Gorgeous actress Sela Ward (1956-) is proud of her age. "We live inauthentically and do violence to ourselves when we lie about how old we are," she said in an interview to promote her television documentary, The Changing Face of Beauty.

Ward is best known for her Emmy-winning roles as Teddy Reed in the hit series Sisters (1991) and Once & Again (1999) and Harrison Ford's wife in The Fugitive (1993).

A southern beauty queen from Mississippi, Ward began her acting career with a commercial for Maybelline mascara. A few years ago she auditioned for a role as a "James Bond girl," but was turned because producers thought she was "too old." For the record, 007 star Pierce Brosnan is four years older than Ward.

About women and aging, Ward said she wished cosmetic surgery was not so prevalent in Hollywood. "The courage... is not deciding to have (plastic surgery) or not. It's about how we feel inside - that strong center of knowing that I'm OK no matter how old or thin I am."

In her ABC TV series, Once and Again, Ward plays Lily, a 40-something woman searching for life's answers. "I feel very grounded. I feel much more confident. I feel, you know, sexier, more intelligent, more to offer, more wisdom, more life experience to draw from."

As comic Chris Tucker engagingly said of maturity, "The older the berry, the sweeter the juice."

Beauty is ageless.