Teri Hatcher singles out ‘most important thing about aging’

“Why do we greet someone by saying, ‘You look so beautiful today?’ We need to lead with something else,” says the former Bond girl and star of “Desperate Housewives.”

“What if we got to an age where we could say, ‘Hello, I really like your purpose and your service to community’?” the 59-year-old ponders. “Or how about we begin a conversation with the words, ‘Tell me about the people you love’ or ‘How are you taking care of other people?’

“I think the most important thing about aging is you continue to focus on your inner life and purpose,” she adds.

Hatcher’s purpose includes a new animated series called “Wondla” premiering June 28 on Apple TV+. It’s the story of a young woman who is trying to figure out her place in the world while on the run with her robot mother (voiced by Hatcher), an oversize water beast and a tall blue creature. The series also stars Brad Garrett and Alan Tudyk.

She also stars in the Lifetime thriller “The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story,” which debuts June 29. The psychological drama tells the true story of an unassuming Wichita, Kansas, housewife whose life is turned upside down when she finds herself the target of a mysterious stalker who might be the BTK slayer.

Hatcher — an empty nester in L.A. whose daughter Emerson, 26, is following in her acting footsteps — shares her good life tips.

Be an inspiration

“I love people coming up to me, mostly women, who don’t necessarily even want a photograph or an autograph,” she says. “They just want to tell me that I inspired them and gave them new hope for women over 40. Now, that makes me feel great.”

Letting go

Hatcher signed on to “Wondla” because it was a different kind of project. “I really do think it’s a piece of art and in a category all by itself,” she explains. “It also has a beautiful message between a mother and a daughter. It’s about a daughter leaving to start her new life. It hits on the crux of being a parent. As moms, we raise our children and try to supply them with the best tools to succeed in life. But there is a point where we have to let them go and test their own tools.”

‘Killer’ role

Hatcher was finishing a job in Europe when she landed the lead role in “The Killer Inside.” “I was trying to prep the script, learn my lines and figure out my character, plus I had jetlag from being in Europe and not sleeping. … For the first time in my life, I had a true anxiety attack,” she acknowledges. “I literally thought my head was going to explode. I couldn’t breathe, plus my stomach and my heart hurt and my skin was crawling. I looked on the bright side in that moment and thought, ‘This is the universe teaching me how to play this character.’”

Talk through it

Now, she can put it all in perspective. “There was a time when we didn’t talk about mental health struggles,” Hatcher says. “You were taught not to speak about your emotions. But the key is to talk about our experiences and share them.”

Chill out

Hatcher’s No. 1 healthy-aging tip is to try ice baths to fight inflammation and reduce stress. “I discovered this a little over a year ago, and I take an ice bath every single day now,” she says. “I also find that at the end of a really hard day, you just want to shed that adrenaline. To me, there’s nothing that makes me feel better than that cold water. … It’s actually a therapy that has been around for thousands of years.”

Support system

“I’m not a therapist, but as a citizen I always recommend people surround themselves with people who offer the best love and support,” Hatcher shares. “Eliminate those people from your inner circle who don’t. I live that way in my life. It’s important to have people in your life who truly support you.”

Happily single

The twice-divorced Hatcher says she tried dating apps. But one of the sites booted her off, thinking that she was pretending to be Teri Hatcher. “I thought, ‘I’m going to say to the universe that I’m open and vulnerable and I’m putting myself out there.’ That’s what I thought my gesture of joining the app would be,” she says. “And they kicked me off.”

Eventually, she got an apology, but Hatcher says that scene is not for her. “I’m happy. I have a really full, busy life with family and friends. I’m fine.”

Not bothered

“I think of things on the scale of ‘Should I be bothered by this or not?’ and most things are not high on that list,” Hatcher says. “I’m not bothered by much these days.”