PRIME OF LIFE

Hacks star Jean Smart on her sex-symbol status, staying grounded and why good manners matter

- GILL PRINGLE

I'm hotter than I've ever been,” Jean Smart declares on the new season of Hacks. And sitting across from the star — elegant in a silk shirt, her hair styled in beachy waves — we couldn't agree more.

At 73, Jean isn’t looking to be the “poster child” for older actresses, but, as she tells Hello!, “It’s nice to be able to play a character where you show that older people do everything they did when they were 30” - notably, enjoying an active sex life.

“For people to be able to see and get used to that — because it's not something we used to see in film and television — why not? And if our show has helped a little bit, then bravo.”

Just like her indomitable alter ego, the two-time Golden Globe winner has been more in demand than ever in her later years, starring in hit TV series (Fargo, Mare of Easttown) and movies (The Accountant, A Simple Favor).

But it’s her brilliant and touching portrayal of acerbic, outspoken — and secretly vulnerable - Las Vegas comedy diva Deborah Vance that has been an unexpected career high and led to three of her six Emmy wins.