Claudia de Breij finds it confronting that she is often the oldest at work these days. “I’m glad I feel fit, otherwise I would find it difficult,” says the comedian, who turned fifty this year.
“I would like to say that it was not an issue for me, but that is not true,” says De Breij about her fiftieth birthday in Nouveau, which will be released on Thursday. “Fortunately, Jessica (De Breij’s wife, ed.) organized a great party for me and that helped.”
The comedian has now gotten used to her age. “Now that I’m fifty, I like it again. There’s no escape: you’re fifty, you don’t have to pretend to be younger, this is just it.”
However, De Breij still has to get used to the fact that she is often the oldest at work. “I started working very young, so I was used to being the youngest everywhere. But at Hadestown I am the oldest,” she says about the musical she is currently in. “That is quite confronting. I’m glad I feel fit, otherwise I would find it difficult.”
De Breij is also open about her menopausal symptoms. When she canceled her theater tour in 2023, she received a message from her old gynecologist. “Do you realize that even if you still menstruate regularly, you can suffer from hormonal changes?” This has led the comedian to delve into hormone therapy. She recommends it to everyone.
“That makes it a lot easier. I put estrogen gel on my arms in the morning and take a progesterone pill in the evening,” says De Breij. “It’s a bit like you don’t realize that the room is too dark and someone suddenly turns on a light. That you think: ‘Oh, now I see it again as always.'”