Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”

Youth and physical beauty just happen to you — they require no effort or wisdom. But becoming a person who is beautiful in old age, with character, depth, and grace, is something you have to build deliberately over a lifetime. Age well earned is its own masterpiece.

Roosevelt made this observation in her later years, after decades of public life that included surviving the Great Depression, two World Wars, and her husband Franklin's paralysis. She continued working as a delegate to the United Nations well into her seventies, embodying the kind of grace under pressure the quote describes.

American diplomat, activist, and First Lady of the United States who transformed the role through her advocacy for civil rights, women's rights, and human rights. She served as chair of the UN Commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.