Featured in PEOPLE's annual Beautiful Issue, the former 'TODAY' co-anchor hopes to spread the positive message of staying true to oneself and how one look by embracing her natural look.

• Mar 30, 2021

AceShowbiz - Katie Couric wants people to be more appreciative and celebrate women of every age. Hoping to encourage women to see the beauty of aging, the former "TODAY" co-anchor took on the challenge to pose makeup-free for PEOPLE's annual Beautiful Issue.

In an interview with the magazine, the 64-year-old explained why she finally agreed to bare her natural face before the camera. "I think when we start seeing women as they age and appreciate the beauty that comes with that, I think that women will stop trying to look young all the time," she reasoned.

The award-winning journalist went on, "And I think honestly it's such a novelty that we've been so conditioned to see young faces. That when you see someone who's older, it's almost like...[gasp]." She continued noting, "We need to stop that. We need to start celebrating and appreciating women at every age."

Elaborating further on her thoughts about beauty, Katie shared, "One of the most exciting things I've noticed in our culture is beauty has become much more inclusive. I think we're celebrating all different kinds of beauty." She added, "Different ethnicities, sizes and shapes and are really kind of going a little deeper when it comes to beauty."

Living in her mid-60s, Katie described her relationship with makeup as "interesting." Claiming to no longer do "the full spackle treatment," she explained, "If you wear too much, it's really aging. If you wear none, it's terrifying. You just have to wear the right amount to enhance yourself but not to cover up who you are. Now people are saying to me, 'We don't like you with all that makeup anymore!' I think people appreciate showing the real you."

While she refused going bare-faced initially, Katie did admit, "Doing a shoot without makeup, makes you feel both liberated and vulnerable." She went on to say, "You feel great because you're being true to who you are and how you look. It's a huge dose of reality! On the other hand, let's face it, people feel prettier when they have some makeup on that enhances their features. So I think doing a shoot like this requires a lot of trust."

On Monday, March 29, Katie took to Instagram to thank the magazine for the opportunity. "Thank you @people [love]. Can't believe @people included me in their Beautiful Issue, [and that I agreed to do a photo shoot with no makeup!?]," the mother of two wrote in the caption of her post.

Along with a clip of her interview with the magazine, Katie continued, "But ultimately, I think when we start seeing women as they age and appreciate the beauty that comes with that, women will stop trying to look young all the time. We need to start appreciating and celebrating women at every age! Am I right ladies????"