Andie MacDowell Knows There Wouldn't Be So Much 'Interest and Curiosity' in Her Gray Hair If She Were a Man

It seems like there's constant buzz about Andie MacDowell's gray hair.

She would first like you to know it's silver, not gray.

She would secondly like you to know that this would not be the case if she weren't a woman.

"For me, it’s fascinating that it’s such a curiosity and interest to people," MacDowell, 65, told NewBeauty in a cover story published on March 19 of the constant fascination with her hair. "I think also, it’s important to stop and think about that interest and curiosity — because it wouldn’t happen if I was a man. It happens because I’m a woman. We have to look at that. We have to look at why there’s interest in me having silver hair, because if I were a man, there would be no question I had silver hair, right?"

Despite all the chatter about her silver hair, MacDowell loves it and wouldn't have it any other way, she told the outlet. In fact, she gushed that she would have been happy to go gray sooner but she was "afraid."

"I finally got the courage during COVID when I saw it with my eyes and my skin color," she said. "Once it was growing out, I could see what the color was going to be like, and I really loved it. I knew it was time."

MacDowell told PEOPLE in 2022 that she was inspired by her sister when it came to letting her hair go silver. ""My sister's full-on silver and she's only 18 months older than me. I thought she looked so much more beautiful being silver. I was jealous," she said.

The L'Oréal Paris ambassador, who has worked with the iconic beauty brand for four decades, also told PEOPLE last November that she's been overwhelmed with gratitude for the love she's received, simply for letting her hair naturally do its thing.

“I knew instinctually that this was something that I wanted to do. I'm just so thankful that L'Oréal Paris supported me and that everybody's been so kind to me and positive. The response has been really nice,” the mom of three told PEOPLE at the L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth celebration in Los Angeles in November. “I'm just appreciative that people let me be the individual that I am without question. I think people also agree that silver hair probably suits me."