From her big break at age 22 as James Bond girl Solitaire in Live and Let Die to her latest role, in the Netflix Original The Kominsky Method, Jane Seymour has always enjoyed her life.
And quite a life it has been! The British beauty has graced our TV screens, movie screens, and Broadway stages for decades. Along the way she has won multiple Golden Globes and Emmys, and in 2000 received one of the most prestigious titles in her homeland when Queen Elizabeth II anointed her an Officer of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace.
We got comfy with Seymour, whose sweetness is apparent in everything she does.
Fond Bond Beginnings
Seymour was enjoying a successful run in the British series The Onedin Line when she was offered the Bond girl role, calling it a unique experience she’ll never forget, with a memorable initial meeting. “I was told on the spot when I met with co-producers Harry [Saltzman] and Cubby [Albert Broccoli] — without an audition — that they wanted me to play the role.” She was so excited she accidentally backed her marine blue Volkswagen Beatle into Saltzman’s Rolls-Royce. Since then, from Solitaire through six seasons of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman to staring in the upcoming movie Friendsgiving, released this year — Seymour’s philosophy on aging hasn’t wavered.
“I’ve always managed to play 10 years younger than I really am,” she says, “but now I’m excited by the option of playing my own age or even older. I see no reason to try to be 20 or 30 years younger than I really am. I’m 68, but it’s just a number. If you’re healthy and if you feel good about yourself and your life, and if you are creative and have a great family, then inside you are whatever age you choose to be.”
Jane Seymour’s Natural Approach to Aging
Last year, Seymour told Playboy that she’d never had plastic surgery or used injectables in her face. Her seemingly ageless face caused us to doubt that claim, and so we asked.
“First, I did have my eyes done when I turned 40; I had bags under my eyes. And I tried a Botox injection once and decided it wasn’t for me, because I wanted my face to move as an actress and that was important to me. I probably should try all these lasers and needles, but I never have, and I quite like the idea of being someone who can show what being natural looks like.”
Instead, Seymour says she emphasizes skin care, hydration, and nutrition. “I believe in exfoliating and cleansing really well on a consistent basis, and using good skin care products to protect and soften and give my skin a glow,” she says. “I’m religious about cleaning my skin before I sleep at night, including [removing] my eye makeup.” Her top tip for makeup removal? “A weakened solution of baby shampoo on a Q-tip.”
Seymour confesses that she does use a Celluma light therapy device, which is something plastic surgeons use postsurgery. What about in-office skin care treatments, such as laser treatments or microneedling to freshen mature skin? “I probably should,” she ponders. “I haven’t tried any yet, as I haven’t felt the need to. But maybe one day I will try those. I’ve nothing against it.”
Seymour recently became the face of Crepe Erase, a beauty line designed to help with crepey skin that includes an exfoliator and a moisturizer.
Jane Seymour’s No-Dieting Nutrition
Slender and petite at 5 feet 3 inches, Seymour loves food, and isn’t a fan of dieting. “Whenever I have, it never worked. It would for a very limited amount of time and then I’d go crazy the other way. I love, love, love food, but my relationship with food is a very good one,” she says. “I’ve never been particularly interested in cakes or sweets. My downfalls are pistachios and guacamole. But since both of those are very healthy, it’s not a real problem.” Seymour also loves raspberries. “I could eat pallets of those. I also like shrimp and love fresh, raw vegetables of any kind. I’ve learned to eat food that I like that is good for me.”
She’s not into hardcore fitness, either. “I hate running and hate boot camp things,” she says. Instead, Seymour takes private Pilates and Gyrotonics classes, works out very slowly with weights, uses a stationary bicycle, and goes on walks. “I don’t manage to do it every day, but I try to at least three or four times a week,” she says.
>READ: 4 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WALK MORE PRODUCTIVE
A Meaningful Mindset
While Seymour says she tries to meditate when she can find time, what centers her most is being with her grandchildren, walking on the beach or walking in nature, and being creative. “Painting is very healing for me, when I can just quietly get on with it.”
Seymour’s attitude toward aging could also be described as just quietly getting on with it.
“I think it’s all a mindset really. I think you are only as old as you decide to feel. My mother was 92 when she passed with many ailments, but she never complained once and was the life and soul of any party that she had the chance to be at. She also gave back and helped other people all the time. Her heart was open, she knew that other people suffered from all kinds of difficulties, and she was a good listener. I am just hoping to emulate her.”
>READ: INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN IN THEIR PRIME: KATHY SMITH, FITNESS TITAN
Photo: Courtesy of Jane Seymour
