At the age of 51, Michelle Pfeiffer has every right to air her grievances regarding the "cougar" phenomenon.

Not so much the concept (as she most recently took a love interest 24 years her junior in the upcoming "Cheri," premiering later this month), but more the term itself. Pfeiffer explains in the July issue of InStyle magazine, "I so hate that term! Men are sugar daddies and women are cougars? Men are strong and women are bitches?"

And more on that young love interest? Pfeiffer details the exploits of romancing her much younger leading men: "It was a progression. Paul [Rudd] is 11 years younger. With Ashton [Kutcher, 20 years younger], I thought, I'm never going younger than this again...."


"Then Stephen [Frears] called with Rupert [Friend, 24 years younger], and I thought, Oh my god. But at my age you either play the insane mother-in-law, the wife of the leading man, or the older woman. So of the three, it's the most interesting choice. It helps if you have a sense of humor about it. Fortunately, all three men are really smart and really funny. And really cute."

And can you believe this woman used to shy away from her looks? "When I was first starting out, I was a little sensitive about it because I hadn't really proven myself. I was careful to not wear a lot of makeup; I'd show up for interviews in men's clothing. It took about eight years for me to feel it was OK to look my nicest. To think, I'm just going to enjoy this. And now, the older I get, the more I like hearing it."


The July issue of InStyle hits newsstands on June 19.