Elizabeth Hurley, 57, says it’s still 'taboo to publicly talk about breasts'

Unapologetically is a Yahoo Life series in which people get the chance to share how they live their best life — out loud and in color, without fear or regret — looking back at the past with a smile and embracing the future with excited anticipation.

Apart from her talent as an actress, Elizabeth Hurley continues to be celebrated for the way that she empowers women over the age of 50 by embracing her body and her beauty as she ages. While some are dismayed by the array of bikini photos that she posts to her Instagram account, Hurley, 57, tells Yahoo Life that the point is to encourage people to live by their own standards instead of those of others.

"I'm really all for everybody doing whatever makes them feel comfortable. I wouldn't want anyone to do anything because they feel they ought to," she says. "I feel very comfortable doing everything I do. And if there was anything I was ever asked to do, which makes me uncomfortable, I wouldn't do it."

Hurley previously shared with Yahoo Life that she likes to "have a laugh" with the shoots that she does for social media and often doesn't take herself too seriously while posing in a bikini. Despite the reactions from others, which are out of her control, she feels empowered knowing her own intentions.

"The most important messaging for all women is be aware of what makes you feel comfortable. You know, if there's a trend going for doing something on TikTok or something on Instagram that everybody seems to be doing, but actually you don't feel comfortable, just don't do it. Find your own thing," she says. "Yes, I still wear bikinis on holidays and because I've got a bikini company, I'm happy to share those pictures. But expect if I didn't have a bikini company, I probably wouldn't share these pictures. As it happens, but I'm very comfortable doing that."

Aside from marketing her own Elizabeth Hurley Beach line, she also hopes to inspire people to do as they please — especially women over a certain age who feel limited in their ability to express themselves.

"There's plenty of women my age who really love going on vacation, prancing around the beach, wearing whatever they want to wear and not being afraid of other people making sneering comments," she continues. "So I think it's just about really saying, work out what you're comfortable with, work out what you believe in. And whilst always being open to new opportunities and to change, stick to your guns when you know something you feel strong about."

This mindset is also what the actress has applied to her philanthropic work as she's assisted in Estée Lauder Companies' Breast Cancer Campaign for the past 27 years. "It's actually the longest and the most I've been connected to something apart from my family," she says of her nearly three-decade effort with the brand. "It's something that I feel so connected to and I really feel that it's really part of me."

Working to bring more awareness to the disease and fundraising money to eradicate it has also aligned with Hurley's mission of connecting with more women on a deeper level.

"I've met thousands of women who've been diagnosed with breast cancer that didn't all make it. And I've probably met tens of thousands of people whose mom or sister or wife or daughter has been diagnosed with breast cancer, again, not all of whom made it. And it's very humbling to be in a position where so many people tell you their story," she says. "Today I must have heard maybe 10 people's own experiences with breast cancer, whether it's their sister, mother or themselves. It pretty much happens to me everywhere I go now and it's something that I really take seriously, that people trust me with their confidences in that way. And if there's ever anything I can ever do to give any support or comfort to people in that situation, then you know, I'll pull on every experience I have to do that."

Her own experience of losing her grandmother to breast cancer is exactly what had motivated her to begin with. As a mother to her own son, Damian, Hurley also empathizes with those who are fearful of not getting the opportunity to watch their children grow.

"It plays into it a lot. I mean, I'm a single mother with one child, and you know, I don't want to leave him," she says. "We all want women to stop dying of breast cancer for womankind and for ourselves, and for our own families. Of course we do. For our friends, for our loved ones, we don't want anyone to die of breast cancer anymore."

In order to do that, she also believes in speaking more openly about women's health despite people's fears of it intersecting with female sexuality.

"When my grandmother died of breast cancer more than 30 years ago, no one talked about breasts out loud, certainly not breast cancer. It just wouldn't have been done to talk about a diagnosis and any treatment you were going through. So such vast strides have been made that one can do that," she explains. "That said, I visited different countries and different cultures where it still is taboo to publicly talk about breasts and that certainly does not help open discussions about breast cancer."

While her work with the campaign is far from over, Hurley recognizes that her efforts with Estée Lauder are just a piece of her mission when it comes to empowering women and people everywhere to speak more openly about their life experiences.

"Any remaining taboos are certainly there for us to challenge," she says.

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