Linda Gray is one of the most beautiful and absolutely ageless women on the planet. Just don't tell her that she's gorgeous and all sorts of other adjectives that go with stellar beauty.
The star of "Dallas," returning tonight on TNT at 9 EST, laughs when I tell her that we need her beauty secrets.
"Bless you. It's early in the morning. I needed that compliment and I love that question," says Linda, calling in from the set. Yes, she's actually talking to us from the famed Southfork Ranch during a break in fueding, or should we say filming?
"Honest to God, I never know what to say when people ask for my beauty secrets," she says.
"I just do all the things that you're supposed to do when it comes to diet and exercise," says Gray who is actually 72-years-young.
"Here is my real beauty secret," she says. "It's work."
"I don't think beauty is about the outside. It's about the inside," she says. "I know that sounds really woo-woo, but it's true."
"I didn't feel really beautiful until I got out of my own way, which meant getting out of my own head," she says.
HOME BEAUTY TIPS: PLAYING SEXY "DALLAS" SIREN SUE ELLEN
Yee-ha! Gray returns tonight as sexy midlifer Sue Ellen Ewing. She has long ago divorced JR and now the character is an accomplished businesswoman who is running for Governor of Texas.
Looking sleek and sexy in those to-die-for business suits is part of the role.
"Honestly, work is the best anti-aging beauty secret. If you sit around doing nothing and don't move your body and challenge your mind then it will show," she says.
"In the profession of acting," she begins, "we work really long, crazy hours. Yesterday, we had a 14 hour day, which his a lot of work, but it felt so good."
"Being so active is what keeps me young," she says.
Of course, she has a few other tips.
"When you work those long hours, you think, 'Oh shoot, I didn't go to the gym today and I try to make it to the gym several times a week. I also like to just get out there and walk as much as possible," Gray says.
"The thing is I don't beat myself up if I miss a day. You need to give yourself a break and have a sense of humor about life," she advises. "Just make sure the next day to go back to your fitness goals."
She says that often there aren't enough hours in the day.
"I was at work yesterday before the sun came up," she says. "Some people might think that's exhausting, but I think it's exhilarating."
FITNESS TIPS: MAKING SURE TO EAT RIGHT
Gray says that she has a secret weapon when it comes to eating right despite the fact that she's on a TV set where doughnuts and cookies lurk at every corner.
"I bring my little Magic Bullet mixer to work and my own food. I don't eat Craft Services," she says. "I don't eat anything that I don't bring, which is good advice for anyone in a job where food is all around you. Bring you own stuff and make a rule that you won't eat the other food."
She's also a fan of healthy shakes.
"You can make delicious shakes with fruit and almond milk," she says. "If you make your own shakes then you have something sweet and healthy. You're not as tempted when the tray of chocolate chip snacks goes by you.
"I'll say, 'No, not going to do it! Not going there!'" she says with a laugh.
