Julia Roberts tells us how she stays youthful as she ages

Julia Roberts has been dazzling cinema screens with her famed grin and bouncy curls for decades, but her startling trick to keeping youthful—which she discussed with “Notting Hill” screenwriter Richard Curtis in the February 2024 issue of British Vogue—may surprise you.

The 56-year-old “Pretty Woman” star sat down with the rom-com classic to discuss their 25-year friendship, her roles in “Notting Hill” and “The Seven Faces of Julia Roberts,” among other things, telling Curtis that she owed her youthful appearance on genetics and “the love of a good man.”

Roberts, who appears on the cover wearing a bespoke red Gucci jacket and hot trousers, disputed with the producer and director’s claim that she seemed “unchanged” since they first met in the 1990s, but allowed that her late parents had “very good genes.”

“Not to say I’m unchanged, because I did see a picture earlier of Tom Hanks and me from a movie, and we looked like we had been ironed,” she said with a laugh.

Curtis went on, stating, “Vogue readers will want to know whether or not you use any artificial methods to preserve your lustrous youth.”

The “Runaway Bride” actress acted coy, responding, “Pickling.” Every other Saturday, I put my head in the jar for 18 hours. It works wonders. “The smell is terrible.”

Eventually, she caved in and told Curtis, “No, serious response. decent genes, a fulfilling existence, and I’ve said it before – usually as a joke – but I believe in the love of a decent guy.

Roberts, who has been married to Daniel Moder for 21 years, believes his support makes all the difference.

“I believe that my husband loves me and cares for me in a way that makes me feel deeply, deeply happy,” she went on to say. “And anytime you see someone who’s happy, it doesn’t matter how old they are.”

Aside from aging, Curtis spoke about the A-lister’s many appearances, asking whether she had ever seen her mirror and thought, “Oh, that is a famous face?” rather than her normal self.

She said, “No,” adding, “One would be make-up-free and one would be made up. That is the most ridiculous difference. But I can’t compartmentalize myself in that manner.”

When it came to her “Film Face,” Roberts told Curtis that she “loathed” the outfits in “Notting Hill” and even donned her own clothing in one of the film’s most memorable sequences, when she tells Hugh Grant, “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”