In the media, we so often come across a constrictive narrative that puts pressure on people – especially women – to look younger. Between anti-ageing creams, cosmetic procedures and lifestyle trends that promise to take years off your face, instead of growing older being something we celebrate, it’s a process we’re taught to fear and to do everything in our power to avoid.

Therefore, it’s always refreshing when someone in the public eye refuses to conform to those limiting beauty standards.

Tracee Ellis Ross has long been outspoken on her excitement about getting older, while Naomi Watts recently had no time for a Hollywood insider who told her she would “become unfuckable” when she hit 40.

The latest public figure to speak out is singer Shania Twain, who got candid in an interview with TalkShopLive ahead of the release of her new album, Queen Of Me.

“I was a very insecure woman, girl… I was one of those teenagers that would never wear a bikini at the beach, for example,” she told the online network. “So I’m saying, well, the heck with that. I didn’t do it when I was younger, so I’m going to do it now. I’m going to feel and show that I feel comfortable in my own skin.”

As the ultimate proof of her newfound confidence, the 57-year-old posed nude for the album artwork of Queen Of Me, shots of which she has teased on social media.

“Trust me, this took courage because I am so not an exhibitionist. It was all about my own message to myself. Just saying, you know, it’s just time to feel comfortable in my own skin and share that with other people and just share those insecurities, shed that skin of insecurity,” she explained of the process.

Part of the journey involved her “taking responsibility for what I put out there, what I project” by being “less apologetic for how I am, how I look, [and] less affected by other people’s criticism”.

“Repeating the message to myself was the beginning, just saying, ‘OK, I’m fine with the way I look. I’m fine ageing. I’m fine and comfortable with myself.’ And this was the final step of saying, OK, I can’t just tell people that. I can’t just say it. I’ve got to live it,” she added.

A valuable life lesson indeed.

Images: Getty