Katie Piper stuns Hay Festival with raw speech on beauty, ageing, power, and finding peace in herself

Katie Piper left audiences moved and inspired at the Hay Festival in Wales, where she spoke candidly about ageing, beauty, and self-worth. The 41-year-old author, presenter and campaigner likened the process of ageing to a slow bereavement, but one that can ultimately become empowering.

“Sometimes we know we’re losing someone or something,” she said. “It’s slow, it’s gradual. With ageing, we look down at our hands and everything has changed.”

Piper—who survived a brutal acid attack in 2008, ordered by an ex-boyfriend—has undergone hundreds of surgeries to rebuild her face and eyesight. Her new book, Still Beautiful: On Age, Beauty and Owning Your Space, out Friday, explores what it means to age as a woman, particularly after surviving life-altering trauma.

“Women age out of the male gaze,” she told the audience. “I was ripped from the male gaze at 24. I didn’t just become invisible—I became a target.”

Piper recalled a moment when a writer recently asked whether she minded if they mentioned her age. “It was shocking, but not surprising,” she said. “I’ve been reminded how society ties a woman’s worth to youth and beauty. Now, as that youth slips further away, I feel judged again—but this time, I’m ready.”

The Songs of Praise and Loose Women presenter hopes her book will empower women who feel discarded by society. “I’m not the most beautiful, not the youngest,” she said. “But I am one of the most powerful. This is my second chapter, and it excites me.”

One of the book’s core ideas is that ageing might actually be liberation, not decline. “What if ageing is the magic key to letting go of other people’s expectations?” Piper asked. “It scares some people because confident, secure women aren’t easily sold things. What overpriced cream or diet or contraption can they sell us if we no longer hate ourselves?”

She challenged the romanticisation of youth: “We glamorise our 20s, calling them the best years. But I was in hospital in my 20s. For others, they’re broke, inexperienced, lacking confidence. Why is that our peak?”

Piper reflected on the cruelty she’s faced, even after her attack. She described how a group of men once whistled at her from a van, only to throw a sandwich at her face when they saw she was wearing a plastic treatment mask. On another occasion, a man walked out of a first date, leaving her alone with a £700 bill.

But Piper is quick to emphasise that most people are good. “That Channel 4 documentary, Katie: My Beautiful Face, exposed me to society’s kindness. I had seen true evil—but only in two people. Most are kind.”

Looking ahead to turning 42 in October, Piper said she feels more grounded than ever. “I know who I am. I have a strong sense of self. This is the heyday—the time of my life. I can’t wait to see what the 50s and 60s bring.”

She closed with a powerful message for younger women, especially those who feel inadequate. “If you’ve ever felt less than, hated yourself, or felt ashamed—it was never you. It was society. Consumerism. Capitalism. Someone somewhere benefitted from holding you down. But you were always fine just as you are. And you always will be