Beloved actress and comedian Dawn French recently turned 60 and to mark the milestone birthday she shared a glamorous portrait. The star looked exuberant, with a gleaming smile across her face in an intimate shot captured by Trevor Leighton.
French had a diet overhaul back in 2014 to reduce the recovery time and complications of a hysterectomy and lost 7-and-a-half stone as a result.
However, the star insists she feels no different to the ‘old Dawn’ and has no problems going back, explaining the weight loss was simply for practical reasons and jokingly remarking, “it depends on how many doughnuts I eat.”
The mother-of-one’s career has lasted over four decades, which saw her rise to become one of Britain’s most-loved comedians. Her most prominent roles were as the Vicar of Dibley and one half of the double act, ‘French and Saunders’.
Talking to BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s hour, she shares an inspirational and insightful interview, illustrating some of the virtues that come with growing older.
The comedian explains, “what I do know is I’m more assured about what I feel and what I know so I’m more comfortable in my skin and more authentic, I’m not such a people pleaser anymore.”
“Once you get older you know that so much time has been wasted, wishing you lived a different way, longing to have somebody else’s legs or hair… the minute I thought ‘oh why am I doing this for? This is what I’ve got I quite like it and it works, so why don’t I just get on doing something else?’” she adds.
French also emphasises the importance of being kind to yourself, “Being a bit gentle with yourself is very important actually and trying to forgive yourself and other people for some of the nonsense that happened earlier in your life and not hanging onto the poisonous bitterness that can eat you up from the inside. I’ve seen that happen to lots of people.”
We couldn’t agree more!
Find the full interview on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s hour.
