What if midlife wasn’t something to fear, but something to own?
In this empowering episode recorded live at the Women’s Health Summit in LA, Karena sits down with actor and activist Constance Zimmer and filmmaker Abby Epstein to talk about aging, hormones, Hollywood, and how women are finally telling the truth about what it means to grow older. From the early days of the Vagina Monologues to the debut of their new project Midlife Monologues, Constance and Abby are lighting up taboo topics with humor, vulnerability, and a whole lot of truth-telling. This episode will leave you inspired to embrace your story; wrinkles, wisdom, hot flashes, and all.
What happens when women finally speak the unspeakable?
Reframing aging, menopause, and midlife not as an ending, but a power-filled beginning.
(00:00) The Midlife Glow-Up: Why Aging Is the New Prime
- Why the TikTok trend on women thriving in their 30s, 40s, and 50s is a needed cultural shift
- Ditching the age stigma and embracing confidence in midlife
- How storytelling has the power to normalize the aging experience
(03:50) Hormones, Trauma & the Real Talk Around Perimenopause
- Karena opens up about early menopause symptoms and trauma-related health shifts
- Abby shares insights from her certification as a midlife menopause coach
- Why we need to stop associating menopause with a number — and start listening to our bodies
- The double-edged sword of hormone therapy and wellness marketing: empowerment vs. exploitation
(08:45) From Hollywood to Hormones: Women's Stories on Stage
- Constance reflects on strong female roles and the scarcity of opportunities for women over 50
- How UnREAL and Entourage helped shift her career into meaningful, unapologetic characters
- Abby shares how directing The Vagina Monologues uncovered deep stories from performers and audiences alike
- The emotional labor behind directing: holding space for women’s hidden truths
(12:45) The Birth of the Midlife Monologues
- How a casual email turned into a groundbreaking collaboration between Constance and Abby
- Collecting personal stories from peers and actors about aging, change, and identity
- Why 2026 — the 30th anniversary of The Vagina Monologues — is the perfect time to launch
- Their goal: create a theatrical space for stories that ripple into collective healing
(14:45) Redefining Beauty, Power & Purpose as We Age
- Why aging women in Europe are revered — and how the U.S. is catching up (slowly)
- Constance’s motto: “Just let us age” — and why that’s still a radical statement
- The cultural cost of ignoring women's health and midlife experience
- Abby and Constance call for more visibility, celebration, and truth in women’s media
Guest Resources
If this episode moved you, please consider supporting The Big Silence Foundation and exploring our resources:
Connect with The Big Silence Community
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!