"I didn't feel that confident in my twenties, or in my thirties, and I sort of slowly got there in my forties. Now I'm in my fifties, I feel sexier than ever and not because I'm sexually attractive, I've just grown into my body," Bonham Carter told Closer magazine.
"It took me ages to grow into being a woman, into being happy with it. When I was young, I believed in being androgynous if you can't flaunt it, you can't use it. The whole thing was just something to be embarrassed about. But now I enjoy it. It's nice to have curves. To be a woman. I know I'm far more interesting now than when I was younger."
Bonham Carter split from her long-term partner Tim Burton in 2014 and found love again last year with the 32-year-old writer Rye Dag Holmboe.
Despite the 21-year age gap the British actress says that Holmboe is "unbelievably mature" and that she's having a wonderful time as his girlfriend.
"The Crown" star also added that she has placed less importance on her career as she has got older.
"As you get older, you go through whatever life throws at you and your ambition fades a bit. I was more ambitious when I was 12, and that matters less and less as you get older. There are other important things as well as a career," she said.
( With inputs from IANS )