Jennifer Love Hewitt fights against age discrimination in Hollywood.
While Hewitt has been in the spotlight for decades, she fought back against critics who questioned her looks while growing up in the industry.
“Age is age,” she told Fox News Digital. “I think that women really get into this situation… self-acceptance and comfort in their 40s, that’s beautiful.”
JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT SCARED DAUGHTER WILL WATCH THE “SUPER INTENSE” “BOY MEETS WORLD” MAKE-OUT SCENE
Jennifer Love Hewitt told Fox News Digital how she deals with hateful comments about her aging in Hollywood. (Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Although The Holiday Junkie star said she loves her current age, she admitted that the public’s reaction to her aging was the biggest challenge.
Hewitt stars in and directs her first Christmas film, “The Holiday Junkie.” (Chris Haston/WBTV via Getty Images)
“But the times when it’s hard for me… I feel like the fans… choose this age that they love and that they think represents you, and you should never outgrow that,” she explained and referenced a quote from Taylor Swift.
Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt in a scene from the 1998 film “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.” (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)
For Hewitt, she found that fans, for the most part, adored her style was in her 20s. Hewitt is known for her role in the I Know What You Did Last Summer series alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr., as well as Heartbreakers alongside Sigourney Weaver and the Cult classic “Can’t.” Hardly wait.
WATCH: JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT REFLECTS ON CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD, INCLUDING THE ‘BOY MEETS WORLD’ MAKE-OUT SCENE.
“For me… it was like with me and my 20s… people seem to have a really hard time accepting that… I don’t look the same anymore,” the 45-year-old admitted.
“It’s hard because I think we want to evolve as people… we want to have wrinkles on our face, and you know our breasts are lower because we breastfed our children, or you know our butt is bigger ” she said laughing.
“Whatever it is, you just want the freedom to be who you are at that age. And it’s sometimes hurtful when people verbally reject you on Instagram or online because they have a hard time getting used to it.” “
Jennifer Love Hewitt previously posted a filtered photo on Instagram that was met with hurtful comments. (Jennifer Love Hewitt)
Last year, the Party of Five actress responded to claims she was “unrecognizable” after sharing a photo on social media.
“It’s sometimes hurtful when people reject you for who you are.”
Hewitt chose to filter the photo she posted because she wasn’t wearing makeup and received some nasty comments and headlines that suggested she looked completely different.
Jennifer Love Hewitt photographed on two red carpets in 1998 (left) and 1999 (right). (Getty Images)
“The picture ended up somewhere. And a lot of people said, ‘Jennifer Love Hewitt is unrecognizable,'” she said on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast.
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“‘She’s unrecognizable and that’s why she used filters because she doesn’t want us to know how bad she actually looks now, in her 40s.’ And I thought, “This is crazy.” Right?”
Hewitt previously noted the irony that at a young age she didn’t fully understand what it meant to be sexy like she did Cover by Maxim at just 17 years old.
Party of Five cast. (L-R) Lacey Chabert, Scott Wolf, Paula Devicq, Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt. (Photo by Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Now, the Hollywood actress’ perspective on the way fans see her has changed since she became an actress Mother of three children.
“I have a daughter, I respond to this because I don’t want my kids to read these things and feel that way…or worry about me getting hurt by it…that’s hard sometimes.”
Hewitt’s daughters seem to be following in their parents’ footsteps. You were involved in the Christmas film,”The Holiday Junkie.“
The Lifetime film, directed by Hewitt and her first-ever Christmas film, focuses on her character Andie as she navigates the holidays during a difficult time after the loss of her mother.
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Although her character faces a difficult time, her spirits are boosted when she discovers an unexpected Christmas romance.
Jennifer Love Hewitt looks at her husband behind the scenes of their Christmas movie “The Holiday Junkie.” (Jennifer Love Hewitt/Instagram)
Her on-screen love interest is played by her real-life husband, Brian Hallisay. The couple first met on the set of the Lifetime film “Love Bites” and tied the knot in November 2013. They have three children together: Autumn (11), Atticus (9) and Aidan (3).
WATCH: JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT SHARES BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF WORKING WITH HUSBAND AND CHILDREN
Hewitt has been acting since she was a child and told Fox News Digital what advice she would give her younger self.
“I was always a problem child,” she noted. “I was just always worried… I was having so much fun working and (thought) it would be my last one or something… people would kick me out of Hollywood and not let me act anymore.”
Hewitt told Fox News Digital she would tell her younger self, “Look, it’s going to work out. You’ll get old and they’ll still let you do things.” (Jerod Harris/WireImage)
“Or that I would be stupid…whatever it was. I just always worried…I definitely enjoyed it and was present…had a good time and all those things. But I wasted a lot of time worrying. And I think I would just say to her, ‘Look, it’s going to work out, and they’re still going to let you do things… it’s okay.'”
