Helena Bonham Carter believes she is "sexier than ever" now she is in her fifties.
The 53-year-old actress is loving this decade of her life and is much more confident with her curvy body than when she was younger when she "believed in being androgynous" and would hide her figure.
In an interview with Closer magazine, she said: "I didn’t feel that confident in my twenties, or in my thirties, and I sort of slowly got there in my forties. Now I’m in my fifties, I feel sexier than ever – and not because I’m sexually attractive, I’ve just grown into my body.
"It took me ages to grow into being a woman, into being happy with it. When I was young, I believed in being androgynous – if you can’t flaunt it, you can’t use it. The whole thing was just something to be embarrassed about.
"But now I enjoy it. It’s nice to have curves. To be a woman. I know I’m far more interesting now than when I was younger."
Helena split from her long-term partner Tim Burton – the father of her children Billy, 16, and 12-year-old Nell – in 2014 and found love again last year with the 32-year-old writer Rye Dag Holmboe.
Despite the 21-year age gap the British actress insists that Rye is "unbelievably mature" and insists she’s having a wonderful time as his girlfriend.
She said: "My boyfriend is unbelievably mature – he’s an old soul in a young body. People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn’t.
"Women can be very powerful when they’re older. Why can’t we be sexually and romantically attractive just because our eggs have expired? Actually, it’s much more fun, because we’re so freed of the terror, there is no consequence."
‘The Crown’ star also admits that she has placed less importance on her career as she has got older.
Helena explained: "As you get older, you go through whatever life throws at you and your ambition fades a bit. I was more ambitious when I was 12, and that matters less and less as you get older. There are other important things as well as a career."
Helena Bonham Carter: I feel sexier than ever
