Portia de Rossi not afraid of getting old

Portia de Rossi is happy to grow old with wife, Ellen DeGeneres. Photo / Getty Images

Portia de Rossi is embracing the aging process.

The Arrested Development star - who has been married to 55-year-old chat show host Ellen DeGeneres since 2008 - is excited to be embarking on the next stage of her life after turning 40 in January and doesn't mind getting older.

The blonde beauty told People magazine: "The trick for me turning 40 was to really evaluate what I wanna do with this next phase in my life.

"The one thing I don't wanna do is chase what I looked like at 20."

The actress - who sticks to a vegan diet and works out regularly - credits her casual wardrobe for helping her to maintain a youthful image.

She said: "People do think I look younger than I am because I dress like a teenager.

"As women we're so conditioned to think that beauty and age area very important that you stay kind of youthful in order to be beautiful.

"I don't think it's fair for people to think that women are just vain because they're worried about getting older. It's actually really linked in with a lot of very primitive stuff for women."

Portia recently revealed that she and Ellen don't want to have children of their own.

She previously said: "There comes some pressure in your mid-30s, and you think, Am I going to have kids so I don't miss out on something that other people really seem to love? Or is it that I really genuinely want to do this with my whole heart? I didn't feel that my response was 'yes' to the latter. You have to really want to have kids, and neither of us did. So it's just going to be me and Ellen and no babies - but we're the best of friends and married life is blissful, it really is. I've never been happier than I am right now."

- Bang! Showbiz