Cate Blanchett, 54, Blames Social Media Filters For Not Allowing People To Age And Says Everyone Looks ‘Like Barbie Dolls’

Cate Blanchett got candid about aging in a new interview with The Sunday Times and criticized social media filters for creating unrealistic standards of beauty. The Oscar winner, 54, shared her thoughts on Instagram and other apps that utilize photo filters, claiming they have distorted the perception of aging and physical beauty for many.

Cate Blanchett Gets Candid About Aging And Unrealistic Beauty Expectations From Social Media Filters

Sitting down with the publication last month, the Aussie native expressed her discomfort with the fact that many social media users now "resemble Barbie dolls" thanks to filters and digital editing apps. "Nobody's getting older. They just look like Barbie dolls," the Tár alum said, adding that she never feels "regret or shame" when looking at photos of herself in her youth.

The Lord of the Rings star went on: "It's not the aging I find confronting at all. Because that is like when you stumble across a photo of a holiday when you were 16 or one of my husband and me when we got married." Blanchett continued: "It doesn't produce regret or shame. Rather, a recognition of the joy of the experience or a painful moment. I'm transported right back."

Blanchett, as her fans are well aware, has always been forthcoming about her positive attitude towards aging. In a 2018 interview with Harper's Bazaar, the Carol actress revealed that she wasn't fretting over reaching the milestone age of 50 at that time. "I think about it on an existential level, sure, but on a career level, I refuse," the mom of four told the outlet at the time. 

"It's important to keep karate-chopping those doors down and creating new opportunities not just for yourself, but also for those who are coming up behind you," she added. Blanchett also shared: "I'm not panicking on a work level. It's more that there are so many lives I want to live."

The film producer and style icon also chatted with InStyle in 2017, revealing that she would advise her younger self to "champion a different type of beauty," rather than conforming to societal norms. Blanchett recalled a period during her twenties while residing in Australia when she longed to darken her fair complexion, finding herself succumbing to common beauty standards and expectations.

"You're so vulnerable to other people's interpretations and impressions of what you should look like," she remembered. "And I'd say "f—k that" a bit more. And that's where women can step in and really champion different types of beauty and working [with] what you've got." Blanchett added: "Everyone's starting to look the same and talk the same, it's only interesting when we're all [different] - it's the melting pot, right? I'd worry about it less."