We chatted with British-American actress, author, and entrepreneur Jane Seymour about aging well, her philanthropic initiatives, and finding joy and happiness in life.
As you age, what steps are you taking to enter the next phase of your life with a healthy outlook?
I’m looking at the years that I have left and realizing that the most important thing is to be healthy in body, mind, and spirit. This means taking time to lower stress. I want to make sure every waking moment of life is what I really want it to be so whether it’s gardening, taking a walk on the beach, spending time with friends, catching up with people on Zoom, or talking to people who are going through a tough time, I’m taking care of my health to the best of my ability.
As a well-known actress, how have you stayed motivated while aging in the spotlight?
It’s very interesting. Usually, as an actress, when you turn 40, it’s over — you’re done in film and television. When I turned 40 and my financial life disappeared into a big dark black hole, along with my marriage and everything I thought I had and knew and trusted, I came out of that black hole and was given the gift of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. It was a TV show that nobody believed in. Now, as we know, it turned out to be an amazing gift, and I’ve had an amazing career ever since.
The difference is that I keep changing it up. I was offered to play roles of women who were much older than I was. In B Positive, I play an 85-year-old who’s very sexually active in an old person’s home. Then, of course, I also played an older woman in my own series, Harry Wild, which I did last year in Ireland. I think what has kept me relevant is that I have energy. I love to work and act, and I’m not afraid to look old, or put a grey wig on, or be silly and funny. I’m at a time in my life where I’m not afraid to try something different, and I think that’s what has kept me going.
What motivated you to become so involved in philanthropy?
I’ve been asked over the years to support several different organizations, and what I really wanted to do was to take my mother’s advice, which was to support and encourage philanthropy — whether it’s financially or physically in terms of volunteering. I thought by having the Open Hearts Foundation, I could benefit a lot of different organizations and shine a spotlight on different needs. Recently, during the COVID-19 times, we’ve been doing a lot of volunteering and raised a lot of money through Zoom — in this case, for 23 different organizations. Mostly, we support organizations in which somebody has gone through something — either with a family member or somebody close to them — and having gone through it, they have either created an organization or supported a smaller organization that’s really making a huge difference.
What is something that you’ve become extremely passionate about?
I’ve always been an artist. I took my art, and I created the Open Hearts Jewellery Collection, which became very well-known. I have a real passion for expressing, story-telling, and connecting people through art. I think that’s what happens when you paint and when you create something — it becomes my vision of the world, my vision of something beautiful. Ultimately, I think finding your joy and finding happiness in life are important.
