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Veteran actress Essence Atkins has been acting for over 30 years, but many remember her from the late '90s sitcom Smart Guy. Now, she's starring in another sitcom, along with Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., called Poppa's House. At 52 years old, she still looks the same as she did in the '90s.

So what's her secret? One word: peace.


The beloved actress stopped by the Sherri talk show and opened up about how she keeps peace in her life while explaining a side-by-side photo she posted of herself in 2002 and today.

"I keep saying it's the fountain of peace," she told Sherri Sheperd after the talk show host asked her how does she look the same. "And you have to actively participate. That means what you intake needs to be peaceful, and what you put out needs to be peaceful."

This isn't the first time the mom of one talked about "the fountain of peace." In May, she retweeted @AuxGod_ who posted a side by side photo of Essence at 29 and her at 52 on X. She tweeted a video with the words, "Y’all, I am not a young woman anymore but… I ain’t mad at father time either. 😉 Thankful for every kindness and the consistent support from so many of you over the years. 🫶🏽🙏🏽 #fountainof peace"

In a past interview with Hello Beautiful, she explained why she posted that video. “I had an event for CBS to launch the show, Poppa’s House, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, she looks great.’ And then a couple of people were like, ‘Of course she looks great, she got all her makeup on. Of course, she looks great; she’s done this and done that,'” she said.

“And so I took all my makeup off, and I did a little video, and I’m like, Y’all, this is the fountain of peace. This is the fountain of joy. This is the fountain of authenticity. This is the fountain of not being incongruent with what you say and what you do. That is what this is. It is the practice of being okay to be who you really are and show up in excellence and show up, more importantly, in gratitude and kindness."

She continued, "So if there’s a secret to my youthful appearance, it ain’t Botox; See, it moves. It ain’t fillers; there’s lines. It is really about generosity. It’s really about showing up in service. It’s really about showing up appreciative of what everyone contributes. That will keep you young,”

Check out her full interview with Sherri, in which she also opens up about her abstinence journey.

Feature image by Olivia Wong/Getty Images

 

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