Andie MacDowell on her 25 years with L'Oreal: 'Beauty is not a number'

Andie MacDowell is marking an anniversary both significant and unusual.

Companies often switch celebrity spokespersons after several years. However, the model turned actress who has starred in such enduringly popular movies as "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Groundhog Day" has represented L'Oreal beauty products for 25 years ... a tenure not seen much anymore.

"When I first started, actors were not doing cosmetics ads, and now everybody's doing them," MacDowell tells Zap2it in her South Carolina-native twang. "I do think I have a great history with fashion, and that helps. It's rare that someone has had such consecutive contracts. I think some people have stayed in the industry, but with [promoting] different products.

"I've had a wonderful history with L'Oreal," MacDowell adds. "It's a job that I've enjoyed doing, and I think I enjoy it more now than I did when I was younger. I like being an advocate for women who are not babies anymore, and I love being able to make the statement that beauty is not a number. There's not an age limit to it."

Also appearing currently as the preacher's wife and heroine's mom in the movie remake of "Footloose," mother-of-three MacDowell soon will use her background in another way. After modeling for such designers as Yves Saint Laurent and Anne Klein, she'll play a Type A fashion executive who grudgingly takes a newcomer under her wing -- think Meryl Streep's character in "The Devil Wears Prada'' -- when the ABC Family series "Jane by Design" premieres Tuesday, Jan. 3.

"I didn't ask them what made them think of me," MacDowell says, "but I did start in the fashion world and I have been working for L'Oreal, so that could have had some positive impact."