Actress Rachel Ward is not going to let a few trolls stop her from enjoying her decision to embrace aging naturally.\n<\/p>\n
The Thorn Birds star, 68, took to Instagram<\/a> to shut down critics of her appearance who basically said she looked her age, while also thanking the fans who rallied to her defense and offering them some words of wisdom.\n<\/p>\n “Dear those of you who responded to the brouhaha over the trolls criticizing my appearance, I have tried to do a little better today,” she joked at the beginning of her video. “I ran my hands through my hair, et cetera, but anyways, just to say, do not fear aging.”\n<\/p>\n In the clip, Ward is seen in a button-down shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, with short, gray hair and no makeup.\n<\/p>\n She continued her message, “It’s a wonderful period of life in your 60s. I am more fulfilled than ever and I have no regrets, leaving my youth and beauty behind.”\n<\/p>\n Ward also noted that “youth is beauty, beauty is youth, and that’s all you need to know.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “I’m not youthful, but I am a very happy camper,” she explained. “Later years are to be exalted and welcomed. You wait until you get there. They have so many other gifts to bestow that you have no idea what they are until you get there.”\n<\/p>\n Ward said she was “overwhelmed” by how many took the time to defend her from online trolls that she “couldn’t care less about,” adding, “Don’t worry about me. I do recognize that we’re all a little bit worried about losing our youth and resorting to rather drastic ways of holding on to it, but let it go,” she encouraged.<\/p>\n Rachel Ward attends the 66th Sydney Film Festival Program Launch in 2019.<\/p>\n Mark Metcalfe\/Getty<\/p>\n She concluded, “Let it go and much bounty will come. Anyway, I just thank you from [my heart]. It was amazing to receive that response from you all.”\n<\/p>\n Ward, who runs a beef cattle farm in Australia with husband and Thorn Birds costar Bryan Brown, 78, took the opportunity to plug her other ventures \u2014 and make more jokes about the trolls \u2014 in the caption for the video.\n<\/p>\n “Overwhelmed by the generosity that poured forth after a few fearful trolls went on the attack of my rather unkempt appearance before Christmas,” she wrote. “I\u2019m a farmer now but really should do my hair and apply some lippy before I go on social media. Apologies for frightening a few of you.”\n<\/p>\n Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with\u00a0our\u00a0EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n She concluded, “I would crawl under a rock but very keen to promote my new initiative @Farmthru_ where you can buy Delicious regen steaks, chooks, eggs, pork and lamb at a curb side hub in the Northern Beaches. Check it out and support farmers who balance both land, animal and your health. Wait until you taste the difference.”\n<\/p>\n