Justine Bateman defends decision to age naturally
Some celebrities go to great lengths to defy aging, opting for cosmetic procedures to maintain their youthful appearances. But others choose a different path, embracing the natural process of aging and rejecting societal pressures. Justine Bateman is one of those women, and she’s been vocal about her decision to forgo plastic surgery—despite the criticism and scrutiny she’s faced over the years.
Best known for her role as Mallory Keaton on the beloved 1980s sitcom Family Ties, Justine Bateman found fame as a teenager. Over the years, she continued her career in Hollywood, appearing in shows like Men Behaving Badly, Desperate Housewives, and Still Standing. But while her talent has never been in question, the way she has aged has, with some people cruelly scrutinizing her natural looks.
Now 57, Bateman has made it clear that she has no interest in changing her appearance to fit society’s unrealistic beauty standards.
“I just don’t give a s—,” she boldly declared in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia. “I think I look rad. I think my face represents who I am. I like it.”
She went on to explain that to her, aging isn’t something to fear—it’s proof of growth, wisdom, and life experiences.
“I feel like I would erase, not only all my authority that I have now, but also, I like feeling that I am a different person now than I was when I was 20. I like looking in the mirror and seeing that evidence.”
Bateman’s decision hasn’t come without challenges. Since turning 40, she has faced relentless criticism about her looks, with people comparing her to a “sea hag” and even a “meth addict.” The pressure to get work done was intense, and at one point, she even started to believe the cruel comments.
“I thought my face looked fine,” she told People in 2021. “And then because of some of the fears I had, unrelated to my face, I decided to make them right and me wrong… I became really ashamed of my face, ridiculously so.”
But rather than succumb to the pressure, Bateman had a realization—changing her face wouldn’t erase the deeper fears that were troubling her.
“You’re not going to make that fear go away by changing your face,” she said.
She believes that cosmetic surgery is often about people-pleasing rather than self-acceptance.
“If you go and get plastic surgery, you’re going to look different. Okay. You’ll have that, but you haven’t dealt with what the fear was. That fear will continue… I think getting all this plastic surgery is just people-pleasing.”
Bateman, who wrote about these issues in her book Face: One Square Foot of Skin, says she feels saddened by the way women become preoccupied with cosmetic procedures, often at the expense of truly living their lives.
“I feel sad that they’re not just enjoying life,” she said in her 60 Minutes interview. “I feel sad that they are distracted from the things that they’re meant to do in life with this consuming idea that they’ve got to fix their face before anything else can happen.”
Despite the negativity she has faced, Justine Bateman remains unapologetic about her decision to embrace her age naturally. She is an inspiring example of self-acceptance in an industry that often promotes the opposite.
And to many, she looks just as beautiful as ever—not because of flawless skin or a wrinkle-free face, but because of her confidence, wisdom, and refusal to let society dictate her worth.
No one should feel pressured to change the way they look. More women deserve to hear Justine Bateman’s message of self-love and acceptance.