Kristin Davis: Ageing in the public eye is extremely stressful & difficult
Culturally, how we discuss women and women’s appearances has changed a lot over the past decade. As a society, we’re more conscious of trying not to knee-jerk and be flat-out rude, or sexist and ageist. But I’m still of the mind that it’s okay to NOTICE when someone has had noticeable work done on their face. So it is with actresses complaining about “unsolicited comments” about their plastic surgery and cosmetic work. I understand that many of the comments are rude as hell and yes, it’s not my business. But I’ll defend my right to say “wow, her face isn’t moving at all” or “wow, she looks unrecognizable.” I bring this up because Kristin Davis has returned to one of her favorite subjects: how it’s extremely stressful to deal with ageing, especially in the public eye.
On how fans are commenting about her looks: “It can be extremely stressful to be aging and to be compared to your much, much, much younger self,” the “And Just Like That” actress, 56, told NewBeauty of the chatter surrounding her and her co-stars’ appearances. “If I was from a regular life, I would feel fine; I would feel great! I’m healthy, I’m strong, I’ve got this little 3-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 analyzed. That part was always very stressful and difficult for me, because, as much as I can look back on my life and think, ‘Oh, I looked great then,’ you never think that at the time. I guess no one does.”
How she feels seeing the ‘bad photos’ of herself on set: “I have bad days; I have days where I literally want to put my face in a bowl of ice like Joan Crawford,” the star quipped, adding that paparazzi are constantly angling for unflattering shots of the trio during long days on set. “There’s going to be bad pictures, and they’re going to talk about them, and they’re going to discuss your hair, your face, your this and your that and that’s just how it is I guess … at least in this industry.”
Women, whether famous not, have long been held to impossible beauty standards. “I like to think there’s more to life than how we look, but it’s unavoidable in our culture that, as you age — especially as a woman — that how you look is a lot. It’s a whole, bigger cultural conversation we need to have, but, right now, it’s hard.”
I couldn’t deal with that kind of attention, which is why I’ve never sought that kind of life! I’m not blaming her though, and I definitely feel for actresses and models who have to deal with this kind of daily focus and criticism of their appearance, especially as they get older. All that being said, I still feel like the so much of the conversation around Kristin in particular was not “oh no, she looks so old!” It was “oh God, she overdid the fillers.” Which is… kind of a different conversation.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red and HBO Max.
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