Good
Housekeeping - October 2002
What's
so bad about acting your age?
Twiggy's elfin face defined the Sixties. Now a vivacious fifty something, the actress's anti-ageing tips are candid if controversial. We should stand up to the youth culture, she says, and her mantra is to stay healthy and be yourself.
"What's the big deal about age? At 53, I'm pretty philosophical. Let's face it, there's nothing we can do about getting older - it happens to everyone. Of course, there are mornings when I look in the mirror and thing, oh gawd, I shouldn't have had that extra glass of wine or that hour's less sleep. But I haven't had any cosmetic surgery, and for me Botox is too scary. I hate the idea of injecting a toxin into my body. Where does it go? I can't believe it just disappears. And really, some women go too far. We've all seen that goldfish look - the pumped up lips, the stary eyes!
To be honest, I have a great fear of the knife but I'd never say never. Breakthroughs keep happening and I'm just hoping that by the time I need tweaking there'll be a quick laser treatment that just goes 'bleep' and that's it - you're lifted! But right now, I like the way I look. By the time you hit 50, I reckon you've earned your wrinkles, so why not be proud of them? I'd far rather look like Katherine Hepburn when I'm 80 or Judi Dench now - she's beautiful. But I think that we're better at growing older gracefully here in Europe. I'm afraid it's youth-obsessed Hollywood that ruins people by turning them into surgery junkies.
I've always been fanatical about skincare, though. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise! Especially if you have dry skin - and it seems that in this country 80% of women do. I've always had very dry skin and get flaky legs if I'm not careful, which is why I've added a body lotion to my own Twiggy Skincare For Body And Mind Collection. What I wanted for the range were excellent moisturisers and aromatherapy benefits everyone would enjoy using. I discovered the soothing powers of aromatherapy when I was in the Broadway musical My One And Only and having anti-stress massages every other day. I swear it was those oils that kept me going. I also think it's important to use ingredients that won't irritate - I patch-tested all the formulas on my own back because I'm completely against animal testing.
What else can't I
do without? Highlights are a girl's best friend - Mandy does mine at
Michaeljohn, where Fred cuts and keeps my hair in shape. My big indulgence is
twice-monthly manicures. I don't have the world's strongest nails, but my nail
technician, Anna Costas, does the most natural-looking wraps I've ever seen.
Sleep isn't a luxury, it's a must, and I have to have my eight hours. I'm not
fanatical about exercise, but Pilates helps keep me toned and flexible. I
learned to tap dance for my role in The Boyfriend and I've kept it up
ever since. It's great mind/body workout that requires balance, rhythm,
concentration and memory. Most of all, it's huge fun!
I'm passionate about good food too. The older you get, the more vital it becomes if you want to stay in shape. I've never thought diets work, but changing the way you eat has enormous benefits. Once you start eating healthily you begin to feel so much better and the food actually tastes more delicious. I try to eat organic when I can get it and I always buy organic chicken because I'm opposed to battery farming. Even if you don't care about animals - which I do - think about your body: do you really want those chemicals in there?
A while ago I gave up wheat and I've also cut down on dairy products, and I do feel better. I love stir-fries because they're light and easy. If you've got some seafood or chicken breasts in the fridge and some fresh veg and noodles, you just chop it all up and throw it in the wok with very little oil, soy sauce and a bit of chilli and you've got a delicious dinner in 10 minutes. I love making up recipes and cooking for people. Friends say I should d a cook book and call it Twiggy Eats! because no one believes I do. Remember those car stickers from the Sixties: 'Forget Oxfam, feed Twiggy'? The irony is I've always loved my food, including wicked things like sticky toffee pudding and buns, although I gave them up years ago. Occasionally, when my husband Leigh and I eat out, I might cheat and have chips and a pud but the next day I feel terrible. It's like my body's saying no to all that stodge.
For me, the reward for eating well is to have the health and energy to enjoy my family. Relationships have always been top priority and having my daughter Carly at 29 was a major turning point. Suddenly there was this little creature I was determined would be happy and healthy. I was also damned sure I wasn't going to be one of those celebrities you read about who regret missing their children growing up. When Carly was little, she was always with me. This summer when I went to New York to appear in Noel Coward's play Blithe Spirit I still felt a bit guilty about leaving her even though she's now a gorgeous independent 23 year-old woman.
It's so important to instill confidence into your children. Even though I became famous, deep inside - you know, in that small place, no one else knows about - I was terribly insecure all through my teens. Oh, I'd had a happy, loving upbringing but I hated what I looked like because I was so weird - I had skinny legs and was as flat as a pancake. When I was still at school, I used to stuff my bra with tissue paper because I desperately wanted to be curvy like Brenda Lee. Little did I know what fate had in store.
That was why it was so unfair that I got blamed for encouraging anorexia in the Sixties and Seventies. And, yes, I was bruised by it because I didn't feel it was my fault. Magazines that choose only skinniest models are very irresponsible. If teenagers aren't naturally thin like I was, the pressure on them is dangerous. But there again, whether they're fat, thin, tall or short, girl's are never happy with their looks. The luxury of getting older is the confidence it brings - the realisation that we can control out lives. There's no need to put up with the things you dislike. But it takes time. Some people do it earlier that others and I was a late developer.
My best asset now? My optimism. It's vital to look on the bright side even if your plans don't always work out. If you're an optimist, you can often make things happen. Pessimism shuts people off - you'll find they're patient and sympathetic only for so long. We can't sit and plan our lives, so it's better to be fatalistic. Above all, be passionate about what you do, then you'll always feel fulfilled.
I think I'm tremendously lucky. I've spent my life doing things I absolutely love, I have a great relationship with my husband and we both adore our kids. For me, thing most worth working at is happiness. And I've never felt happier in my life.
Text: Twiggy Lawson with Vicci Bentley - Photographs: Brian Aris
Twiggy's fee for appearing in Good Housekeeping has been graciously donated to The Halcyon Haven Animal Sanctuary
© Good Housekeeping
