‘Accepting all of it’: Debra Lawrance on ignoring Hollywood beauty pressure
Debra Lawrance says many older women are "sensible enough" to ignore pressure from social media, and feel for the way it affects younger women.
Star of Home and Away and Please Like Me Debra Lawrance has resisted industry pressure to cosmetically alter her face, saying she feels “very sorry for the young women” continually influenced to cultivate a perfect appearance.
“The whole Hollywood thing about having plastic surgery to look younger or better, in order to keep working as an actor? I’ve never felt that pressure,” Lawrance told The Senior from her home in Victoria’s Yarra Valley.
“I don’t want to have anything done to my face. I just accepted it the way it is.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being critical here. If they want to do that, that’s fine.”
Social media and the beauty industry continue to pressure young actors and young women in general to achieve a “smoother” and younger look, the 69-year-old said.
“Most older women are sensible enough not to take notice of it anymore, and feel very sorry for the young women who are going through that,” she said.
“Older women are certainly making a difference for themselves now, because we were all born in the 50s and 60s, and we’re all hippies, so we don’t shut-up for anybody anymore.”
The Silver Logie and AACTA award winner is back in Australia for the debut of the new production of Steel Magnolias, based on Robert Harling’s 1987 play, which spawned a critically acclaimed film of the same name, starring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts and Daryl Hannah.
Set in the deep South of the US, it follows the lives of six women as they gather in a local beauty salon to share happiness and heartache, and will feature an ensemble of local stars including Home and Away alumni Belinda Giblin and Jessica Redmayne, along with Lisa McCune, Mandy Bishop and newcomer Lotte Beckett.
“It’s a really heartwarming story, because it’s a true story,” Lawrance, who also starred in a 2009 production of the play said.
“Women, we’ve been marginalised for centuries now, and I think we derive a lot of comfort from being each other’s company.”
Lawrance has been urging women to embrace their natural beauty online, where she recently posted a makeup-free selfie to Instagram, encouraging her followers to change the “algorithm one pic at a time”.
The actor was showing support for fellow star Rachel Hunter, who was trolled in late 2025 after posting a video without makeup, where commenters called her appearance “ravaged” and “shocking”.
“We’ve been sidelined for a long time, and I think we’re starting to make a lot more noise now in a world where there’s a lot more exposure through social media,” she said.
Despite admitting she has spent much of her life feeling like a “bit of a gazelle”, Lawrance said a recent stint in London, with its long commuter trips and city lifestyle, had left her worn out, after starring in a stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
“That was confronting. I found myself getting really exhausted, like physically, and I think a bit emotionally as well, because I was unusually physically exhausted, then that upset me a bit emotionally.”
Since returning home to the bush, Lawrance has been taking time to get her body and mind back into gear.
“‘I’ve now realised that my body is going to turn 70. It’s increased my awareness now of the ageing process,” she said.
“I look in the mirror, I need glasses, and my hearing is not that great. But, I’m accepting all of it.”
Ageism in the entertainment industry is a complex issue, she says, with many television and stage productions driven by who can “put bums on seats, basically”.
How Debra Lawrance stays fit
Lawrance says she has always loved walking for her health, and at times has been “obsessive” about it.
During rehearsals for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Lawrance alternated between one hour of either cardio, pilates and yoga for six days of the week.
Throughout the show’s run, the team also did a half hour physical warm up before each performance, for eight shows a week.
Since finishing up on the show, the actor has become “addicted” to the routines because of how good it makes her feel.
“I just kept it going,” she said.
Each morning, she does sit ups, stretches, lunges and pilates balancing exercises.
In the evening, she stretches and does some Tai Chi movements.
“It’s just easy because I know it’s doing me good.
Lawrance said many of her female friends had retired from the entertainment industry as they struggled to financially sustain a career as they matured.
“I’ve been very, very lucky in terms of the way I’ve charted through my 40s and 50s and now 60s.
“I’m very aware and very grateful that I’m extremely lucky to have done that, and that is the rarity.”
Steel Magnolias will tour nationally from April 30, with shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne.
