JANE SEYMOUR
THE ACTRESS AND GRANDMA (CALL HER OMA!) OPENS UP ABOUT HER SECRET TO AGING GRACEFULLY
The 67-year-old Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman actress dishes on her secrets to aging gracefully.
Even at age 67, Jane Seymour has so much energy that she’s likely to tire out her grandchildren. “The other day, I had the 2-year-old. She wanted to go to bed early, so I put her down with her bottle and she said, ‘Get out,’” the actress told Closer with a laugh at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards in Beverly Hills on Feb. 5. “I said, ‘Get out? No rocking to sleep or anything? OK, see you!’ And she slept for 12 hours!”
The former Bond girl is proud — and thankful — that she hasn’t slowed down at all through the years. “I feel like I’m 40! I’m really healthy, knock wood,” Jane enthuses. “I think I’m staying so young because I have these grandchildren that keep being given to me, like, ‘Mom, can you take them?’ And I’m happy to!” Another thing keeping her on her toes these days is her new starring role in Pop TV’s Let’s Get Physical, a 1980s-inspired sitcom set at a family-run aerobics studio. “It’s hilarious,” she says of the opportunity to flex her funny bone. “It’s extremely well written and it’s really amusing to do.”
Mining the comedy gold of the decadesold fitness trend was an instantly attractive gig for Jane, who remembers the days of headbands and leg warmers well. “No one’s really done anything about the craziness of the workout world, and people are still doing aerobics, believe me,” she insists. “I used to! I’m actually on the cover of Jane Fonda’s pregnancy workout book from 35 years ago. There I am, in a big red-and-white striped leotard, looking very fat!”
Jane’s figure clearly bounced back after the births of children Katherine and Sean Flynn, in 1982 and 1985, respectively, as well as twins Kristopher and John Keach in 1995. At 62, she posed in a hot-pink twopiece swimsuit for an eye-catching cover of Closer that had everybody talking — even national news outlets! “I thought it was funny, especially when it was discussed for three days on CNN,” she recalls. “To listen to experts discuss my photographs, I was, like, really? Is there nothing else happening in world news?”
As her Feb. 15 birthday approached, “I thought, I’m going to get back into that bikini,” the grandmother of six reveals, adding that her favorite way to celebrate is with close friends and loved ones. “Most of my friends have children and grandchildren, too, and my idea of fun is to have family together,” notes the actress, who has been happily dating director David Green, 69, for four years.
WESTERN REUNION
One former co-star Jane always loves spending time with is Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’s Joe Lando, who played Michaela Quinn’s love interest, Byron Sully. “We
“I’m really happy in my skin. I’m energized
by life!”
— Jane
always got along really well,” Jane raves of her pal, who often shows up alongside her in fun pics she posts on her social media sites. “Since the show ended, we had time to really get closer, and he’s got great kids. Our families sort of grew up together. I’d say he’s my best friend.”
The two, she adds, would be game for saddling up again for a Dr. Quinn reboot. “We’d love it, but unfortunately [producers] never want to do it. I don’t know why — they’re rebooting everything but [our show],” she quips. Fans of the beloved period drama have been vocal about their hopes for new adventures in the Wild West, though, so if they have any influence over the powers that be, Jane seems ready to don her cowgirl hat and gallop back into prime time. “[CBS head] Leslie Moonves knows I’m still around,” she teases, “and he knows I could still ride a horse!”