Updated

Susan Lucci probably won’t slip into an itty bitty bikini anytime soon.

“I occasionally buy a bikini, but I’m too shy to wear it,” the soap opera star told People Magazine Thursday. “There are times we’re in a secluded place, and someone will come up to me on the beach. So I’m a one-piece person!”

Despite her hesitations, the 71-year-old is proud to flaunt her figure in a swimsuit and hopes other women will feel more confident about their bodies.

“Sometimes we put artificial labels on ourselves and we think, ‘Oh this is inappropriate’ and you can end up looking older than you are and nobody wants to do that.

"You don’t have to get doughty or suddenly because you have a new label on you, ‘Oh I’m 50 so therefore I have to be a certain thing.' Follow your heart and look at your rear view as well as your front view!”

Lucci shared taht she tries to keep her “inner monologue” about herself as positive as possible.

“As women, it’s easy to find the faults in ourselves,” she explained. “Be your own best friend: Don’t compare yourself [to others], and don’t be so hard on yourself.”

And while Lucci has been keeping busy these days jet-setting with her family, she is aware of rumors being circulated about an “All My Children” reboot. The actress starred in the series from 1970 until 2011.

“I hope that’s true, I don’t know, but there’s a lot of buzz about that lately,” she told Fox News in 2017. “I was stopped at the airport in Los Angeles last week and a man with a camera came up… and he was asking me on camera, ‘So, how do you feel about ‘All My Children’ going on Netflix?’

"And I hadn’t heard about that. But I heard the word ‘Netflix.’ And I thought, ‘They’re fantastic.’ Because then you know you’re in really good hands. And that’s really important, who’s producing.

Still, Lucci said her character Erica Kane still lives on.

“First, I know she’s in a lot of people’s hearts because now that I am out in daylight, and I’m in airports, in restaurants, in shops, and on the street, people stop me all the time as if Erica is very much a part of their lives,” she added. “So Erica Kane is still alive and well in people’s hearts.”