What's Angela Bassett Got to Do With Beauty: Plenty

What's age got to do with it? Absolutely nothing!

At 52-years-young, actress Angela Bassett says that she refuses to fret over the numbers.

"I'm fighting the good fight when it comes to aging," says the woman who had arms of steel or great guns before Michelle Obama picked up her first hand weight.

Bassett famously starred opposite Whitney in "Waiting to Exhale." She is also an Oscar nominee who played Tina Turner on the big screen in "What's Love Got to Do With It."

Her new movie is the family drama "Jumping the Broom" and she literally glows off the screen.

I beg her: Give us a few tips, hints, pointers – or we'll have to move into your master bathroom and observe.

 "I do believe in this idea of hope in a jar. I'm just hoping that there is something to what these jars promise," says Bassett during a trip to Chicago where on a freezing cold spring morning she sips tea in her hotel suite.

"What are my other beauty secrets?" whoops the wife of actor Courtney B. Vance and mother of five-year-old twins, Bronwyn and Slater.  "Honestly, I just try to keep smiling. A smile holds everything up.

"That and a couple of good facials a year do you good after 50," she advises.

WHAT'S FOOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Bassett, a vegetarian, says that one of her favorite vices is food.

"I do try to eat well and I do well about 75 percent of the time," she says. "I do love sweets. But I try to counter-act anything I do that's bad with something very good."

She's a big fan of raw restaurants.

"Even if you're not eating all raw foods, it's great to go out to lunch or dinner at one of those restaurants. You won't eat anything that's processed, so you won't feel so guilty about it."

"I promise that you won't gain weight eating raw," she says. "And I like to eat, so you can go for bigger portions."

Bassett says that she tries to make her diet interesting. "I like tasteful and passionate food. It has to be flavorful," she says. "You gotta eat. It's one of our greatest pleasures, but you've got to eat yourself well, which is why I'm also organic."

The health conscious Bassett also makes sure to avoid other hazards.

"I taped an article to our microwave with a note to my husband that read: "Honey, please stop microwaving food. I'm not sure if it's good for us.' I figure that we didn't grow up microwaving our meals. What is that doing to the cells in our bodies?"

WHAT'S GIVING GREAT FACE HAS TO DO WITH IT

Bassett has the kind of complexion that causes double and triple takes.

"I do facials and serums," she says. "I did a couple of treatment recently that were interesting."

"I did a facial thingy that gets those muscle jumping. Even better was an oxygen facial that really made me look refreshed," she says.

"I really think mostly you have to get away from the chemicals. I'm even avoiding shampoos filled with sodium laureates.

"Remember that your skin is the largest organ of your body," Bassett. "The less artificial ingredients and chemicals that I'm putting on and into those pores, the better."

WHAT'S EXERCISE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

"My goal with exercise is I try to do it more often than not," says Bassett who still has a killer, defined body and the right to bare arms. She says that with twins she can't live in the gym anymore.

She also tries to find more interesting ways to move and burn calories while combining two joys.

"Recently, I got a couple of my girlfriends together and we walked the Rose Bowl. It's maybe a three mile thing," she says.

She says the goal was that each of the women promised to be there at a certain time. No excuses.

"It's about showing up and accountability," she says. "You have to say, 'Everyone will meet at 8:15 a.m.' I know when I have a real plan then I'm there. If my friends are waiting that puts a pressure on me not to disappoint them."

She says to set high goals.

"We'll say, 'Let's do six miles today. We're here. Why not?' And we all end up doing it," she marvels. "This is one of the best cases – ever – of peer pressure!"

Bassett is also a tough taskmaster. "I'll be the one saying, 'Speed up, ladies. We're spending too much time chitchatting.' One of my friends will actually look at me, sigh and say, 'Oh, pray for her!'"

"It's about supporting each other. If I can't push myself hard then my girlfriend will push me," she says. "At the end of one of these sessions, I've never said, 'I wish I hadn't done that today.' It's mostly, 'What time are we on for tomorrow?'"

WHAT'S ATTITUDE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Bassett says having a happy and busy life makes her feel beautiful. She's raising five-year-old twins with her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance.

Having a boy and a girl helps her embrace the endless battle of the sexes.

"He's a real negotiator. He will say, ' We could do what I want to do before we go see grandma.' I'm like, 'No, we're seeing grandma first. We have to take care of business before we play,'" she says.

"The girl is sweet and adoring. But don't push it too far or she will pop it. I will ask her, 'Did you eat sugar.' No answer. The look. Then I'll say, 'I can smell your breath.' She's a little bit slicker."

The busy mom just sighs.

"In the end, I just try to embrace life," Bassett says. "You can't avoid the stresses of family and work, but you can't fixate on the stress either. You have to allow yourself to put it all to bed at the end of the day."

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