Justine Bateman, a former child star who rose to fame on the hit television series Family Ties, has spoken out against people who are “obsessed” with her aging face.
In a recent interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Bateman revealed that she first discovered people thought she looked old when she was in her early 40s after searching for something online.
“I needed to Google something to do a little research and remind myself of something that happened when I was famous, so I put in my name, Googled my name, Justine Bateman, and then the autocomplete came up which was ‘looks old’,” she said. “And I was only 42 at the time…and I was like ‘what?’ And I looked at the pictures that they had as evidence and I couldn’t see what they were talking about.”
Despite people’s perceptions of her, Bateman is proud of her appearance and refuses to let anyone else’s opinions get her down. “I just don’t give a s**t. I think I look rad. I think my face represents who I am. I like it,” she stated.
Bateman’s refreshing attitude toward aging is particularly poignant in a world where many women feel pressured to look younger than their years.
She believes that the obsession with youth and beauty is a distraction from what really matters in life.
“I feel sad that they are distracted from the things they’re meant to do in life, with this consuming idea that they’ve got to fix their face before anything else can happen,” she explained. “Forget about your face! That is what I’m saying. Get rid of the fear that your face being wrinkled is going to ruin a bunch of opportunities for you.”
While Bateman admits to having fleeting thoughts about surgery, she ultimately decided against it.
“You can do all of that, but even with that I would just… I feel like I would erase not only all my authority that I have now, but also I like feeling that I’m a different person now than I was when I was 20. I like looking in the mirror and seeing that evidence.”
In a society that often praises youth and beauty over experience and wisdom, Justine Bateman’s words are a powerful reminder that aging is a natural part of life, and one that should be embraced rather than feared.
