An actress who is embracing ageing? It's about time

Julia Roberts, Winona Ryder, Demi Moore and Kirstie Alley looked like true movie stars, but they also just looked like normal women, free from facelifts at 40, routine lip filler, and Botox that irons out every bit of life from your face.

Follow the cosmetic trends in Hollywood, and you too can look like a shadow of your former self, and every other actress on the red carpet.

Fast forward to this year's Golden Globes, and it felt like so many stars blurred into one. The character stripped from their face, along with their hooded eyes, the slightest wrinkles and laughter lines. A blepharoplasty is now becoming as common as a facial, and Hollywood has accepted that this is completely normal. It sends a concerning message to the public about ageing and about beauty. It strips away character, life and history from your face, and where's the beauty in that?

Thankfully, not every celebrity has fallen for the false claims that ageing is something we should be ashamed of, something we should amend immediately, something we shouldn't let happen.

Emilia Clarke recently opened up about the pressure Hollywood stars face when it comes to ageing. We can't imagine the eyes of the world on you, dissecting every supposed flaw, and knocking you down at any given opportunity. However, Emilia Clarke is ignoring the noise and the pressure and is embracing ageing and isn't hiding her natural face.

In an interview with Elle, the actress opened up about the pressure to always look youthful, something she's dealt with from the beginning of her career.

She told the publication:

"I once had a facialist who told me I needed fillers, and I showed her the door. I was literally just like, "get out". Her exact words were, "Then, you can have your face back." At that point, I was 28."

"You've got this idea of ageing, and then you've got the idea of what ageing makes you look like. I am wiser, more intelligent, I've had more experiences, I've done all this stuff, and I'm proud of that.

"If my face is gonna reflect the time that I've spent on this earth, I'm down for that."

She continued, "You can only do that because you are the age you are. Time is the only thing that allows you to do those things. So, if my face is gonna reflect the time that I've spent on this earth, I'm down for that."

The Me Before You actress said her mother has never had any cosmetic work done and she thinks she's beautiful, just as she is.

"I look to women and actors who are older than me who are f*cking beautiful, and I think what your skin does as you age is elegant. I can imagine them all saying, "Ssh, you do not get to talk about this yet", but I've got lines on my forehead."

We need more celebrities to echo the words of Emilia Clarke, and ensure women know there's no shame in ageing. Your face isn't something that should be frozen in time as you age.

We need this level of honesty, this strength to shut down the pressure to look young forever, and this attitude that ageing is actually an honour, and something we should celebrate, not fear.