Jennifer Love Hewitt is the whisperer of self-love.
The 45-year-old actress recently got candid about how ageism played a role in her decades-long career in Hollywood.
“I feel like fans choose this age that they like and that they think represents you, and you're never supposed to go beyond that,” Hewitt told Fox New Digital in an interview published Thursday. “For me, it was like me being in my 20s. People seem to have a very hard time accepting that I don't look that way anymore.
The “Time of Your Life” star began acting at a young age on the show “Kids Incorporated” before getting her first big break at 16 as Sarah Reeves on Fox’s “Party of Five.”
Two years later, she starred in the 1997 hit film I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel. Along with several popular TV shows, including “Ghost Whisperer” and “The Client List,” Hewitt recorded four studio albums.
The 'Heartbreakers' vet — who shares children Autumn, 11, Atticus, 9, and Aidan, 3, with husband Brian Hallisay added that she doesn't want her children to see these kinds of negative comments.
“I have a daughter, and I'm sensitive to that because I don't want my kids to read this stuff and feel that way… or worry about me getting hurt by it… it's hard to do sometimes,” Hewitt explained.
The singer noted, “It's hard because I think that as humans, we want to evolve…we want to have lines on our faces, you know, our boobs are smaller from breastfeeding our babies, or you know, our butts are bigger.”
“Whatever it is, you just want to have the freedom to be who you are at that age. And it hurts sometimes when people reject you like you did verbally on Instagram or the internet because they have a hard time adjusting to it.”
Although the “Holiday Junkie” star has seen audiences respond to her aging, Hewitt still loves who she is today.
“Age is age,” she continued. “I think women are coming to terms with this… accepting themselves and being comfortable in their 40s is a beautiful thing. I would love to be in my 40s. I really do.
Last year, Hewitt responded to claims that she was “unrecognizable” after sharing a photo with a filter and no makeup on Instagram. Many commented that it looked vastly different.
“The photo ended up somewhere. Jennifer Love Hewitt was unrecognizable,” a group of people recalled on “Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum” at the time.
“‘She’s unrecognizable, so she turned to filters because she doesn’t want us to know how bad she looks now that she’s in her 40s.’ And I said, ‘That’s crazy.’ Right?”
Hewitt acknowledged her physique at the time, joking: “She was good looking,” but added that “at 23, 24, 25, I didn't feel confident.”
“I felt watched. “I felt like I had to be everything to everyone all the time,” she explained. “I was called sexy before I knew what sexy was. I was 17 years old on the cover of Maxim magazine, and I had no idea why.
Hewitt even recounted an experience while filming “Heartbreakers” in 2001 where she was asked to “be sexier” on a rom-com set.
“I know I'm supposed to be this thing to people, but I don't know what it means,” she told a producer at the time.
Speaking about audience perception, Hewitt said: “It's weird to me when people say: 'This is the girl we wanted her to be.'
“That girl was so insecure and so awkward and trying her best. But this girl might not be looking [that] The Way – I love who I am. I feel good. I'm fine.”
“I'm a mother of a girl, and what we're putting on people is dangerous,” Hewitt said. “It's dangerous to say to women, 'You can't look to me like you're not 22 anymore.'
