IwasaBond girlat22and asked to do Playboy at 67. I think I look betternow.I am definitely happier now – Actress Jane Seymour
Hollywood star on her small-screen comeback and why, as she approaches 70, she has never been more content
It was the third time she had posed for Playboy but, at 67, Jane Seymour says she had never been happier or more comfortable.
And, being an older model, she hopes taking the plunge will inspire other 60-somethings to find a new confidence.
“It was very liberating actually,” Jane said. “It’s nice to show a woman like me embracing her femininity and sensuality.
“I thought it might be something that might make people the same age as me or approaching my age think. ‘You know what, it’s not over yet’.
Almost half a century after she shot to fame alongside Roger Moore as a Bond girl in Live and Let Die, Jane’s acting career has also been rejuvenated.
With new movie Friendsgiving due out this year, a second series of Golden Globe-winning The Kominsky Method on the cards for Netflix and a possible return of ’90s favourite Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman awaiting the green light, the London-born star is busier than ever.
“The really great older roles often go to the usual suspects, like Helen Mirren, but I feel very fortunate,” she told Platinum magazine. “A lot of my contemporaries quit 20 years ago, but I’m still busy. The difference is that I don’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring.”
It’s this infectious energy that has ensured the Emmy award-winning actress continues to be offered eye-catching film and TV roles, even as the mum of six and grandmother of another half a dozen prepares to celebrate her 69th birthday next month.
Just like her career, the superstar’s looks have stood the test of time, too. And her secret? Don’t let your age stop you from doing anything.
“I’m very accepting of who I am,” said Jane. “I don’t feel old because I like being part of the present tense rather than giving up and thinking, ‘Oh I just don’t know what’s going on these days! Oh, these young people!’
“That’s not me. Plus I’m very healthy and I have an amazing amount of energy.”
Jane, who tried Botox once before vowing never again, says there’s no hard work involved in staying in shape. In fact, it’s the simple things that keep her looking – and feeling – young.
“I try to do some fast walking every day. I’m in Malibu and there’s a beach to walk on, so there’s no excuse,” she said. “When I’m in London, I march around in a warm coat and that’s lovely too because there’s so much to look at.”
The Wedding Crashers star admits to spending hours in the gym, doing pilates, gyrotonics and light weights.
But beauty-wise, she’s “pretty low maintenance – except for getting my hair coloured every three to four weeks”,
“People say women shouldn’t have long hair over a certain age, but I’ve never done what everyone says,” she confessed.
While she’s proud of her ageless looks, Jane admits they did almost prevent her getting the part as Alan Arkin’s love interest in The Kominsky Method, a comedy also starring Michael Douglas.
“The director wondered whether I could be a credible ex-girlfriend of his from 50 years ago,” said Jane. “I jokingly said, ‘Put a grey wig on me, it’ll be fine because I have none of that Botox stuff and my face moves’. I looked so convincing that Michael – whom I’ve been friends with for many years – didn’t even recognise me at the read through!”
It’s this can-do attitude that catapulted her from her roots in Wimbledon to the bright lights of Hollywood, where she’s not only a successful actress, but also a respected artist, sculptor and interior designer.
Jane, who only turned to acting after an injury scuppered her ballet training, started painting when she was 15 and took it up as a hobby again 25 years ago during a period of personal challenge. It’s a pastime that
has stuck with her, and she can often be found whittling the time away sketching on movie sets and while travelling, or painting watercolours in the studio at her Californian mansion.
Her pieces have been exhibited in galleries across the globe, and she has turned her talent into a business venture, accepting private commissions, as well as building her brand with a whole host of products, from clothes, jewellery and perfume to books and homeware. Jane also somehow squeezes in the time to support charities through the Open Hearts Foundation, which she founded to honour her mother Mieke, a Dutch nurse who spent three-and-a-half years during the Second World War in a Japanese prisoner of war camp caring for other captives.
With so many commitments, it’s a wonder Jane still manages to find any room in the diary to relax with producer and director David Green, her partner of six years.
The actress, made an OBE 20 years ago, couldn’t be happier but after four marriages – and four divorces – it’s safe to say wedding bells aren’t on the cards any time soon, if ever.
“There’s no reason to,” she said. “We’re not having children and we’re of a certain age where he takes care of his life and his children, and I take care of my life and my children, and we get to enjoy life together too. Why have a contract?”
It’s a good point well made, and, with no plans to retire any time soon, it’s fair to say contracts of a different type will continue to roll in at a steady pace for the acting legend.
Jane is also part of the #MeToo movement, revealing she once thought about turning her back on her career after being sexually harassed by a producer.
“I was upset and quit acting for a year,” she said. “Then I realised that was even more stupid. Why would I quit something I love because of one person?”
These days, however, she’s determined – and nothing will stand in her way.
“I have no reason to retire,” she said. “I spend lots of quality time with the people I love, and still have time for my creative pursuits and charity.
“It’s a great problem to have, being busy. I’m constantly involved in something and that’s the way I like it.”