Justine Bateman literally wrote the book on aging faces and now the actor, writer, director is sharing more of her wisdom. In a segment for 60 Minutes Australia, Bateman and model Paulina Porizkova opened up about their decision to age naturally without cosmetic surgery or injections. Explaining her thoughts on the matter, the Family Ties star shared that she’s happy with how she looks and enjoys seeing in her face experience and the passing of time. She also explained that she feels sorry for people who do feel that they have to spend their time, energy, and money on “anti-aging” or preventative procedures. Read on to hear more of Bateman’s response to her critics and why she thinks her untouched face looks “rad.”
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Bateman came to fame as a teenager in the 1980s thanks to her role as Mallory on Family Ties. Because of this, fans of the show are used to her looking like she did when she was younger, which explains an experience she had when she looked herself up online.
“I needed to google something to do a little research and remind myself of something that happened when I was famous,” Bateman told 60 Minutes Australia. “So I put in my name, googled my name, ‘Justine Bateman,’ and then the autocomplete came up which was ‘looks old.’ And I was only 42 at the time—40, 42. And I was like, ‘What?'” She added with a laugh, “And I looked at the pictures that they had as evidence and I couldn’t see what they were talking about.”
Bateman explained in the interview that, of course, she could get injections or have surgery if she wanted to, but that she’s decided against it. She likes how she looks and for good reason.
“I feel like I would erase not only all my authority that I have now, but also I like feeling that I am a different person now than I was when I was 20. I like looking in the mirror and seeing that evidence,” the 57-year-old said.
“Is there beauty in aging?,” 60 Minutes Australia asked her.
The Violet director responded, “Well, when you say, ‘Is there beauty in aging?’ Aren’t you really saying, ‘Do you think it’s possible for other people to find aging beautiful?’ And, like, I just don’t give a [expletive]. I think I look rad. I think my face represents who I am. I like it.”
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Speaking about younger women who use Botox and other procedures preventatively, Bateman said, “I feel sad for them. I feel sad that they’re not just enjoying life. I feel sad that they are distracted from the things that they’re meant to do in life with this consuming idea that they’ve got to fix their face before anything else can happen.”
Bateman shared a piece of overall advice. “I’m saying, forget about your face,” she said. “That’s what I’m saying. Get at the fear that is making you think that the fact that your face being wrinkled is going to X-out a bunch of opportunities for you.”
Bateman’s book on the reality of aging, Face: One Square Foot of Skin, hit shelves in 2021. It’s a collection of short stories about aging from a variety of women’s perspectives.
Speaking about the book with Glamour, Bateman said that if she was overly focused on her appearance in a negative way, it would prevent her from enjoying her successes.
“I think things are going to come my way whether my face is wrinkled or my skin is loose on my neck and under my eyes, or not. Am I going to enjoy it or not enjoy it?” she said. “Because right now I have a book coming out and I have a film that just premiered at a big film festival. If I was fixated on the fact that my face looks like it’s 55, I would be completely screwing myself out of enjoying this moment in my life. It’s happening whether I’m happy with the way my face looks or not. So what’s my attitude going to be? Am I going to spend time obsessing on the fact that my face is naturally aging? It’s ridiculous. No. I’m going to have a good [expletive] time!”