Jennifer Lopez, 50, Gives Advice on Aging in Hollywood: Never ‘Be Ashamed of Where You’re At’

Aging in Hollywood might not sound fun, but Jennifer Lopez couldn’t be more excited to get older and wiser. While chatting with GQ magazine for her Icon of the Year cover, the “Jenny From the Block” songstress offered advice for young women who are struggling to embrace the beauty of aging.

“There is no reason to ever be ashamed of where you’re at. Not when you’re doing your best,” the 50-year-old bombshell shared with the mag. “Not when you’re in your best moment. There’s always gonna be people to tell you no … or ‘you can’t’ … or ‘you shouldn’t’ — it’s gonna happen.”

Jennifer, who got her start in Hollywood around her late 20s after she released her debut single “If You Had My Love” in 1999, further explained the importance of following your dreams despite anyone’s disapproval. “No matter what anybody says, you just have to still be like, ‘I’m still doing this. I’m still gonna succeed. I’m still gonna do my best,'” she insisted. “Defy the odds. Why not?”

The Hustlers actress even opened up about a familiar situation she was recently in. While reflecting on her 38-stop “It’s My Party” tour in honor of her 50th birthday — which ran from this past summer from June to August and took place in cities all over the country — Jen got candid about the pushback she received. 

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“They were like, ‘Do we want to put this out there?’ I just didn’t see it,” she said, explaining that her concert tour would spotlight her milestone 50th birthday. “I’m like, ‘Everybody knows how old I am — what’s the big deal?’ In this industry, by the time you’re 30, they’re already like, ‘She’s done.’ I can’t tell you how many times I felt like people were like, ‘She’s done, she’s over.'”

Although the Maid in Manhattan star was worried critics would judge her for her older age, she ultimately went through with her fourth-ever concert tour. Despite the fact that Jen was approached about changing the theme of the tour, she decided to celebrate the next amazing chapter in the most special way possible.

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“It’s such a beautiful time in women’s lives,” the Second Act star — who is the proud mom of 11-year-old twins Emme and Max — gushed to the outlet. “Artists, women especially, get so much better as they grow and mature. You can see it! Meryl Streep’s career took off after she was 40. Tina Turner, after she was 40. Cher. It’s not that [those women] weren’t who they were before that. But as they got older, they blossomed in a way they hadn’t before, right?”

Jen explained that having these women to look up to inspired her to embrace her flawless aging. “They came into their own power, and they started realizing, like, ‘I am the scarce asset, I am the prize. I have something beautiful to offer to the world that’s only mine,'” she said. “And I feel the same thing!”

What amazing advice!