Mumbai, August 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Actress Lisa Ray has spoken candidly about ageing, beauty standards and the pressure women face to maintain a youthful appearance, drawing from her own experiences in the entertainment industry.
In an Instagram post, the Four More Shots Please! actress recalled reading Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth in her late teens, around the time she was entering an industry with strong expectations about how women should look.
Ray said the book helped her understand how fears surrounding ageing, weight gain, wrinkles, grey hair, cellulite and desirability can influence women. Sharing a quote attributed to Dr Gail Dines, she highlighted the commercial impact of women becoming more accepting of their bodies.
She wrote that the pressure extends beyond products women buy, creating a persistent feeling of inadequacy — whether they are “not thin enough”, “young enough”, “smooth enough” or “desirable enough”.
Reflecting on her own career, Ray acknowledged that she has both benefited from and been affected by prevailing beauty standards.
“I’ve benefited from beauty standards. I’ve performed them. I’ve also been diminished by them,” she said, adding that one of the benefits of midlife is recognising the mechanisms that make people feel inadequate.
At 54, Ray said her priorities have changed. She is now more interested in “inhabiting” her body than correcting it, focusing instead on strength, health, listening to her body and embracing ageing.
The actress said she hoped women would stop viewing themselves as problems that constantly need fixing and instead prioritise their physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing while celebrating their imperfections.
Ray is also known for her work in projects including Nethaji, Four More Shots Please! and other Indian and international productions.
FOLLOW NOW
