.
It took me a bit of time to get used to entering my sixth decade. It was like wearing in a new pair of heels – initial excitement replaced with pain and uncertainty – but new shoes are never comfortable to start with.
But as I turned the corner of 52 and approached 53, I felt so much more confident about who I am and what I wanted.
It felt like I should probably have got a higher pair of heels because I wanted to tower over everyone else who thought I should go quietly into old age.
Sex life spicier
According to the survey, 40 per cent admit that they stop worrying about how they come across when they are 53. Never a truer word has been spoken.
I think as women, in particular, we’re programmed to constantly be aware of what people think of us, how we will be judged and how we come across. Some of us might have spent decades not speaking up or speaking out.
Well, roll on your 50s because all that disappears. Suddenly, you really don’t give a flying fig.
I think that because ageing is inevitable, you learn to accept it and I have definitely embraced the way I look.
My body has done great things and I’m indebted to it for that.
Dating is much more exciting than anything I experienced in my 20s or 30s too and, at the risk of boring you, as if you didn’t know, the sex life is considerably spicier.
Why? Because we now know what we want and worry less. It’s utterly freeing and blissful. Insecurities and inhibitions disappear. You might think it’s because time is no longer on our side and we have to make every minute count. But I think it’s more positive than that.
Our outlooks change and our experience is worth its weight in gold. We’re punchy and cool.
We’re fearless and not afraid to show it.
I’m telling you now: 50 is the new 20. Besides, you couldn’t pay me to be 20 again.