Anne Hathaway Criticizes Obsession with Aging

In a new interview with People, Anne Hathaway reveals she isn't shying away from aging. She tells the publication on Wednesday (September 20) that "Aging is just another word for living. And what you do with it from there is personal and up to you. I feel great — I feel better than I did in my twenties because I'm taking much better care of myself."

The Devil Wears Prada star, 40, said that she had to give up alcohol in her 30s. "I couldn't do it anymore," she says. "I couldn't lead the life that I wanted while drinking." Now, as a mother of two, the actress finds that she needs to focus on supporting herself better nutritionally. If she could travel back in time to her 25-year-old self who felt like she didn't have to do anything, she would tell herself: "'Oh honey, honey, there's a whole other world out there, and it tastes like an avocado.'"

While discussing "postpartum snapback," the unrealistic pressure on women to get their pre-pregnancy body back, Hathaway says that people don't talk about it. She shares that it made her feel better when she found out about it, adding that it takes "three years for your body to fully recover from a pregnancy. I didn't snap back. I want to be very, very clear about that." She shares sons Jonathan, 7, and Jack, 3, with her husband of 12 years, actor and producer Adam Shulman, 42. With Jack, the Princess Diaries actress said it took "every minute of those three years." She offers advice for women, saying, "Let your body be a body. There's nowhere to get to. It's just now. Be present and take care of yourself, and don't set expectations."

Elsewhere in the interview, Hathaway says fashion is all about being yourself and taking risks. Instead of worrying about hitting a mark, she says it is more about the expression. "This isn't a dress rehearsal; this is life," she says. Admitting that when she was given "so many things" at a young age, she didn't always know how to appreciate them. As a result, she felt badly about herself and didn't know how to enjoy what she wore.