Elaine Hendrix Opens Up About Her Favorite Parts of Her 50s, Says She’s ‘So Much More Settled’ in Her ‘Own Skin’ (Exclusive)

Erin Clack, Amanda Champagne-MeadowsSun, September 13, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC

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Elaine Hendrix at the Celebrating Women of Emmy Season event in Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2026Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty -

Elaine Hendrix opened up about her favorite parts of her 50s while chatting with PEOPLE at the Celebrating Women of Emmy Season event in Los Angeles on Sept. 10

“I’m so much more settled in my own skin,” she said

The Parent Trap actress will turn 56 in December

Elaine Hendrix is feeling fabulous in her 50s.

The Parent Trap actress, 55, caught up with PEOPLE exclusively at the Celebrating Women of Emmy Season event in Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 10, and shared how she is embracing this decade of her life.

Reflecting on her favorite parts of her 50s, she said, “Number one, I finally have the wisdom that I thought I had growing up. You know, when you’re young, you think you know everything. And I’m wise enough now to go, ‘I don’t know everything, but I do know a lot.’ And that’s good.”

“The second part to that is that I don’t care,” Hendrix continued. “I got all this wisdom, so there are so many things that I thought I needed that now I don’t need. So I’m just — I could sum it up by saying that I’m so much more settled in my own skin.”

Elaine Hendrix at the Celebrating Women of Emmy Season event in Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2026Credit: Chloe Kern/WireImage

Comparing the aging journeys of women and men — specifically the newfound confidence that many women experience — she added, “I think it is a little bit of a role reversal, and it’s societal and it’s chemical. They lose testosterone and gain estrogen. We lose estrogen and gain testosterone.”

“That’s certainly a part of it,” Hendrix continued. “And then society places so much importance on, you know, strapping young men, being so virile, and then older women are these crones who are supposed to disappear into the woods and talk to woodland creatures all the time.”

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The actress said she believes it’s “a great time to be alive” for women.

“Shout-out to Gloria Steinem, that giant of a woman we just lost and all the incredible work she did, and so many other women, so that we can, in this day and age, feel empowered and feel like, ‘F--- yeah, we’re here, we deserve to be here, and we’re needed,’ ” Hendrix added. (The feminist activist died on Sept. 2 at the age of 92.)

Last year, Hendrix competed on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars alongside pro partner Alan Bersten. She was 54 at the time and made history as only the third woman over 50 to reach the show’s finale (following Jennifer Grey and Kirstie Alley).

Elaine HendrixCredit: Randy Shropshire/Getty

Hendrix celebrated her DWTS feat in an Instagram post on Aug. 25, writing over a clip of herself lip-syncing in her car: “When I decided to chase a dream at 54 and proved it’s never too late to live your best life.”

In the caption of the post, she added, “Turns out the best years don’t come with an age limit 💋💃🏼.”

Opening up about her experience on the ABC competition show in a December 2025 interview with PEOPLE, Hendrix said she learned “just what I’m actually capable of.”

“I had high expectations of myself, and I blew them out of the water,” she explained. “To really believe in yourself when you have a dream… I gave it every ounce of my heart and soul, and it was worth it.”

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