HEALTHTina Fey Reveals 'Disgusting New Ways' Her Body Changed After Entering 'Reverse Puberty' in Her 50s
Tina Fey explained why she called entering her 50s 'reverse puberty.'
June 8 2026, Updated 2:13 p.m. ET
Tina Fey got brutally honest about aging, revealing the two-word phrase she used to describe the unexpected change that came with entering her 50s.
"I feel like it's a reverse puberty in a way. It’s like your body starts to change and be disgusting in new ways," Fey, 56, told the Today show on June 4. "When you’re 12 or 13, you’re like, 'Why am I so oily?' And now you’re like, ‘Why am I so papery?'"
Tina Fey promoted her Netflix series 'The Four Seasons' while on the 'Today' show.
Tiny Fey Talks Aging
Tina Fey revealed she uses her own experiences with aging as inspiration for her characters.
Fey appeared on the daytime talk show to promote season 2 of the Netflix show The Four Seasons, which follows three married couples whose longtime friendships are tested during their quarterly weekend getaways.
The Mean Girls actress explained she found solace with fellow writers on the series since they're all "pretty much the same age," with their shared experiences acting as inspiration for The Four Seasons.
Tina Fey Joked About 'Lying' to Spouses
Tina Fey said that writers are 'really good' about sharing their own experiences to incorporate on the show.
"Almost all of us have known each other a super long time, and so all the writers are really good about sharing their own things," she explained. "Then sometimes our spouses are like, 'Is that me?' And then we’ll usually just be like, ‘No, no.’ We’ll just lie and say, 'That's so and so.'"
Fey, who turned 56 on May 18, is known to be candid about aging and how it's impacted her life, admitting she struggled to stay up late to celebrate Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary event.
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Tina Fey Struggled to Stay Up During 'SNL' Party
Tina Fey admitted she left early at SNL's 40th anniversary party and missed Prince's surprise set.
“I’ve never been able to get over the fact that I left the 40th after-party before Prince’s surprise set,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in April 2025.
"So the whole week leading up to the 50th, I drank water, I went to bed early, I saved it all up," she explained. "But when I got to the after-party, I couldn’t find any of my friends, and obviously there was no chance of Prince, so I thought, 'Actually, I’m out.'"
Tina Fey said her tight schedule 'kept her' in the world following the death of her mother in 2024.
Though Fey admitted she doesn't enjoy staying up late, her busy schedule kept her grounded amid the demands of work, children and aging parents.
“My mom passed away in the summer, my older daughter went to college in August and my husband [Jeff Richmond is also a producer and director] and I went to work on The Four Seasons in the fall," she recalled. "That kept me in the world. It saved me from just shrinking up like a little granny apple head."
