Olivia Wilde is looking forward to getting better with age.
The actress opened up on life in her thirties for the September issue of Elle, and said she’s embracing what the future has to offer.
“I find that most of the women that I really look up to, both women I know personally and women I admire from afar, are in their forties,” the star told the mag for its 30th anniversary.
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Olivia, who turned 31 in March, said she didn’t face the typical fear or dread many women do as they approach a new decade. Although the actress has plenty of accomplishments to her name, she explained why it’s the mistakes she’s made that have helped prepare her for a well-balanced life.
“Thirties feel like a fertile ground. The twenties are for f****** up, that’s what you’re supposed to do,” she said of the pivotal moment when she experienced what she called a “return to self.”
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“I was 27. … I got a divorce, and I felt like I finally started my career. I started making movies and projects that I just really believed in,” Olivia said, referring to her 2011 split from Italian filmmaker Tao Ruspoli. The same year, she also starred in five feature films and met fiance Jason Sudeikis. The couple now has a 1-year-old son, Otis.
“I remember a good friend saying to me, ‘Now isn’t it relaxing that you don’t have to be perfect?'” she recalled, saying that “living for myself” instead of “living to keep up expectations” has been the key to discovering her true potential.
“At the end of your twenties, you realize you are inherently flawed,” the “House” alum continued, “and that’s great, and that’s what makes you dynamic.”
Olivia went on to reveal that she’s currently in the process of adapting a short story that she also plans to direct and “maybe develop into a feature,” but emphasized that her professional endeavors are now focused more toward personal fulfillment than commercial or critical recognition.
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“It’s something that’s only for me and not something I’m hoping to prove,” the “Drinking Buddies” star and producer said, saying that her shifting priorities simply reflect life’s natural progression.
“Your thirties are for using the knowledge you gained from said f****** up to make something, to put that experience toward something useful,” Olivia said.
“So now, my thirties seem like this great opportunity to develop the experience and wisdom that will allow me to have an even greater decade in my forties,” she added.
“I think your forties are an opportunity to enjoy what you’ve worked for.”
— Erin Biglow
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