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Katherine Heigl Says Turning 40 Represents 'A Certain Kind Of Freedom'

The “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Suits” star reflected on her milestone birthday with an impassioned Instagram post.

Katherine Heigl says she’s “pretty damn thrilled” to be starting a new decade.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Suits” actress celebrated her 40th birthday on Saturday and marked the occasion with an Instagram post that seemed to suggest a renewed lease on life.

“For another thing 40 feels to me like a certain kind of freedom,” she wrote. “Freedom from all the self doubt, insecurities, self loathing, uncertainties and anxieties of my 20s and 30s. Not to say I don’t still have those moments but I just feel like 40 makes me older and wiser.”

Acknowledging “a certain stigma attached to 40,” the Emmy winner continued: “I guess I kind of feel like it’s all about your frame of mind. And I’ve made up my mind not to let a number determine how I feel about the way I look. Or what my value as a woman in society is.”

Heigl’s husband, Josh Kelley, posted a similar photo to his Instagram, calling the actress “my sweet lil partner in crime.”

Heigl has a number of reasons to celebrate the new chapter. Earlier this year, it was announced she’d be joining Season 8 of USA Network’s “Suits,” filling a gap left by actress-turned-Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle.

For Heigl, playing attorney Samantha Wheeler on the series has earned her favorablereviews. The role follows the multiyear Hollywood fallout she experienced after a series of controversial remarks about “Grey’s Anatomy” before she left the show in 2010, and 2007’s “Knocked Up,” in which she starred opposite Seth Rogen.

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