Cate Blanchett is one of the many Hollywood actresses who claims to shun cosmetic surgery. But unlike many of the others, Cate definitely hasn’t had any. She says that her husband would divorce her if she did. Cate has a really beautiful way of viewing the body as it ages, and talks about the history that’s shown through the changes. There is a real depth and passion to what she says, and she makes some great arguments about loving what you’re given.

Cate Blanchett tells Vanity Fair contributing editor Leslie Bennetts that in terms of plastic surgery, “I haven’t done anything, but who knows. Andrew said he’d divorce me if I did anything. When you’ve had children, your body changes; there’s history to it. I like the evolution of that history; I’m fortunate to be with somebody who likes the evolution of that history. I think it’s important to not eradicate it. I look at someone’s face and I see the work before I see the person…. You’re certainly not staving off the inevitable. And if you’re doing it out of fear, that fear’s still going to be seen through your eyes. The windows to your soul, they say.”

“I’m not a spokesperson against the world of injectables,” Blanchett tells Bennetts. “If you grow up in an environment where your mother gets you a boob job when you turn 18, what hope is there? But I didn’t grow up in that world. The reason I went to train as an actor was that I was interested in it for the long haul. You can become very self-obsessed, but you’ve got to keep looking outward.”

[From the Huffington Post]

I’ve always had this thing about preferring vintage and antiques to modern, mass produced stuff. My reasoning was that I liked that my things had a history to them. It had never occurred to me to perhaps view myself in the same way, but that’s exactly what Cate’s talking about. I think there’s a simple beauty to that. It’s not just about acceptance, it’s about appreciating the way parts of your story are told by the changes in your body.

Cate’s previously mentioned that she thinks people get plastic surgery out of “self obsession” and “fear,” noting “‘Look at a man or a woman in their 50s and all I see when they have brushed their years away with surgery is self-obsession and fear. That’s not particularly attractive.’” Of course when you have a face like Cate’s, it is probably a little easier to be accepting.

I understand why people want to look better as they age, and I think it’s hard for many of us not to keep track of the changes in our face as they appear. I’m not sure that I’d go so far as to say it’s self obsession, but I think it can show a lack of acceptance. But give me ten years and I might be singing a different tune.

Here’s Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton at the premiere of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in Sydney on December 10th. Images thanks to Fame.