Gwyneth Paltrow turns fifty today and — like the good Libra that she is — celebrated by releasing photos of herself completely naked and painted head-to-toe in gold paint.

A golden girl to be sure, Gwyneth is still a far cry from the Golden Girls, some of whom were in their early 50’s when the beloved TV show began!

What does it mean to be fifty these days? Beauty standards for golden-aged women have changed, as have our high-tech opportunities to fulfill them.

Gold-painted photos aside, Paltrow also recently shared this honest take on her 50th, sharing, “I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone. I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept.

“I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.”

For more than two decades now, shows like Sexy and the City have portrayed their (now over-fifty) characters dating, working and living in a way that Blanche and Dorthy would never.

In wellness, we’ve featured many the older woman with health and energy a twenty-one year old would envy.

For an aging Millenial like myself, it’s a wonderful thing to watch all this progress around age unfold in real time. The golden years are looking better and better, which gives me hope to envision what they’ll look like once I reach them myself. On the whole, I think that’s how many women feel about these shifts around age. Sure, these changes could prolong the years in which we give way too many figs about the way we look. And, no, not all of us have access to the latest and best in aesthetics and cutting edge tech the way Gwyneth may. That said, on a wellness level, I am constantly rooting for innovation in medical, aesthetic and other longevity technologies — anticipating what will be more widely available once I need them myself.

As I’ve noted often in our beauty stories, the popularization of elite spa treatments often help new wellness technologies trickle down and take hold as viable health treatments. While no one has a home spa like GP, advances in wellness technologies like infrared saunas and microcurrent facials are in the process of becoming more and more accessible over time.

Biohacker, Dave Asprey is fond of saying that if you can “stay alive” for the next twenty years, you may be able to live into the next hundred. The advances coming down the pike in the world of longevity tech are that revolutionary.

In my interview with longevity investor, Sergey Young, he unpacks three longevity “horizons”, the third being “technology available over the next 10-20 years with the potential to expand our lifespans to 200 years.” Pretty exciting stuff.

I’m not sure you expected these nakie photos of a 90’s starlet turned golden-aged wellness maven in your in-box today. And I’m certain you didn’t expect us to connect them to a hopeful narrative around longevity. However, in stark contrast to other women’s wellness news around the world this very week, we hope you wring a drop of hope and inspiration around the way ideas on women and aging are changing.

Even if you don’t share Gwyneth’s enviable access to the best of the best (who does?) the direction we’re all heading when it comes to longevity bears plenty of promise.