‘I really feel like I’ve come into my time right now’
As Jane Seymour returns as a TV sleuth, she opens up about feeling good whatever your age, finding romance with an old pal and why to some fans she’ll always be ‘The Tit Lady’
They say life begins at 40 but with Jane Seymour, it seems like the older you get, the more fun you have. The actress became the oldest model to pose for Playboy when she made her third appearance in the magazine four years ago, at 67, to inspire women of a certain age who may have lost their sparkle. Now 71, she says she found it very liberating, telling us she felt like she could help women who might have “given up”.
Jane, mum to Katherine, 40, Sean, 36, and twins John and Kristopher, 26, found fame in 1969 in the hit film Oh! What A Lovely War, directed by Richard Attenborough – through whom she met first husband Michael Attenborough, marrying him in 1971.
In 1973, she played Bond Girl Solitaire opposite Roger Moore’s 007 in Live And Let Die, then landed award-winning roles in other films and TV series.
She also showed off her comedy skills in 2005 film Wedding Crashers, playing a politician’s wife with the hots for Owen Wilson’s lothario character John. Fans delighted in seeing her character Kathleen – or Kitty Cat – try to seduce John with her new breasts and it’s a role that changed everything for Jane. “I saw Owen a few days ago,” the star tells us from her Malibu home. “I said, ‘Owen, you know what? Since that movie, it doesn’t matter what career I ever had before, or since. I am now The Tit Lady!’”
Despite four divorces, she’s never given up on love. Her old friend, producer David Green, 72, became her partner eight years ago. But while she’s clearly very happy, Jane doesn’t want him to put a ring on it and become husband number five.
She’s living life on her terms, so it’s no wonder the star leapt at the chance to play a devil-may-care amateur detective in her new TV drama Harry Wild. Here, she tells us more...
Hi, Jane! So, we have to ask about your third time posing for aged 67...
Playboy,
I just thought, “What? Why would they want a woman in her mid to late sixties to do Playboy?”
I was never going to be naked, but they were going to be celebrating being a woman at my age. And I just thought, ‘well, you know, that might be inspirational to some women who kind of give up.’
Do you feel like a lot of women do “give up”?
I’ve heard it all my life. People have said, “When I had my first child, my husband told me I had to cut my hair off.” Like, really?
And then I meet women who say, “I never cut my hair. Even though I have four children. I told my husband until Jane Seymour cuts her hair, I’m not cutting mine.” And then I point out the only reason I didn’t cut my hair is I had it cut once and I wanted it to flip – but it flops!
You’ve always inspired women to flaunt what they have – look at Wedding Crashers!
Well, Wedding Crashers literally changed everything. People suddenly said, “Oh, my God!” and then they kept scrolling to see if they could see me naked, but I never was actually naked. Ever. And it’s so funny on planes, I could see guys going back and forth, back and forth, thinking “She must be naked somewhere.”
It’s hard to believe you are 71 as you’re in such great shape. Do you live by a strict diet?
Not strict but I just had my green juice from the garden, I grow all my organic vegetables there. I like Mediterranean-type foods, I eat fresh vegetables and fruit. And I tend not to eat meat, though I eat fish or sometimes some chicken. And I don’t drink too much, ever. I mean, I don’t have an issue with it. So a glass of wine or two at the end of the day, depending on whether
I’ve got to work the next day.
What about exercise?
I have a gym at the house, which is easy to get to. I rarely go in it! What I tend to do is ballet exercises. I’ll put my leg up on the kitchen counter and stretch. I never smoke and I don’t even like medications. Even when I’ve had major surgery and they give me codeine, I can’t wait to not take it.
Being happy no doubt helps and you are in a relationship with British film director and producer David Green, aren’t you?
Yes. We met when he was a young director at the BBC. They wanted to make a movie about Mata Hari and they sent him to America because they said, “Jane Seymour counts as an American so we can get funding if you can get her to play Mata Hari.”
I met him and loved his movies. And I said yes. Then they never made the film, it fell through.
But it took a long time for you to get together...
We have mutual best friends. So we’d kind of met socially a bit but we’d never gone out. He was married for 24 years. And so was I. And we had the same number of children. Then his wife parted with him. And I found myself single and we found ourselves sitting on my balcony with our mutual friend realising we were both single and probably dating the wrong people.
Do you think you’ll get married?
I don’t feel any need to. I know he’d marry me but I just said, “Why? You really want the number five next to your name? I’m not going to do that to you!”
You have a civilised relationship with your exes. Did it take a while to develop that mindset?
Yes. And it was really hard. But my mother’s advice was always to accept things. Because until you can accept, you can’t move forward. And so I
accepted that was their best at that
‘I know he’d marry me but I said, “You really want the number five next to your name?”’
time. And definitely mistakes were made. I know I didn’t do anything wrong. So I don’t feel any shame on my part. I feel sad that the family is broken up. But the other side of it is the kids and I, we can all get together. Both fathers of the children can be in the same place at the same time. We just had a wedding and that happened. We were all together. Even the new lady. It ain’t easy. I don’t know who said it was.
You get a lot of joy out of being a grandmother...
Yes, they do love coming to see Oma [their nickname for Jane] and I took them to Thailand for a couple of weeks not long ago, and they just could not believe how amazing that was. They all do very well at school, they’re readers – especially Willa who’s just turned nine. I mean, at seven she’d read all the Harry Potter books, the entire series, three or four times. They’re smart kids and they’re kept away from computers and things, they have very little screen time. They love to paint with me. They love to raid my closet for jewellery and clothes and make-up. We dance together and they help me with things too. They’re a lot of fun.
How do you spend your time when not working?
I hang out in the Jacuzzi, or take a walk on the beach. I like to go into nature wherever I am. Occasionally
I’ll golf, but it’s so occasional I gave up my golf membership. And on the weekend, I watch movies. I catch up, binge-watch.
But you stay very busy. As well as acting, you’ve written books, done charity work, designed scarves and jewellery…
Yes, I love designing – that’s a very big part of my life, too. I’ve got some amazing projects right now. I think I’m getting to do my best work. And by some miracle, I am actually being offered really good material that is age appropriate. Everything from comedy to drama to love stories. So, yeah, it’s really fun. And I really feel like I’ve come into my time right now.
And now you’re back on the telly playing a fearless amateur sleuth in Harry Wild...
Yes! I thoroughly enjoyed being Harry. I think a little Harry has rubbed off on me. And a bit of me rubbed off on Harry. I’m hoping people love it as much as I do, because I think it’s brilliantly written. And it’s fun, it’s comedic and it’s empathetic. You care about all the people. It’s the kind of material I want to watch.
Do you think it will encourage older women to be more adventurous with their life choices?
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think that’s going to be a thing: Are you a Harry Wild? Is there a Harry Wild in you? Would you – given half a chance – do what she does? She is so much fun to play!