Liza Colón-Zayas is nominated this year for a Golden Globe for her work in The Bear and earned her first SAG and Emmy for that role last year. Liza has been married to Dexter’s David Zayas since 1998 and they have an adult child together (I couldn’t figure out if they have a daughter or son) and two grandchildren, a girl and a boy. She’s 53 and she spoke with Yahoo about the pressure she’s felt to be younger, thinner and blonder. She also discussed plastic surgery and injectables. As a woman around her age, so much of what she told Yahoo resonated with me and I wanted to talk about it.

You do this thing where you’re like, Oh, if you’re not this by 30 [then you aren’t enough]. In hindsight, I think: Wow, I was still a kid. Then you get past 50, and you don’t give a damn.

[Acting is] my passion. I knew I had something. And I have guardian angels who would remind me [along the way, which] kept me going.

On if she ever wanted to give up acting
No, no. I had to alter the fantasy of what it was going to look like. But I knew I had something. I knew I could channel something. [Besides,] I didn’t have any other skills. … I wasn’t good at business or math, so I had to make this work. [In between jobs] I did a lot of temping. [Then] I became a teaching artist, and with that, I was able to fulfill reaching people and using my acting skills. That kept me going.

On if her idea of a leading lady has shifted
Yes, it has shifted — but not enough. For me growing up, there really wasn’t anybody [onscreen] who looked like me — probably well into the 2000s. And I don’t know that I am a leading lady. To me, a leading lady was like: You’re tall and bony and blond and perfect — and I just didn’t see that. So I love not being a leading lady, actually. I like the character roles. They’re juicier [and] far more interesting. I like messy. And now I’m getting these accolades and these trophies. It’s not only about that — that’s outside of my control — but people are paying attention [which is] necessary. People feel seen when they see me.

On if she’s felt pressure to fit in
I always feel pressured to fit into a Hollywood mold, to be thinner. … Thankfully, I’m at an age that I can recognize the value of being a Bronx girl and embracing myself. That real art — the great writers and directors are looking for that. But I still struggle with it, I’m not gonna lie.

On ageism and plastic surgery
I had somebody walk up to me the other day and say, “You should do fillers.” It was somebody I know, [but] not well. I thought, How sad for you that you have to say that to me. … Why would you need to try to put that in my head? Who hurt you? It’s not like it isn’t already in my head, but, you know, I don’t want Mar-a-Lago face. I want to look like me. It doesn’t mean we can’t take care of ourselves. But it’s because I want to, not because I feel unlovable.

It’s not to put down anyone who does. Listen, I dabble in things. But I would never tell anybody that, especially women [after] all of the pain that that has caused me [experiencing] looksism and ageism. And as I see how it backfires and it’s like, Oh no, honey. I don’t think that it’s doing what you wanted it to do. I feel like [ageism] is real, but the only way to combat it is to dig deeper into loving and embracing ourselves.

[From Yahoo!]

I like how she admitted she dabbles in things for her face (I’m assuming a little Botox and maybe lasers although it’s hard to tell) but she’s not going to go full Mar-a-Lago. This is why I haven’t had anything done yet, the sameness and weirdness that strips away your identity, although I’m not opposed to it. Ageism is definitely real, and that’s great advice just to “dig deeper into loving and embracing ourselves.” A few days ago, I downloaded this easy 7 Day Self Love Challenge. (Not sponsored, I found it on my own when I was feeling down.) It seemed cheesy to fill it out, but I did and felt so much better afterwards! I still look at it sometimes. Nothing I wrote down had to do with my size or weight, because it turns out I don’t care that much about it when I focus on what matters.

Did you see the clip of Amber Ruffin laughing her ass off at how different all the republican women looked before injectables and plastic surgery? It’s amazing. I’m also kind of floored at how much these detestable women have messed up their faces. They got the faces they deserved and this was very much a choice they made. Do you remember how offended the MAGAs were when Michelle Wolf mocked Sarah Huckabee-Sanders’ terrible eye makeup? They’re so aware when we notice their bad injectables and plastic surgery, although it’s the usually men who can’t take criticism. They especially hate that we have a special name for it. Keep it up.

Photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon