Cold Feet star Hermione Norris says she felt “grief” when she turned 50 before experiencing a sense of “freedom”.
The star, 51, said that reaching the milestone had given her a “sense of security”.
She told Good Housekeeping magazine: “When I turned 50, it was a time for reflection, and within that there was huge gratitude and grief.
“You realise there are things that are no longer available to you. Doors have closed and you don’t realise that until you’re there…”
But Norris, best known for her role as Karen in Cold Feet, said: “There is also a sense of real liberation and freedom… I appreciate the sense of security as a woman.”
The Luther actress said: “It’s more of an internal journey and I find the peace of that hugely liberating…. I have looked forward and grown into myself.”
The mother-of-two also spoke about her marriage to writer and producer Simon Wheeler, who she met on the set of the TV crime drama series Wire In The Blood.
“There are people you have mad passionate affairs with and people who you marry. Marriage is finding somebody who you can raise a family with, grow old with and who you want to come home to.
“It sounds a bit of a passion killer, but it’s true,” she said.
“It’s hard raising a family so you need someone who you can trust to do it with.”
The full interview is in the February issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale now.