Courteney Cox opens up about ageing and why she stopped ‘chasing youthfulness’

"The scrutiny is intense."

Friends star Courteney Cox has opened up about growing older and turning to cosmetic injections and fillers to chase youthfulness. The actress was publicly ridiculed for years about how she looked but finally realised she had to stop when her friends pointed out her changing appearance. Speaking to The Sunday Times, she said: "There was a time when you go, 'Oh, I’m changing. I’m looking older'. And I tried to chase that [youthfulness] for years. "And I didn’t realise that, oh s**t, I’m actually looking really strange with injections and doing stuff to my face that I would never do now. "I’d say, the day you realise what your friends were talking about.... Because people would talk about me. I think there was a period where I went, 'I’ve got to stop. That’s just crazy.'" Courteney admitted that criticism from others over the years got to her, but truly, she was her own worst critic. "The scrutiny is intense, but I don’t know if it could be more intense than what I put on myself." Looking ahead at turning 60 in a few years, Courteney described herself as feeling more "grounded" than ever, having "learnt so much" in life. She added that while there is "nothing wrong" with reaching the landmark age, it's very hard for her to believe how time flies. The Scream actress previously spoke about the topic to New Beauty in 2017, saying she was leaving regular cosmetic procedures in the past and looking forward to ageing gracefully.

"I’m as natural as I can be. I feel better because I look like myself. I think that I now look more like the person that I was. I hope I do. Things are going to change. Everything’s going to drop.

"I was trying to make it not drop, but that made me look fake. You need movement in your face, especially if you have thin skin like I do. Those aren’t wrinkles—they’re smile lines. I’ve had to learn to embrace movement and realise that fillers are not my friend."