Celebrity

Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't think she's 'brave' for having gray hair: 'Applaud someone else's courage'

The actress recounted "months and months of conversation" about her hair in a new interview.

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Published on June 24, 2022 02:28PM EDT

Sarah Jessica Parker is shutting down ageist reactions to the color of her hair.

In a new interview with Allure, the And Just Like That star addressed people touting her herringbone highlights — that is, color-treated hair woven in with natural grays — as "brave."

"It became months and months of conversation about how brave I am for having gray hair," Parker said, recalling a flurry of headlines and paparazzi photographs focusing on her hair after she was photographed dining in Manhattan last year. "I was like, please, please applaud someone else's courage on something!"

Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't think she's 'brave' for having gray hair. James Devaney/GC Images

The actress, 57, also reflected on a recent And Just Like That plotline that saw her character, Carrie Bradshaw, considering plastic surgery to erase 15 years of aging from her face. When asked if Parker would consider such a procedure in real life, things got philosophical.

"So you'd have that moment and then you'd immediately start aging again and 15 years later you're in the same place," she said. "What's the point? I just… don't care enough. When I walk out the door, I want to feel OK — according to my standards. I can't even tell you what those standards are. But you know how you feel when you feel most like yourself, whatever that means. I'm not without vanity. I guess I just don't care enough about everybody else's opinion."

She continued: "I just don't understand why I'm supposed to be spending that much time thinking about it. It's not that I'm purposefully dismissive or delusional. But I don't really ponder it. There's been far more peripheral chatter about my time spent on earth than I've spent thinking about it myself."

Parker, who is gearing up for season 2 of And Just Like That after recently wrapping production on Disney's highly anticipated sequel Hocus Pocus 2, also spoke to Vogue in December about double standards for women as they age.

"There's so much misogynist chatter in response to us that would never. Happen. About. A. Man," she said. "'Gray hair gray hair gray hair. Does she have gray hair?' I'm sitting with Andy Cohen, and he has a full head of gray hair, and he's exquisite. Why is it okay for him? I don't know what to tell you people! Especially on social media. Everyone has something to say. 'She has too many wrinkles, she doesn't have enough wrinkles.' It almost feels as if people don't want us to be perfectly okay with where we are, as if they almost enjoy us being pained by who we are today, whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something if that makes you feel better. I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?"

Parker recently partnered with skincare brand RoC for a line that benefits SeekHer, a foundation "bridging the gender gap of mental health through advocacy, research & support for women-led communities," an initiative the actress said is "supporting women's take on an optimistic outlook about the future."

Hear more about today's must-see picks on EW's What to Watch podcast, hosted by Gerrad Hall.

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