Justine Bateman Stands by Her Choice to Age Naturally Amid Pressure: ‘I Think I Look Rad’

Cosmetic procedures and anti-aging treatments dominate the conversation, but some celebrities choose to embrace aging naturally. Justine Bateman is one of them—defying societal expectations and speaking openly about her decision to forgo plastic surgery.

Bateman, an actress, director, and writer, rose to fame as a teenager

She used to play Mallory on the 1980s sitcom Family Ties. She also starred in Men Behaving Badly and had recurring roles in Desperate Housewives and Still Standing. She is the older sister of actor Jason Bateman.

‘I Think I Look Rad’

At 57, Bateman has faced criticism about her appearance but remains unapologetic. “I just don’t give a s—,” she told 60 Minutes Australia. “I think I look rad. I think my face represents who I am. I like it.”

She also emphasized that aging is a part of personal growth. “I feel like I would erase not only all my authority that I have now, but also, I like feeling that I am a different person now than I was when I was 20. I like looking in the mirror and seeing that evidence.”

Rejecting Pressure for Cosmetic Surgery

Like many women in Hollywood, Bateman has faced pressure to alter her appearance. By the time she turned 40, she began receiving cruel comments comparing her naturally aging face to a “sea hag” or a “meth addict.”

Despite the negativity, she initially struggled with self-doubt. “I thought my face looked fine,”she told People in 2021. “And then because of some of the fears I had, unrelated to my face, I decided to make them right and me wrong… I became really ashamed of my face, ridiculously so.”

Embracing Natural Beauty

Over time, Bateman rejected the idea that beauty should be tied to youthfulness and decided to embrace aging. “You’re not going to make that fear go away by changing your face,” she said. “If you go and get plastic surgery, you’re going to look different. Okay. You’ll have that, but you haven’t dealt with what the fear was. That fear will continue… I think getting all this plastic surgery is just people pleasing.”

The actress, who explored these themes in her book Face: One Square Foot of Skin, expressed concern for women who obsess over their appearance. “I feel sad that they’re not just enjoying life,” she told 60 Minutes. “I feel sad that they are distracted from the things that they’re meant to do in life with this consuming idea that they’ve got to fix their face before anything else can happen.”