At 46, actress, director, producer, and businesswoman Jennifer Aniston has proven that some things really do get better with age. This year alone she married to her long-time fiance, Justin Theroux, is rumored to be adopting a baby, has starred in two diversely different movies (Cake, and She’s Funny That Way), and is currently filming a third, Mother’s Day, with an ensemble cast that includes Kate Hudson and Julia Roberts.
Jennifer Aniston says ‘Embrace The Age You Are’
Embrace the age you are, says Aniston. “I’ve had more fun post-40 than I can remember – from a work point of view, a physical point of view, a psychotherapeutic point of view.” Aniston believes this fifth decade is exceptional, due to her maturing as a woman and as a person.
This is evident in her dramatic role in the movie Cake. She plays Claire Simmons, a woman who suffers from chronic pain and becomes obsessed with the suicide of one of the women in her support group. For the role, Aniston put on weight and went make-up-free. At the screening of the movie, she said she had welcomed the chance to do something different. “I’d never been asked to do a part like this. I’m coming into a time in my life where I felt really ready to get challenged and see where I could go. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I want this opportunity for myself creatively because you get very stuck, and you can get stereotyped.”
She believes that the lives we live, the experiences we have in our youth, both positive and negative, are important to form the person we are today. “The past wasn’t ‘less than’. It was extremely important to my growth as a woman.”
Let’s be honest, she has had her fair share of bad relationships, and living in the public eye means that the ugly side of breakups, usually kept between your ex, family, and friends are now plastered all over the tabloids and one click away on the Internet. And while it has taken her time to get to where she is today, she reveals that you shouldn’t see asking for help as a sign of weakness.
As she told Glamour: “Go to therapy. Clean up all the toxins and the noise. Understand who you are. Educate yourself on the self.” Because it’s when you truly know and accept who you are, understanding your own limitations and acknowledging your strengths, that you can embrace the challenges that face you.”
Secret Wedding Ceremony with Justin Theroux
Which is what she did. And, after a long engagement, she and fiancé Justin Theroux recently married in a secret ceremony, where not even the guests knew what was going to happen. (They thought they had been invited to celebrate Theroux’s birthday.)
Her dream marriage, which involved her closest friends (Jimmy Kimmel was said to officiate), took place at the couple’s home – the details of which she still wants to keep close. “I’m not telling you about any of that stuff!” she told the media, informing Entertainment Tonight: “We had the beautiful luxury of having a beautiful, private moment. And I’m going to be selfish and keep it that way.” She did share that she married her best friend.
Aniston believes in a beauty regime, and has revealed that she and Theroux have “Sunday night facials”. She told People magazine: “We’ve had a Sunday night facial together. Many times. It’s very romantic. He’s good to his skin. He doesn’t do the derma roller, but he would if I showed it to him. I have to protect my product!”
In the past, she has said that he likes to borrow her skincare products to make himself look as good as possible. She shared with E! News: “It’s hysterical. What product doesn’t he try to hijack?” She adds: “He’s good to his skin, that’s for sure. It’s always, ‘what are you using, what is that?’ It’s cute.”
Jennifer Aniston on Aesthetic Treatments
Aniston doesn’t believe in using Botox and fillers. “There is this pressure in Hollywood to be ageless. I think what I have been witness to is women trying to stay ageless about what they are doing to themselves. I am grateful to learn from their mistakes because I am not injecting s*&% into my face… I see them and my heart breaks. I think ‘Oh god if you only know how much older you look.’ They are trying to stop the clock, and all you can see is an insecure person who won’t let themselves just age.”
Aniston believes in finding what works for you when it comes to aesthetics. “There are so many things that women can do today with technology, in terms of LED light therapy, good lasers that tighten the muscles, and massages for your face – and don’t forget great creams.” And of course, there are always good genes. “My dad is 100% Greek; he turned 81 and barely had a wrinkle. And neither did my grandmother, who was 95 when she died. But it’s also just water, drinking a lot of water, using really nice products for your face. Don’t over-produce, that’s the other thing.” And one of her best tips: “Getting proper sleep is always important.”
She told People magazine that over the summer she wears the least amount of make-up if any. “I use a great moisturizer… if anything, I put a little concealer here and there, a little rose on my cheeks, dusted with bronzer. That’s summertime.” She always warns against spending too much time in the sun. “The sun, I feel, is like my friend I’ve had to say goodbye to.” She adds: “I was terrible as a kid. It was baby oil [that she rubbed on her body]… I mean, we all did it.”
Jennifer Aniston on Exercise & Meditation for Success:
But her glow (and fantastic body) comes from inside. In an interview with Self magazine, she said: “My ultimate stress reliever is exercise. And meditation. I do that for 20 minutes every day.” She says this is the No 1 thing that has her looking better today than when she first starred as Rachel Green in Friends.
A few years back, she started doing transcendental meditation, which, she says, really changed her life. “Starting your day off with that and ending with that is pretty powerful. Twenty minutes, you just notice the difference. When I get lazy and don’t get it in, I can feel a difference. I will do it first thing when I wake up.”
She credits her body and love of exercise to her friend of over 20 years, celebrity trainer and yogi Mandy Ingber, who has inspired a love of yoga in her. “Yoga kind of helps you prepare for everything,” said Jennifer.
“Honestly, it’s like meditation. It just allows anything that is coming at you throughout the day to be kind of doable.”
Ingber has been quoted as saying that she and Jennifer combine cardio and toning exercises into their workouts. “We incorporate cardio and toners into the yoga sessions, much like I do in my Yogalosophy DVD. We meet up about three times a week, and our sessions are 60 to 90 minutes.” As Jennifer explains:
“Mixing it up is always fun, because that way you know you’re excited, and it’s muscle confusion. It keeps your body awake.” The key, firstly, is to listen to your body, and then find ways to fit exercise into your daily routine, wherever you may be. “I take eight-pound weights with me whenever I’m staying at a hotel … It’s always good to do arm exercises when you’re watching television or talking on the phone. I also love to stretch before I go to bed, and usually throw in a couple of sit-ups.”
And while she believes that there will be days when you simply can’t or don’t want to work out, sometimes all it takes is to push beyond that 10-minute mark to get past the “don’t want to” stage. As the endorphins start to flow, you feel great and keep going, she says. The important thing, she reiterates, is that you find the right exercise for you. If you don’t like it, you won’t do it. For Jennifer, the rush she gets from running and the centering she gets from yoga are the perfect combination to create balance in her life.
And most importantly, believe in yourself and surround yourself with others who believe in you as well. “When I was in my 20s, I wasn’t sure of myself. Now I can really stretch. I don’t have to stay in the box. At this point I can say to myself, ‘So what if I fall; so what?’ I’m going to get back up.”