“Perfectly Imperfect”: Helen Hunt, 61, Defies Beauty Standards By Saying No To Diets And Surgery

For Helen Hunt, who will turn 62 this month, the decision to not get plastic surgery, Botox or any other appearance altering procedure has made her a standout amongst her peers, with her naturally aging looks drawing all kinds of attention. 

In her latest interview with Flow Space, a women’s health and wellness website, Hunt looks svelte in sleeveless off white suit, and shoulder-length hair with beach blond highlights. 

Hunt talks about the ever growing pressures that women in Hollywood faceto look considerably younger than they really are, a practice that has altered society’s perception of what it means to ‘look old’.

“I have tools that I don’t think I had when I was younger”: Helen is growing old gracefully

Image credits: Aaron Rapoport/Getty

Image credits: helenhunt

In a wide ranging June cover story for the publication, Hunt talks about what she loves most about being almost 62 (her birthday is June 15th): “When I get really upset about something, or worried about something, or anxious about something, I have tools.”

She continued that she has ”tools to come back to and to get a bigger view. I don’t think I had those when I was younger.” 

“Eat what you want, and love every bite of it”: Hunt talks about eating healthy

Image credits: NBC/Getty

Image credits: Sony Pictures Entertainment

She talks about how maintaining a healthy lifestyle is about more than just eating right, but she does that too.

”I’m never going to go down a sugar rabbit hole, because I immediately feel anxious and weepy,” she said in the Flow Space interview. 

She said the book  The Only Diet There Is, by spiritual leader Sondra Ray, helped her develop a healthy relationship with food. “What I took from it,” she shares, “is eat what you want and love every bite, period.”

“It was impossible not to internalize it”: Hunt talks about 90’s beauty standards

Image credits: Entertainment One

Also during the interview Hunt talked about her decision not to undergo plastic surgery or to stop the aging process despite some headlines questioning that decision.

Hunt talked about the intense body shaming of the 1990’s and early aughts when: “It felt impossible not to internalize the way you’re supposed to look,” she told Flow Space. “And [there was] a certain amount of misery and shame around not looking exactly that way.”

“I gave up worrying about it”: Hunt has spoken previously about not giving in to pressure

Image credits: helenhunt

It’s not the first time Hunt has addressed her looks. In a previous interview from 10 years ago with HuffPost Hunt said she “maxed out worrying about” her looks.  “I just gave up on worrying about it.”

But whenever Hunt posts to social media, the public can’t seem to help commenting on how she has aged.

In March, Hunt posted a selfie with Jeffery Nordling, 63, standing in front of the iconic Wrigley Field, home to the Chicago Cubs baseball team.  

“In just a few hours the Chicago @cubs will play my @dodgers in Tokyo in the first game of the 2025 season. Let’s go Dodgers. But my goodness the Cubs are epic and this stadium is a work of art,” her post read.

Image credits: helenhunt

At the time, members of the public commented on how she looked.

“She doesn’t even look like Helen Hunt,” one commenter said, while another wrote, “Plastic. Hope it stays in place.”

“Wow! Would never have known it was her,” read another comment. “But good for you, Helen. It’s hard aging gracefully.”

“When I surrender I feel like I’m in a flow”: Hunt talks about the importance of meditation

Image credits: helenhunt

During the Flow Space interview, Hunt also talked about her decision to become a mother when she was nearly 40, conveying the idea that mature moms have the benefit of more life experience: “I’ve done work on myself, you know? So hopefully, my daughter got the benefit of that.”

She also talked about meditation. In the interview Hunt said she feels a sense of ‘flow: “When I spend a little time thinking of something that’s bigger than me. That I’m not in charge, and when I finally surrender to that I feel like I’m in a flow with something.”  

More than 4 million people living in the U.S. got Botox in 2023

Botox and plastic surgery is very common, and is getting cheaper. The most recent data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that more than 4.4 million botulinum toxin treatments were administered in the U.S. in 2023. 

Because so many people do get Botox or other procedures, the public perception of what it means to age is also changing. 

Nasty comments on social media are one thing, but when public sentiment judges people based on their age, sometimes, real livelihoods are affected.

Some netizens question whether she really has refused Botox or fillers

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