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Jane Seymour at 75: ‘I’m at My Peak Right Now’
The ‘Harry Wild’ actor and American Heart Association spokesperson says she’s far more fearless in life and in her career than she’s ever been before
VIDEO: Jane Seymour Isn’t Slowing Down — She’s Getting Started
Brianna Bryson/Getty Images
British-born actor Jane Seymour, 75, has never been one to shrink from a challenge. As a child, she was told that she had flat feet and a speech impairment, so she worked hard to prove the naysayers wrong.
“I became a ballerina with the Kirov [Russian ballet],” the Emmy and Golden Globe winner says. And, though she had trouble with the letter R, she adds, “I ended up fooling Americans on network television, that I was actually American. I have been fearless to some degree all along.”
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That same spirit has led her to take unexpected roles. Although she’s best known for her iconic performance in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, she’s also played Solitaire, a psychic seduced by James Bond in 1973’s Live and Let Die, and Kathleen “Kitty Kat” Cleary, a provocative socialite in the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers. Those bold choices led her to feel more confident.
“I think I’m at my peak right now. As an actress, I’m far more fearless than I ever was,” she tells AARP during a video interview from New York City. “I broke the mold of worrying about what anyone would think when I did Wedding Crashers. I went, ‘It’s OK. You can actually laugh at yourself and laugh at life. Have fun. Just don’t be so serious. What are we worrying about?' ”
Rohan Nedd plays high school student Fergus Reid, who assists Harriet “Harry” Wild (Seymour) in her investigations.
Szymon Lazewski/AcornTV
In her latest role, Seymour stars as the title character in Harry Wild, an Acorn TV mystery series now entering its fifth season. The Irish comedy-drama follows Seymour as Harriet “Harry” Wild, a recently retired literature professor who finds a new calling as an amateur sleuth.
“It’s such a gift, at this time in my life, to have a series that is contemporary, that people love, and with a main character who is older than we would ever be allowed to have on television normally,” she says. “I think it gives hope to all of us who are older, [that] we can have a second life.”
For Season 5 of Harry Wild, there’s a new addition that is sure to delight Dr. Quinn fans. The show is adding the character of Pierce Kennedy — whom Seymour calls a “really hot pathologist” — played by her previous costar, Joe Lando, 64. “There’s all this chemistry. We’re different characters, but it really, really works,” she says.
Joe Lando and Seymour, who were costars on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” were paired up once again for “Harry Wild.” “There’s all this chemistry. We’re different characters, but it really, really works,” she says.
Szymon Lazewski/AcornTV
In 2025, Seymour became an ambassador for the American Heart Association, helping launch a national fundraising campaign and appearing in PSAs to raise awareness of women’s heart health. It’s an issue that hits close to home. “In my family history, there’s been heart disease,” she says, adding that her mother passed away after a stroke at age 92.
It’s an important issue for everyone, but especially women. The American Heart Association projects that by 2050, nearly 60 percent of U.S. women will have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Seymour hopes that her involvement with the organization will encourage people, particularly women, to make positive lifestyle choices and get the proper checkups.
Byron Sully (Lando) and Dr. Quinn (Seymour) were love interests on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” which ran from 1993 to 1998.
Jeff Katz/TV Guide/Courtesy Everett Collection
“You have to be kind to your heart. Your heart pumps the blood that you need and the oxygen and everything into your body,” she says, encouraging proactive, preventative care. “You would do that for your car or for your pet. Do it for yourself.”
Because of her family history with cardiovascular disease, and to keep herself on a path to heart health and longevity, Seymour primarily eats a Mediterranean diet. She often includes vegetables from her own garden and drinks plenty of water. She also practices intermittent fasting by avoiding breakfast, drinking only clear liquids until lunch, and then eating all her meals before 6 p.m.
“I’m never on an actual diet,” she says. “I just feel healthy that way.”
One important nonnegotiable in Seymour’s healthy lifestyle? “I always sleep eight hours,” she says, adding that if a full night isn’t possible, she tries to build in time for a nap or a meditation session. Seymour also prioritizes working out but doesn’t worry if she can’t make it to the gym. “I’ll do sit-ups, bridges, crunches or whatever it takes,” she says.
“It’s such a gift, at this time in my life, to have a series that is contemporary, that people love, and with a main character who is older than we would ever be allowed to have on television normally,” says Jane Seymour of her Acorn series “Harry Wild.”
Brianna Bryson/Getty Images
Life is precious to Seymour, in part because she almost lost hers. She had a brush with death while filming the 1988 television miniseries Onassis: The Richest Man in the World, in which she played the opera singer Maria Callas. During filming, she contracted bronchitis. After being given a massive dose of intravenous antibiotics, Seymour went into anaphylactic shock. Although she was successfully revived, the experience gave her perspective: “Aging well, for me, is being so grateful to be alive.”
Giving back is a major way that gratitude manifests. In 2010, Seymour founded the Open Hearts Foundation. Inspired by her mother, who survived a brutal Japanese internment camp in Indonesia during World War II and yet lived her life with vulnerability and a willingness to connect with others, Seymour lives by the philosophy, “If your heart is open, it can never stay broken.” The foundation has supported nonprofits serving foster children, literacy programs, youth involved in the juvenile justice system and more. An artist in her own right, Seymour created the foundation’s symbol of two hearts open and joined together. She’s also turned it into jewelry and other works of art that support the foundation’s mission.
“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” may be her best-known role, but Seymour has played bolder, colorful characters, which boosted her confidence.
Tony Esparza/CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection
Her joy shines through. “I think the biggest ingredient is that I’m happy. I’m living in the moment. I care about other people. If there’s something I can do, I do it,” she says, adding that she is a proud and dedicated mother and grandmother.
Seymour recently shared some exciting personal news: She and musician John Zambetti announced their engagement, after three years of dating, at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony last spring. “It’s never too late to have love. I found love,” says Seymour, who has been married four times previously. “I can’t believe it. This late in my life, I feel blessed. I say, never give up.”
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