Former Child Star Mariel Hemingway, 64, Opens Up About Aging and Shares Her Candid Thoughts on Wrinkles
Former Child Star Mariel Hemingway, 64, Opens Up About Aging and Shares Her Candid Thoughts on Wrinkles
Lexi LaneSat, March 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Mariel Hemingway in 2026, Mariel Hemingway on 1979.Credit: marielhemingway/Instagram; Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho/Getty -
Mariel Hemingway opened up about aging and shared her candid thoughts on wrinkles in a recent Instagram post
"Somewhere along the way we start to believe the mirror is telling us who we are," the actress said
Hemingway rose to fame at age 14 through her Golden Globe-nominated role in 1976's Lipstick
Mariel Hemingway has shared candid thoughts on getting older.
The actress — who rose to fame at age 14 through her Golden Globe-nominated role in 1976's Lipstick — opened up about aging and shared her candid thoughts on wrinkles in a Feb. 26 Instagram post.
Sharing a close-up selfie of herself, Hemingway, now 64, began the caption of her post, "I have been talking about aging lately. But today it is not aging. It is wrinkles."
"The lines around my mouth I swore I would never have. The soft crepe skin at my neck that seems to appear overnight. The mirror catching me in light I did not ask for. Some days I do not care. Other days it feels like a punishment," she continued. "I eat well. I move my body. I take care of myself. I do the things we are told will protect us. And still … time touches my face. There is a voice that whispers, Why this? Why me? Why now?"
Added Hemingway: "I know it is fashionable to say we earned our wrinkles. That this is graceful. That this is beautiful. And yes … part of me knows that is true. But another part feels something deeper. What I realized is this. The ache is not about the wrinkles. It is about identity. Somewhere along the way we start to believe the mirror is telling us who we are. That youth equals value. That smooth skin equals worth. That beauty equals belonging. And that is the lie."
According to the actress, she overcomes the stigma surrounding growing old, "Because there is a woman inside of me who has not aged one day.""She is calm. She is radiant. She is grounded. She is sovereign. She does not disappear because my skin changes. She was never my skin. She is my rhythm. My breath. My voice when I stop performing," Hemingway wrote. "Time changes the body. But it does not touch the throne. When I remember that, something softens.""I stop fighting the season. I stop punishing myself for nature. I stop confusing appearance with identity," she added. "This is not about pretending you love every wrinkle. It is about remembering you are not the wrinkle. It is not what you add. It is what you remove. Remove the belief that beauty is youth. Remove the fear that aging equals invisibility. Remove the story that your value lives in your face."Hemingway concluded her post, stating, "When there is nothing left to remove, the Queen remains.👑."
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Hemingway, who is the granddaughter of the late author Ernest Hemingway, started her acting career at age 14, playing Kathy McCormick in Lipstick.
She earned her second Golden Globe nod in 1993 for the TV series Civil Wars, and Hemingway starred in other films like 1982's Personal Best and 1983's Star 80, plus 1984's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace — which marked Christopher Reeve's final appearance as the superhero.
Mariel Hemingway at the premiere of 'Superman IV: The Quest for Peace' in 1987Credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty
In another Instagram post, Hemingway reacted to comments about her use of filters in several photos and videos.
"They said if I was speaking about aging, why was I using a filter," she wrote. "I felt that sting land in my chest. For a moment, I felt like a fraud. Like I had been caught doing something dishonest."
"And I had to sit with that. Not the filter. The feeling," continued Hemingway. "Why did it hurt so much? Because underneath it all, I am still learning how to love this changing face. I am still learning how to see beauty in softness. In sag. In time. There are days I embrace her fully. And there are days it feels hard. That is the truth."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
