14 DAY TRIAL // While many female celebrities complain that their careers begin to stagnate once they reach a certain age – usually their 40s –, Uma Thurman is perhaps the only one who can boast of living life in reverse. Nearing the dreaded 4-0, the actress opens up in the latest issue of W Magazine on what makes her tick, what it’s like to be a stay-at-home mom, career and which are her biggest regrets so far.
Uma Thurman is not afraid of growing old, again, unlike other female stars her age. On the contrary, she has now come to realize that she’s been living her life backwards and she’s enjoying more now than she did when she was in her 20s. Career-wise, she can say the same, the only difference being now that she’s more inclined to spending time at home than taking up movie roles that require her to travel on location, a thing she knows she has to change if she still wants to have a career to speak of.
“I can’t say my 30s were the easiest time. And I had thought my 20s were hard!… You know, that’s the worst mistake a woman can make, to think, Oh, I’m 32 and I’ve had two kids and I’ve worked since I was 16 and now it’s going to get easier. Because as soon as you think that, you’re doomed! You’re absolutely doomed! I feel like I lived my life backwards. Like Bob Dylan said, ‘I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now.’ Getting older has been a process of realizing that I wasn’t as grown up as I had thought.” Uma says for the magazine.
Experience has taught the star to be more appreciative of what she has and, at the same time, to be realistic about her life. Because of this, she can now acknowledge without being ashamed that her career is neither where she’d want it to be nor how she’d deserve. That’s mostly because, as of late, she’s only taken up offers that don’t require her presence in another town so that she can spend more time with her family, she says.
“When my son turned seven, I felt myself stand upright and realize that I wasn’t going to be bending over so much. I realized I had been kind of in this position for years! It’s nice to think that everybody’s getting more independent and now I can kind of maybe, slightly selfishly, think about work again…You know, I do care about my work, and it is part of me. And I am a mother, but I need to do what I’m good at doing. You really can’t let go of all of yourself…. Even your kids need you to be who you are… I’ve been living at home for work for a long time. If I don’t leave soon, I’m going to literally choke my career to death.” the actress explains.
For more on the Uma Thurman interview with W Magazine, as well as more stunning photos, please see here.
