Station Eleven Star Deborah Cox Shares Swimsuit Photo Saying "Celebrate Yourself"

Station Eleven star Deborah Cox is 49 and thriving—and she's got the pictures to prove it. Cox, who plays Wendy on the show, shared a video of herself posing in front of a mirror in a black and white bikini. "Little work and little play!👙🏝️Appreciating every stretch mark and wrinkle. Celebrate yourself!" she captioned the post. "And still looking 22 honey," commented her friend Leslie Segar. Here's how Cox is only getting better with every year that passes.

Cox believes down time is just as important as exercise for health and wellness. "I now know what works for me and what works for my body," she says. "Over the years, it has just narrowed down to a small list of things that I know keep me going. I know that I need the sun. If I can get by the ocean or water. I need quiet time. Chilling out, reading, watching a good movie. Really simple things. I have so much time on my hands to do exercise and stuff, but I'd rather not do it. I'd rather sleep. I love sleep – that's the secret sauce. Sleep is everything – it rejuvenates you. It's good for your cells."

Cox cooks at home for her family as much as possible, but acknowledges not everyone can do the same. "It's very difficult," she says. "Everything is so quick and fast. There's not a lot of time to do things anymore. I know my lifestyle is a blessing in that I am able to be with my kids a lot of the time and I can be very hands-on. I know there are mothers out there who are trying to hold it down themselves, or even parents out there that both have to work, and they don't get a lot of time with their kids and they don't get a chance to really stay on top of their nutrients to make sure they are getting a well-balanced diet. The only resort is to grab some fast food. Fortunately, you have restaurants that are starting to cook things healthier, you know?"

Cox is proud to be an icon for the LGBTQ community. "At that time there were a lot of people who were in the closet or who didn't identify with any specific gender, a lot of people that were just discovering themselves," she says. "And because I was the person that was in the clubs singing all these songs, I became this beacon of light. I hope they can get to this place where they can feel comfortable about being who they are."df44d9eab23ea271ddde7545ae2c09ec

Cox makes healthy eating a priority when she's on the road. "The key is really making sure that you have wholesome foods in your diet," she says. "I think that's the only way I've been able to survive this long and I've never gotten sick. I've always managed to get fresh fruits and vegetables. We're able to go to organic places like Whole Foods and get wholesome foods to eat. You miss a home-cooked meal when you're living out of hotels. Between room service and restaurants, it can be hard to find good foods [but] I try to make an effort to get that kind of stuff in that diet and I find that it's been working."

Cox makes a point every day to be grateful. "Even when I'm really busy, I always find that moment to pray and to just be in gratitude," she says. "And when you live in gratitude, you realize there are a lot of people who have it worse off than you. And that brings everything back into perspective."