American folk singer-songwriter Joan Baez continues to demonstrate the same sincerity. Invited on a podcast, she spoke candidly about aging and her relationship with her body.
"I don't like my wrinkles": a frank admission
It was on the podcast Wiser Than Me , hosted by American actress, comedian, television producer, and singer Julia Louis-Dreyfus, that Joan Baez addressed the topic of aging. When asked about her relationship with age, she made a confession: "I don't like my wrinkles." She then added humorously that while some women say they have "made peace" with theirs, this isn't really the case for her, despite her efforts. "But it's not that bad," she joked.
Cosmetic surgery? "Not really."
When Julia Louis-Dreyfus asked her if she had ever considered cosmetic surgery, Joan Baez replied, "Not really." Like many women, she confided, she sometimes looks in the mirror and pulls her cheeks back to imagine the result. She even admitted to having once considered removing "that bit of skin hanging off" above her eyelids. Before concluding, simply, that she had "changed her mind."
Beyond the wrinkles, Joan Baez has a nuanced view of her age. She even admits to feeling, deep down, as if she were barely over 70. The best part, according to her? This "accumulation of a lifetime": knowledge, emotions, relationships, encounters. "You can't deny that you gain something over the years," she summarizes. The "trade-off," she says, is precisely these wrinkles that she still struggles to accept.
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Dance as a space of freedom
Joan Baez has a secret to cultivating her energy and balance: dance. She recounts meeting a medium in Germany who, after drawing up her astrological chart, shared a thought that has remained etched in her memory. According to him, while she was on Earth to paint, draw, sing, and be an activist, the true reason for her presence here was… to dance.
An idea that deeply resonated with her. "That's where my freedom is born," explains Joan Baez. As soon as the music starts, worries fade away and movement comes naturally. She doesn't necessarily dance every day, but seizes "every opportunity to let herself be carried away by the rhythm"—a way for her to move and take care of herself with pleasure.
A folk music legend with an "extraordinary" career
A major figure in folk music and a tireless activist, Joan Baez has left her mark on history far beyond her songs. She was recently the subject of the documentary "Joan Baez: I Am a Noise" (2023) and was portrayed by Monica Barbaro in the film "A Complete Unknown" (2024), which focuses on the rise of Bob Dylan—with whom she was close in the early 1960s.
Joan Baez thus proves that one can age without a mask or pretense. By stating that she doesn't like her wrinkles while refusing surgery, she offers a rare and liberating voice.
