It’s been 19 years since Shenae Grimes-Beech first found success as a teen actor, yet some of her followers still expect her to look like she did while she starred in Degrassi: The Next Generation and 90210 in the early 2000s. The 33-year-old isn’t having it, though. Grimes-Beech decided to let the people of the internet in on “a little secret” about the realities of aging in an Instagram post on Thursday, Aug. 31, and she highlighted some important truths.
The mom of two explained in her caption that whenever she posts a “nostalgic clip from [her] past life as a TEEN actor,” she sees people say, “She aged terribly.” To those critics, along with her other followers, she offered a reminder that social media and technology are changing our idea of what aging actually looks like. “One of the internet’s best kept secrets is skewing our perception of reality in a big way,” she wrote, in part, noting that she knows “how easy it is to lose grip on reality and judge yourself harshly when you’re inundated with images of seemingly effortless ‘perfection’ every day.”
In both her caption and her video, Grimes-Beech pointed out that many seemingly ageless people we see online have gotten Botox, fillers, or other anti-aging help. “If you see a woman on here over the age of 30 and she doesn’t look a little bit like this,” she said, pointing to lines on her face, “she’s more than likely had something injected into her face.” The actor clarified that she’s “not shaming anybody for doing it” (and is “very curious about doing it” herself), but she thinks there should be transparency so people understand what is and isn’t natural.
“There are people looking at others on the internet thinking, What the f*ck is wrong with me? Why do I look so old?” Grimes-Beech said. “Or people on the internet, like yours truly, getting comments about how poorly I’ve aged. I’m about to be 34 years old and my face moves and I have the lines to prove it. It is what it is.”
She further explained in her caption that she thinks “transparency when it comes to beauty standards is more important right now than ever before.” Acknowledging that it’s “tough out there,” whether you age naturally or with “a little help,” she thanked “the women who bring transparency to this topic.” Finally, she concluded with a rallying cry for her followers: “Let’s all try and be a little more up front and a hell of a lot kinder please!!!”
Many of the former teen star’s followers were all for her call for transparency and supported her in the comments. “Thank you! So refreshing to see an honest person online,” one wrote, in part. Another responded, “THIS!! I’m SOOOOOO glad people with platforms can acknowledge this and say the same things we’re thinking! This is why I love following your account!”
