By Molly Goddard
8:50am PST, Jan 24, 2025
Andie MacDowell is getting candid about the struggles of aging.
During a Thursday, January 23, interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, the 66-year-old revealed she was diagnosed with a rare condition that made her rethink her physical capabilities.
Join us to hear how MacDowell overcame the health hurdle…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
During a Thursday, January 23, interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, the 66-year-old revealed she was diagnosed with a rare condition that made her rethink her physical capabilities.
Join us to hear how MacDowell overcame the health hurdle…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
The Maid actress admitted she was dealing with Piriformis Syndrome. According to the Mayo Clinic, it's a condition that causes pain, numbness or tingling in the buttocks, hip or upper leg. The ache occurs when the piriformis muscle spasms and compresses the sciatic nerve.
"It's a muscle that clamps down on my sciatic nerve and it was shooting down my leg. I thought I was going to have to have a hip replacement. Thank God my hips are fine," MacDowell told Drew Barrymore.
"It's a muscle that clamps down on my sciatic nerve and it was shooting down my leg. I thought I was going to have to have a hip replacement. Thank God my hips are fine," MacDowell told Drew Barrymore.
"I have to work my tiny little bottom and my hips. I have to work the bottom and work my hip. I just do it every day," she explained.
After the former model knew what was going on with her body, she needed to make significant changes to her fitness routine. "I like to eat, but I do love to work out. That is my great fortune because I have had friends that are frustrated because they don't enjoy it, but I really do enjoy it," MacDowell said.
After the former model knew what was going on with her body, she needed to make significant changes to her fitness routine. "I like to eat, but I do love to work out. That is my great fortune because I have had friends that are frustrated because they don't enjoy it, but I really do enjoy it," MacDowell said.
"But most recently, what happened when I was working last season as I did the Peloton like a crazy person and it's not appropriate for my body and I ended up with bad knees and a bad hip and I didn't realize what was, I thought I was literally falling apart like I was going to have to get new pieces," she continued.
"My knees are good except for like aging. They've aged. I'm working out really hard now doing PT I'm not falling apart. Well, thank God," the mother-of-three confirmed.
"My knees are good except for like aging. They've aged. I'm working out really hard now doing PT I'm not falling apart. Well, thank God," the mother-of-three confirmed.
Despite the hardship, the Four Weddings and a Funeral star has embraced getting older, especially regarding her looks, as she decided to stop dyeing her hair.
"Every time my kids would see me, they kept telling me I looked bad— with my gray hair," MacDowell told Vogue in 2021. "When I pulled it up in a bun, all you could see was the salt and pepper, which is what I am, you know, dark and silver."
"Every time my kids would see me, they kept telling me I looked bad— with my gray hair," MacDowell told Vogue in 2021. "When I pulled it up in a bun, all you could see was the salt and pepper, which is what I am, you know, dark and silver."
"I've been saying for a while now it was time for me, personally, to make that transition because I felt like it was appropriate for my personality and just who I am," she explained.
Although MacDowell was confident in her new 'do, others were not as thrilled. "My managers had actually said to me, 'It's not time,'" she admitted.
Although MacDowell was confident in her new 'do, others were not as thrilled. "My managers had actually said to me, 'It's not time,'" she admitted.
"And I said, 'I think you're wrong, and I'm going to be more powerful if I embrace where I am right now. It's time because in two years I'm going to be 65. If I don't do it now, I won't have the chance to be salt and pepper. I always wanted to be salt and pepper!'" the matriarch noted.
"It was just so clear to me that my instincts were right because I've never felt more powerful," she emphasized.
"It was just so clear to me that my instincts were right because I've never felt more powerful," she emphasized.
MacDowell — who shares Justin, 38, Rainey, 35, and Margaret, 30, with her former husband Paul J. Qualley — left Hollywood and now resides on the other side of the country.
"I moved down to South Carolina and I live with in a community that has a lot of people my age, so it makes it really easy to socialize," she told the E.T. actress, 49, during their sit-down. "I've had to work really hard on my independence, Margaret basically told me I needed to get a life. She was right."
"I moved down to South Carolina and I live with in a community that has a lot of people my age, so it makes it really easy to socialize," she told the E.T. actress, 49, during their sit-down. "I've had to work really hard on my independence, Margaret basically told me I needed to get a life. She was right."