lovely & amazing; At 36, with a new, buzzed-about film and a freshly minted Estee Lauder contract, Ashley Judd has never felt-or looked-better.

Byline: Gaby Wood

Ashley Judd doesn't seem to have aged a day since breaking into Hollywood more than ten years ago. But what might Judd-with her luminous smile, Greta Garbo-shaped eyes, and trademark arched brow-look like in her 50s or 60s? Makeup artists on the set of the upcoming period film De-Lovely (in which she plays Cole Porter's wife, Linda) did their best to imagine. Armed with wigs in several stages of gray, latex wrinkles, and layers of pancake makeup, they dramatically aged the actress's face, neck, and even hands a full 20 years.

What's it like to know what might be in store? For a woman who has made it to the top of a business that prizes not only ability but also youthfulness and physical beauty, Judd remains remarkably stoic on the topic of age: "I'll evolve over time the way I'm meant to," she says easily. "I don't really understand the point of plastic surgery-I think there are other ways to come by self-esteem that don't involve cutting your body open."

It is certainly this laid-back candor and enviable self-assuredness that ...