Happy birthday, Sigourney Weaver! The actress turns 70 today, October 8. Earlier this year, the actress opened up about her milestone birthday to Parade. She said she feels fortunate to continue playing fascinating, nuanced characters.

“I was never the babe or the beautiful ingénue or the love interest, because I was too tall,” she said. “So I’ve always played interesting people, and that’s continued. It’s not like I suddenly have to figure out who I am now.”

Related: Sigourney Weaver Reminisces on Her Career, Alien, Avatar and the New Ghostbusters

At 70, the actress certainly shows no signs of slowing down. She is set to star in next year’s Ghostbusters reboot, and she will also appear in the next four installments of Avatar.

In honor of Weaver’s birthday, we’ve rounded up some of her most inspiring words of wisdom on aging, tackling new challenges, and the advice she would give her younger self. Read them and remember them!

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1. “I enjoy working with younger people because I learn so much from them. And I like to bring in my own ways of doing things. I’m always on time. It’s important for older actors to show you’re always prepared. And I’m getting wonderful parts.” —Parade

2. “I’m much less serious about my work than I used to be. In my 20s especially, I missed out a lot of things because I was thinking about work and looking for work.” —GPS Radar

3. “When you’re young, there’s so much now that you can’t take it in. It’s pouring over you like a waterfall. When you’re older, it’s less intense, but you’re able to reach out and drink it. I love being older.” —Esquire

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4. “It’s important to grow old gracefully, and that’s what I plan to do. I am here to stay. I take care of myself, and I have the discipline to stay fit and have good health until I am very old. I’m not planning on retiring, and in many ways, professionally at least, I think my best days are still to come.” —The Times Live magazine

5. “There’s this perspective that when you turn 40, you won’t get as much work. But I think television has changed that, because it has such strong female roles. And I’m a weird duck, because I was never a ‘girlfriend’. I was always too tall to be the girlfriend. So I didn’t have to say goodbye to my sexual self and hello to my executive self. There aren’t as many women’s roles as men’s, but I’ve never envied men their roles. Women’s are more interesting.” —The Guardian

6. “I find that (Botox) look scary,’ she says, ‘And I like getting older. There’s nothing more inspiring to me than a woman in her 70s who’s full of life and and still useful. I never notice age in people’s faces. I just look at the whole person.’ —Daily Mail

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7. “I love to read, to be in the garden and with my dogs. My life is incredibly boring. I would like to have more time to smell the flowers, but I have more work than I can handle. I’m grateful I’m so busy, though. The parts get better as I get older. I think I’ve been very lucky.” —Daily Mail

8. “I think I do my work for women mostly. I want to feel that a woman looks at the screen and says to herself, `I know what that is, and I’m glad that that’s expressed.'” —RogerEbert.com

9. “I feel like I’m at the top of my craft and I’d love to sink my teeth into something that’s very challenging. So, I am looking around for that kind of story. But, on the other hand, I feel like there’s so many things I haven’t done: I’d love to go around the world just listening to music. Just immerse myself in the world music and see more of the world.” —GPS Radar

10. “I would say to my 25-year-old self, ‘Just relax, don’t stop having fun because you’re hoping for a job.’ I feel like the universe will sort this out for you. I think you can just be in the moment and you know life will let you know pretty quickly whether you’re on the right path or not. So just go for it.” —GPS Radar

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