'World's Most Beautiful Woman' Sandra Bullock credits motherhood
Just named , Sandra Bullock has unconventional criteria for who she finds beautiful:
鈥淭he people I find most beautiful are the ones who aren't trying.鈥�
The 50-year-old, award-winning actress said she was surprised at being named the most beautiful woman in the world by the magazine, perhaps because it was never a goal. Ms. Bullock took the opportunity to highlight the internal beauty that comes from authentically showing love to the people around you.
This is the first time Bullock has won the award. She told People that she felt the nomination was 鈥渞idiculous,鈥� but ultimately shared her views on true beauty. She said she feels the most beautiful as a mother to her five-year-old son Louis, away from the pressures of Hollywood.
鈥淩eal beauty is quiet. Especially in this town, it's just so hard not to say, 鈥極h, I need to look like that,鈥欌�� . 鈥淣o, be a good person, be a good mom, do a good job with the lunch, let someone cut in front of you who looks like they're in a bigger hurry. The people I find most beautiful are the ones who aren't trying.鈥�
Bullock is the oldest recipient in the award's 25-year history. Previously, . , the average age of People鈥檚 鈥淢ost Beautiful People鈥� has increased over its quarter-century life. In the 1990s, the average age was 31; in the 2010s, it rose to age 39.
Ageism in Hollywood has made headlines recently as more actresses have become vocal about the declining number of roles for women after the age of 40. that it is astounding to see the number of 鈥渕others鈥� featured in advertising who are 鈥� in real life 鈥� too young to mother the actors who play their children. :
I recognize a lot of models from my years working in magazines and I know roughly how old they are. If the way we see motherhood portrayed in advertising is to be believed, the average age for giving birth is about 12, 14 at the oldest 鈥� Think about the subconscious effect that has on how we calibrate what motherhood looks like. And it鈥檚 not just advertising. Movies and TV shows do it too 鈥� incessantly.
Perhaps the rising age of People's 鈥淢ost Beautiful Women鈥� represents a changing perception that there is more to beauty than youth. Some supporters took to Twitter to express their feelings at seeing Bullock on the cover of People.
Bullock said she is proud to be a mother, and tells her son that even as she ages, and gets 鈥渙ld and gray and more wrinkly,鈥� she will still be his mother. She said his response was heartwarming, and shows where true beauty comes from:
鈥淸H]e asked why I have wrinkles, and I said, 鈥榃ell, I hope some of them are from laughing so much.鈥� And he touched my face and said, 鈥榊ou're not old, you're just happy.鈥欌��
