Jasmine Guy, 64, Shares How She Finds Joy and Calm in Her ‘Different World’ Reboot Era

Jasmine Guy skyrocketed to fame as Whitley Gilbert on A Different World, the beloved sitcom that premiered in 1987. Now 64, she’s returning to Hillman College in a new reboot, alongside several original cast members, as Whitley enters a new chapter of her life. Her children are grown, she’s sold her skincare line and she’s left wondering: Who am I beyond being a wife and mother?

The question hits close to home for Guy, who says she reached a similar crossroads in her own life. “I’m 64 and I said to myself, There is something missing,” she tells Woman’s World as our latest cover star (get your copy here!). “I realized I was missing my own dreams and goals.”

Born in Boston, Guy began her career as a dancer on Fame under choreographer Debbie Allen before moving into acting, singing and Broadway. She’s now preparing to release her memoir, A Different Girl, co-written with her daughter, Imani Guy Duckette, in early 2027.

Here, in an intimate Q&A, Guy opens up about finding herself, staying grounded and making room for joy.

Woman’s World: When do you feel most like the real you?

Jasmine Guy: When I’m with my family and closest friends, because basically I’ve always pretended to be somebody else, which was fun for me.

But my life as a human being is not predicated on what I do on TV or film. It has given me a platform to access people. I might be on a plane and have a candid conversation with somebody who doesn’t know me from Adam. I love that.

WW: Your memoir comes out next year. What inspired you to tell your story now?

JG: I didn’t have the need to have people know everything about me. But if I did do this, it would be to tell my kid who I was before she got here. That was motivating for me.

I think I’ve been too precious with my secrets. There are things I thought I’d go to my grave with and never tell somebody. Over the years, I get so much love—just random love and appreciation—that I realize that my story may be valuable in that way.

WW: What has turning 64 made you think about?

JG: In my real life, I’m 64, so I said there was something missing, and it was dreams, goals. So, how am I going to be in my 60s? I didn’t think that far ahead. I think in increments of five, so by the time I’m 25, by the time I’m 30, and then it stopped. But I still have goals.

WW: What does your faith mean to you?

JG: My faith is personal and not denominational, but I gather information from everything I’ve learned. That works for me. My faith is really The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. When I read it, I said, This is how I think.

I always have a personal relationship with God or my consciousness or whatever you want to call it, because I believe that we are driven by something that we are taught to ignore—but I don’t ignore it. Right before I go onstage I say, Okay God, it’s just you and me now. Because I’ve already rehearsed and learned and I know what I’m doing—now it’s about letting the spirit come out.

WW: How do you take care of yourself physically?

JG: I love Pilates and have a Pilates coach. My coach is someone I’ve had a long time and she understands how I operate physically. I don’t like the strenuous things with the weights and I hate cardio.

But I know I’m shrinking. I’m looking at my relatives who all shrank at this age. I wear pants a lot and have to alter them now. My clothes just don’t fit me as they did before.

WW: What’s your beauty philosophy these days?

JG: For years, I’ve been getting Botox on my forehead because I was always a frowner. Now I’ve become immune to it. I know my face has to look a certain way on camera, but I looked like this when I was 25, so I’m like, I’m okay, I’m good.

I make sure my makeup is off. Sometimes I’d be so tired from being in a show that I would just go to sleep, but I sure don’t do that anymore. I use Neutrogena makeup remover and then put a hot washcloth over my face. Then I’ll apply different serums I’ve been using.

I ask myself, at what point do I accept myself for the color of my skin? I’d use those tanning booths for years because I look better browner, but now I accept the way I look.

WW: What helps you manage stress?

JG: The three Cs. Everything I do to alleviate stress starts with a “C.” That’s just coincidental.

I color, and when I color in my coloring books, it’s very calming to me. I do crossword puzzles, and that calms me and helps me to be in a place where there’s no emergency. The other thing I do is clean when I get nervous. I clean the kitchen, the cat litter every day. I want a calm space. I like cleaning.

WW: What brings you joy?

JG: My favorite thing is to have all my people there. One of my favorite things is to go on YouTube and just put on my favorite songs and dance.

Old school. Earth, Wind and Fire, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Donny Hathaway. And whatever music Imani turned me on to. So I have a mixed playlist. I also have a Game of Thrones ballet that I do in my head. I love the credits to Game of Thrones.

WW: What’s something you’ve learned from the difficult moments in your career?

JG: Sometimes the dance world tells people who they weren’t meant to be. Okay, I’m not the typical height, but I don’t adhere to you telling me who I’m going to be because you’re not a God.

I had to do that emotionally. Nobody can really dictate that.

WW: What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

JG: I wasted so much time criticizing and beating myself down. I focused more on that than what I was actually doing. I’ve been through therapy and it was very hard for me to get past that.

Every birthday I had I thought I was a failure. When I turned 17, when I turned 18, when I turned 19, when I turned 20, I was comparing myself to others and discounted what I was doing and where I was.

My mother would say, But you ARE on Broadway! I couldn’t see it for years.

WW: What gives you hope today?

JG: I truly believe in our younger people. The information reporting experience worries me, but it’s also the information that I never had access to at 17, 18. That will make them strong.

WW: What does giving and receiving love mean to you now?

JG: I give so much love and embrace it now. I receive. When I give, that makes me feel good, so is that selfish because I’m doing what actually makes me feel good?

As opposed to, Oh, I’ll pay your rent—and they’re so grateful to me, but that makes me feel good.