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

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 favorable reviews . 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.