95-year-old actor loves thumbing her nose at aging

Vandalia, Illinois, has never been considered the show business capital of the world. No one could tell that to a young June Squibb.

She would sashay down a staircase, tap dance her way across the kitchen floor and then belt out a song in the living room. Now 95, Squibb clearly remembers the moment when she came into her own power.

Her mother, who played piano in theaters during silent films, never believed that Squibb would become a professional actress. “Even years later, when my mother saw me on Broadway, she said, ‘Well, now do you think you’ll come home?’ ”

No way. Squibb kept following her heart in a career that now spans 70 years and includes a best supporting actress Oscar nomination. She might land another nomination for “Eleanor the Great,” now in theaters.

Directed by Scarlett Johansson, the film revolves around warm, funny Eleanor, who lives in Florida and loses her best friend of 70 years. She moves to New York to start again and reconnect with her daughter and grandson. Looking to join a choir class at a Jewish community center, she ends up caught in an ever-growing lie after she’s mistaken for a Holocaust survivor.

It’s a movie about the struggles of people over 50, which sits well with Squibb. “Audiences want to see older people on the big screen,” she says. “People who are aging have such interesting stories to tell.”

Squibb, a former New Yorker, lives in Studio City, California. Her good life advice:

Go-getter

“I didn’t do my first film until I was age 61,” the veteran stage actor says. “That movie was ‘Alice,’ directed by Woody Allen. … There was a big influx of films coming into New York, and I told my agent, ‘I should be doing movies.’ He said, ‘Sure.’ A week later I had an audition with Woody Allen. I got the job.’ The point is, you have to ask for what you want in life. And never think you’re too old for something big to happen.”

No rules

Squibb loves getting into the mindset of older characters now. “I love the thumbing of your nose at age,” she says. She especially loved the script for “Eleanor the Great” and working with Johansson. “I play a woman who realizes that there are no rules when it comes to aging,” she adds. “You make your own rules and live your life to the fullest.”

Chasing a dream

Squibb was born in Vandalia in 1929. In addition to playing in movie theaters, her mother taught piano. Her father was an insurance agent. Squibb spent every weekend at the movies and longed to be an actress. “Acting just didn’t feel like a real life to my parents, but I wanted to prove to them that I could do it,” she says.

She moved to Cleveland after high school to sing and dance at the Cleveland Play House but also would dream about doing Broadway and living in New York City. “Your dream place is inspiring on so many levels. The easiest breaths in life I ever took began the day I moved to New York,” says Squibb, who moved to Manhattan at age 25 with her first husband, Edward Sostek, an actor, director and stage director. “I knew what New York could do for you and appreciated every single moment there.”

She debuted on Broadway in “Gypsy” in 1959.

A welcome change

Squibb says after 65 years in New York, including a successful career on and off Broadway, age and work dictated her move to L.A. “I love New York, but it became harder and harder to live there as an older person. I couldn’t do all the subway stairs, and cabs were hard to find. I kept getting work in L.A. and moved there thinking it would be easier … and it is. I love the sunshine and wide-open spaces.”

Stay active

For exercise, Squibb favors walking and Pilates, plus she dances and swims. “I do puzzles to keep my mind active — Sudoku, crosswords. I like to challenge myself by doing the really hard ones.”

Conquer fears

Squibb began her career in musicals. The idea of doing serious drama gave her pause. “My second husband taught drama class and came to me one day and said, ‘June, you could be a really fine dramatic actress.’ I’d cry, ‘But I can’t. It’s hard.’ Finally, something hit. It’s not hard. You’re just afraid — and you have to work through your fears in life.”

Squibb made the switch to drama in off-Broadway shows … and the rest is history.

Break rules

“I don’t plan my career. It has always happened. It’s exciting when the future is a bit of a question mark,” she says. “I’ve always broken rules.”

Her advice to others? “Have your own sense of determination and grit. Don’t stop yourself. Go out and live. Have a good time! Life is to be lived. To hell with how old you are!”