Carrie Coon isn’t interested in defying age — she’s interested in owning it. The Emmy-nominated actress and star of The Gilded Age has made it clear: Botox and fillers just aren’t for her.
Speaking to Glamour, Coon opened up about the pressures women in Hollywood face to maintain a youthful appearance and why she’s chosen a different path. “Authenticity is more evocative than any kind of engineering you might consider doing to your face or your body,” the 44-year-old said. “Now this is not the message coming from culture. As a woman who is 44, watching myself in HD is not easy, and it’s not comfortable.”
For Coon, rejecting cosmetic injections isn’t about judging others — it’s about staying true to herself. “It’s a choice I’m making for myself,” she explained. “Yes, it’s hard, but I hope that I will continue to work as a character actor — they kicked me out of leading lady status — and I’m very inspired by other women in the business I see who I can tell are also not augmenting their appearance.”
That authenticity carries over into her work. Coon recently reprised her role as Bertha Russell in HBO’s The Gilded Age, which returned for a new season on June 22. Set in 1880s New York, Bertha is a fierce and ambitious “new money” matriarch fighting for social dominance — a character Coon plays with conviction and poise.
She also starred as Laurie in season 3 of The White Lotus, a role that explored the complexities of motherhood, friendship, and aging. Alongside co-stars Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb, Coon portrayed a woman navigating life’s midlife turns — a reality she’s all too familiar with. “We have three women in their 40s and 50s playing with each other,” she told Collider. “I would never have worked with them at my age if it was before this time.”
Though she avoids injectables, Coon still enjoys taking care of her skin. She’s a fan of “lunchtime lasers,” gua sha, myofascial massages, and science-backed skincare. “But I’m not going to inject anything into my face,” she said. “It’s just… I think it’s scary and strange.”
That said, Coon has no interest in shaming others for their choices. “You’ve got to do what makes you feel good, what makes you feel like the authentic version of yourself,” she added. “That is not my place to judge, but I know people are going to judge me.”
And they do — often online. One user on X (formerly Twitter) commented that Coon looked “simultaneously 35 and 55,” calling her “fine as hell.” Coon, with her signature wit, responded: “Thank you. I totally agree and I can answer this one: 43, generally healthy, two little kids and not enough rest, no Botox or filler. Have a marvelous day.”
She followed up with a second post: “I’m not trolling you! I really do agree! Feeling ‘fine as hell’ and loving my 40s; some days I’m feeling 35 and some I lean 55, but they are all me.”
Married to actor and playwright Tracy Letts, 59, Coon jokes that being younger than her husband helps her stay feeling youthful. “You’ll always be young and beautiful when your husband is 15 years older than you,” she quipped.
Whether she’s on screen or off, Carrie Coon is making a powerful case for embracing aging with grace, humor, and unapologetic authenticity.
