Posted by Adam

Monday July 26, 2010

PENELOPE Cruz wants to embrace getting older and never wants to “lie” about her age.

The 36-year-old actress doesn’t want to give into the pressure in Hollywood of having surgery to stay looking young and is inspired by her grandparents’ attitude to old age.

“I never want to lie about my age,” she said. “If I look around at the actresses I admire, they are all women who have not fought growing older, but embraced it — women like Sophia Loren or Audrey Hepburn.

“I was very close to both of my grandmothers growing up — they lived long into old age and they were always beautiful to me. They loved life and it showed in their faces. Of course my face will change as I get older, but that’s OK. It’s a good thing to be old, because that means you haven’t died yet right? And when I do get older, I want to have the grace to be proud of it, not to lie about it or try to fight it.”

And Penelope — who recently married Spanish actor Javier Bardem — insists the people closest to her in her life shouldn’t want her to change her appearance.

“The people who love me, love me for who I am,” she said. “They love me for a mixture of things that makes anyone love another person, and those things will still be there when I am 40, 60 or 80.”

Although she has a super-slim figure, the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides star admits she enjoys indulging in calorie-laden treats.

“My favorite foods are bread and pasta, Coca-Cola and fried foods,” she said.

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