Demi Moore on the ‘liberating’ feeling of approaching 60: ‘I feel…more alive and present than ever’

Demi Moore is an icon. From Ghost to Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, from rocking long black locks to shaving her head completely, she has made her mark on Hollywood and the beauty industry.

However, Demi is still not quite ready to accept that she is, indeed, an icon.

In an interview with PEOPLE magazine to launch her new swimwear capsule collection, the actress opened up on her feelings towards her own career, how she feels about turning 60 later this year and how women today react differently to hitting certain milestones compared to our mother’s and grandmother’s generations.

Demi’s latest venture is a new range of swimwear and great-fitting bikinis, something which she’s excited about as it’s her way of breaking outdated rules of what women should and shouldn’t be wearing after a certain age.

While showcasing the Demi Moore x Andie swimwear capsule, Demi said, "It's changing this idea that women become less desirable as we get older. We don't want to look matronly or not feel sexy."

Refusing to let a number define her own sense of sexiness and sense of self is something Demi is not afraid to speak out about.

In the same interview, the Indecent Proposal star described her upcoming 60th birthday as “liberating.”

Turning 60 in November, Demi explained that she’s counting the experiences and not the years, suggesting that traditional attitudes meant people started to act – and feel – older once they hit a certain age.

She said of the upcoming birthday, "Not being defined by a number and instead being defined by my experience. You hit 59 and you're already thinking, 'Well, I'm going to be 60.' It feels very liberating. When I think of my grandmother at 60, she in a way seemed to be already resigned to being old. But I feel, in so many ways, more alive and present than ever."

40 years into her career, she still struggles with the idea of becoming an icon, though.

When asked about being called a Hollywood icon, she answered, "To hear that in relation to yourself seems a bit out-of-body. I feel flattered and a bit like, that doesn't feel like me, but I like it.”

“To me, what an icon has always signified is somebody who's paved a way and marked something that has moved people or had impact that has been positive. And in that regard, I feel really proud to be put in a category that would be related to that."