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Rita Wilson On Growing Older And The Message She Has For Women Over 50

Rita Wilson On Growing Older And The Message She Has For Women Over 50
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Happy birthday, Rita Wilson! The actress, producer, writer, singer and Huff/Post50 editor-at-large turns 59 on Monday, Oct. 26. Rita recalled a toast her dear friend Nora Ephron gave on Rita's 50th birthday: "I am here to tell you good things can happen after turning 50." And no one illustrates this message better than Rita, who has gone from actress-producer to singer-songwriter -- with great success.

Rita continues to thrive despite facing a potentially life-altering health scare earlier this year. Rita underwent a bilateral mastectomy and breast reconstruction after a diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma. She has recovered nicely and has continued to be an outspoken advocate of living life to the fullest after 50.

To celebrate her birthday, Huff/Post50 asked Rita a few questions about life and growing older.

Huff/Post50: How have you managed to get through this year -- which included a cancer diagnosis -- with such resolve and grace? 
 
Rita: Acceptance. I took each day a step at a time. I spoke to many survivors and women who had bilateral mastectomies. We shared information. My husband, kids and friends kept me laughing and strong. I have been meditating twice a day. I thank God every day for being on this earth and for all the many blessings in my life.
 
Huff/Post50: What have you learned from this experience?
 
Rita: I have learned to say "no" more. I have a feeling of wanting to shed unnecessary things. A positive attitude can make a world of difference going through the long process of bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. There is so much goodness out there. I was overwhelmed by the love and support I felt from people I had never met but posted on my Twitter or Facebook. 
 
Huff/Post50: What's on your bucket list for the next year (or next five years)?

Rita: My new album will be out in February 2016. I'll be touring cross country on a bus. If that's not a bucket list item, I don't know what is! I want to visit Antarctica. I want to have a kick-ass party celebrating something and dance all night long. 
 
Huff/Post50: What message do you have for women who fear turning 50 or 60 -- or just fear getting older?
 
Rita: Really, fear getting older? I can't even conceive of that. And consider the alternative! I would say, embrace it all. You couldn't possibly know at 25 what you know today. How amazing is that? 
 
Huff/Post50: What mantra do you continue to live by?
 
Rita: "To thine own self be true." Polonius says it in "Hamlet". And also, the Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference."
 
Happy birthday, Rita. May you celebrate many, many more. 
 
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 
 
22 Amazing Actors Who've Never Won An Emmy
Andy Griffith(01 of22)
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Raise your hand if you can even believe that our favorite sheriff of all time (Mayberry's Andy Taylor) didn't receive one nomination for his brilliance on The Andy Griffith Show. Our favorite sidekick -- lovable deputy sheriff Barney Fife (aka Don Knotts) -- took home five Emmys, and, rightfully so, but it's shocking that Andy was never recognized by the Academy. 'Barney' may have gotten all the laughs, but 'Andy' set 'em up! The old cliché 'That's just wrong!' seems to apply here. (credit:AP)
Jackie Gleason(02 of22)
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If 'Ralph Kramden' (aka Jackie Gleason), boisterous bus driver on The Honeymooners/The Jackie Gleason Show, never took home an Emmy, but co-star Art Carney (aka sidekick Ed Norton) took home three for his role as Ed, is that an oversight? Yes, yes it is! We loved Ed, but Ralph kept the home fires burning with his bigger-than-life character which fueled Norton's fidgety, erratic behavior that made us all laugh out loud. Gleason should have taken home a busload of Emmys! (credit:WikiMedia:)
James Arness (03 of22)
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James Arness, who portrayed Marshall Matt Dillion on Gunsmoke for 20 years, was nominated for an Emmy in 1957, '58 and '59, but didn't take home the prize, although he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Maybe the Emmy voters didn't love him - but we certainly do - and we're sure Miss Kitty put a notch or two on his belt. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Jerry Seinfeld (04 of22)
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So one of the great sitcoms of all time, 'Seinfeld,' didn't produce an Emmy for its star, Jerry Seinfeld. How can that be? Don't get us started on the bad clichés... a show about 'nothing' reaps nothing for the star of the show? That's what Jerry gets for giving away all the funny lines to his costars. (See 'Andy Griffith.' ) (credit:WikiMedia:)
Jason Alexander(05 of22)
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After missing out seven consecutive times in the 1990s, Jason Alexander (aka Seinfelds' George Costanza) must have screamed 'Serenity Now!' after going home empty handed so many times. Losing three times to that madcap Seinfeld neighbor Kramer (Michael Richards), must have made him feel like he was somehow missing in action. "Yeah, I'm a great quitter. It's one of the few things I do well. I come from a long line of quitters. My father was a quitter, my grandfather was a quitter... I was raised to give up."... GC 'George' made us laugh until our bellies hurt. That should be Emmy worthy! (credit:Getty Images)
Angela Lansbury (06 of22)
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It's no secret that Angela Lansbury is one of the best actresses on planet Earth. It's a mystery, though, why the Murder, She Wrote actress never pulled off the Emmy she deserved after 15 nominations. Broadway recognized her talent with five Tonys and the Golden Globes got it right six times, but Miss Emmy... what's the deal? (credit:WikiMedia:)
Kim Cattrall(07 of22)
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That sexy siren (Samantha Jones) from Sex and the City could pull off the big 'O,' but somehow the Emmy voters must have looked at that as method acting, and never rewarded her 'real' acting abilities even though she was nominated five times. Ooooooh, my! (credit:AP)
Steve Carell (08 of22)
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Steve Carell got little more than a paper cut after six nominations and no wins for his role as Michael Scott, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Inc, a mid-sized paper company in a big NBC hit show called The Office. He can thank Jim Parsons (twice), Alec Baldwin (twice), Ricky Gervais and Tony Shalhoub for making off with his hardware. He can thank himself for his part in making that show a hit! (credit:WikiMedia:)
Henry Winkler(09 of22)
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No, you are not hallucinating. Henry Winkler did not take home an Emmy for portraying one of the most iconic and recognizable television characters of all time -- Arthur 'The Fonz' Fonzarelli! The Happy Days character brought the goods when it came to 'hip,' 'cool,' and 'sexy.' Although Winkler eventually won two daytime Emmys, his three nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor, Comedy Series/Happy Days somehow didn't cut the mustard with Emmy voters which means they were obviously sitting down on the job. Primetime Emmy voters: Sit on it! (credit:WikiMedia:)
Desi Arnaz(10 of22)
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Emmy voters, you have a lot of 'splainin' to do! Why oh why didn't 'Ricky Ricardo' share in the Emmy love that his wonderfully ditzy wife Lucille Ball enjoyed as 'Lucy Ricardo?' Trivia: Arnaz was the only one of the four stars on I Love Lucy who did not receive an Emmy nomination. Shameful! (credit:WikiMedia:)
Hugh Laurie(11 of22)
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Six -- count 'em -- six times Hugh Laurie was nominated for his role as Dr. Gregory House in the Fox medical drama House but had to stay in his seat when someone else's name was called during the Award presentations. Grumpy Cat meet Grumpy Doctor. It's likely that the actor became as grumpy as his character after those six defeats. (credit:Getty Images)
Ed O'Neill(12 of22)
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Interestingly, actor Ed O'Neill, who was best known for his role as Al Bundy on Fox TV sitcom Married... With Children, was never nominated for that part. Although he has been nominated three times for playing patriarch Jay Pritchett on the award-winning ABC sitcom Modern Family, he has never taken home the award. Maybe this year his luck will change. Stay tuned! (credit:Getty Images)
Katey Sagal (13 of22)
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'Peggy Bundy' was not the best-dressed distressed housewife in her role on Married... With Children, but she brought self-indulgence to a new high on this hilarious sitcom. She owned the bouffant hairdo and skintight Spandex pants. Entertainment Weekly once listed her as one of the biggest Emmy snubs of all time. We second that. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Michael Landon(14 of22)
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Wouldn't you think the odds of Michael Landon winning an Emmy for his roles on Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and/or Highway to Heaven would be good to great? Not so much. According to "Michael Landon Trivia," he never won an Emmy in the 28 years he spent entertaining the masses on any of his three television shows. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Pernell Roberts (15 of22)
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That handsome, debonair, rugged hunk, Pernell Roberts, aka 'Adam Cartwright' of the Ponderosa, was never nominated for his role on the popular western Bonanza and was nominated only once for his CBS drama Trapper John, M.D. Roberts rode off into the sunset without an Emmy to keep him company on the trail. Just doesn't seem right. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Redd Foxx(16 of22)
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Nominated three times for his superb performance as Fred Sanford in the comedy series Sanford and Son, Redd Foxx didn't take home the prize in spite of the show's popularity during its six-year run. Who plays lovable and cantankerous all at the same time better than Redd Foxx? Nobody. Unfortunately, he never won 'the big one.' Right, Elizabeth? (credit:WikiMedia:)
Larry Hagman(17 of22)
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We all know who shot J.R., but what we don't know is why the man who put Dallas on the map, never took home an Emmy. Hagman first came into our living rooms playing the mild-mannered astronaut -- sidekick to a 'genie' -- in the NBC sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, but it was his role as J.R. Ewing in the primetime TV soap opera Dallas that got our attention! Unfortunately the audience doesn't get a vote so Hagman never got the 'girl.' (credit:WikiMedia:)
George Clooney(18 of22)
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Paging ER Dr. Doug Ross. Put the Emmy down. Oh, never mind. You don't own an Emmy, but, so what? George Clooney owns just about every other award one could ever hope to acquire in the big wide world of entertainment. Check 'em out here. (Just sooooo many!) We're wondering if the Syriana actor keeps his Oscars on the same shelf his Emmy(s) should have gone? Great actor! Apparently can't win 'em all. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Phylicia Rashad(19 of22)
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Hard to believe that actress Phylicia Rashad was only nominated once in eight seasons for playing matriarch Clair Huxtable on the hit NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. In 2008, Rashad was nominated for her role as Lena Younger in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun. (credit:AP)
Elizabeth Montgomery(20 of22)
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Elizabeth Montgomery was nominated nine times, five for her role as domestic witch Samantha Stephens in Betwitched, but no matter how hard she tweaked that cute little button nose, she couldn't make even one Emmy appear on her mantle. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5629358be4b0443bb5633414" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="3" data-vars-position-in-unit="6">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73914207@N06/9671136055" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="pds209" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5629358be4b0443bb5633414" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73914207@N06/9671136055" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="4" data-vars-position-in-unit="7">pds209</a>)
Ron Howard(21 of22)
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Ron Howard's two most famous roles on television: Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days were priceless. His Happy Days role didn't earn him a Primetime Emmy award, but the actor-turned-director hit pay dirt with a boatload of awards for his films which includes an Academy Award for Best Directing for A Beautiful Mind in 2002 (and a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Animated Program for Curious George). (credit:AP)
Steve Allen(22 of22)
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Mr. Pioneer of the late-night genre, Steve Allen, who was the first host of the original Tonight Show, didn't win an Emmy for his efforts because... he was never nominated for his efforts. He was, however, nominated twice for his primetime variety show, The Steve Allen Show but, alas, didn't take home the gold lady. Is there a 'Pioneer' award in the future of the Emmys? Let's hope so! (credit:Getty Images)

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