She turned 49 just three days ago. Ask Elisabeth Shue what makes her ageless and she offers up a few surprises.
The "CSI" and "Chasing Mavericks" star says, "I'm just happy. If you focus on that then it's not about age. It's not about the numbers."
"People have a spirit that transcends their wrinkles," she says in a merry voice.
"Otherwise, what makes me look good on camera is the good lighting. You should see me in bad lighting," she says. "Bad lighting is hard on all of us. We all need a bounce board on us."
LOOKING GREAT AFTER 40: LESS IS MORE
Shue admits that turning 40 was a tough age.
"I had my freak out at 40. I got through it and then thought, 'How absurd I'm acting,'" she says.
"I think I'll do much better when I hit 50," she says.
She even has a beauty rule for all of us who lament those little things we see in the mirror in the morning.
"I get up each day and say, 'You will never look better than you do right now?'" she says. "Why beat yourself up right now when there is nothing you can do?"
"I'm starting to understand aging and beauty," she says. "The key is you don't have to look a certain way or look younger. You just have to look like you – and look good for your age.
"You don't have to look 20," she insists. "Just knowing that takes the pressure off."
She's not someone who does ten kajillion things to make her face look younger.
"I think the less you do for yourself, the better," he says. "The less you do for you face, the younger I think you will look and you'll feel better."
She says her biggest beauty secret is workout out.
"Sweating keeps you healthy inside and out," she says.
JOINING THE "CSI" CAST
"I love working on CSI," she says of her new role as Julie Finlay.
"What's good about it is that every episode is so different," she says. "You're filming a little hour movie in nine days, which is interesting.
"I also really enjoy working with Ted Danson. He's such a good actor and such a nice man," she says. "The rest of the cast is so strong and very committed," she says. "It's a nice atmosphere to be around."
She says the experience has been a great one.
"I'm really having fun and the schedule works with my family, " she says.
She says her character isn't a hard woman.
"She's not tough and mean. She's sometimes very inappropriate in the way she goes about things," she says. "She's a bit headstrong. And she likes to flirt a lot. She enjoys the energy of men."
She says TV is a great way for women to work.
"It does seem like the great roles are on TV, especially at a certain age. You can still find them on film, too," she says. "Once a year, I still want to find something on film."
CHASING MAVERICKS
In the upcoming Gerard Butler surfer movie "Chasing Mavericks," she plays a "supportive mom." With a twist.
"She has some drinking issues. She's not so great at being a mom," Shue says.
She has played a slew of moms lately. "If they're moms, I want them to be completely immature and uninterested in their kids somehow.
"I've never been attracted to being a good mom. There is no journey to take if you start out at point A and then go to point B.
"Life is all about the journey," she says.
