LOS ANGELES: Despite spending nearly half her life under the glare of cameras, Jennifer Aniston admits she’s still not used to the baggage that comes with it, from paparazzi to the tabloid headlines.

“All that stuff, it’s toxic,” says the actress. “It never gets un-jarring, but you do have to not let it imprison you, which is possible, too.”

To that end, she has her way of insulating herself — sticking tight to a close group of friends and not believing the hype that envelops her.

“There’s times when you see people climbing and getting success and you start to see, oh, they’re starting to really change. So I always just make the effort to be as humble and grateful as possible,” she said.

She certainly seemed that way when she spoke to The Associated Press last week. Despite the swanky setting — a hotel presidential suite — the actress sat on the floor eating a celery stick dipped in ranch dressing as she talked about various things.

Asked about her weirdest beauty regime, she says: "I don’t go out too crazy. You mean like did I ever put leeches on my face? ... The closest I’ll ever go is a derma-roller. Google it — it’s great. It’s like a little wheel that has little pins, like acupuncture needles in a way, and you roll it and it stimulates your collagen and it also allows for your products to seep into your skin."

Aniston recently celebrated her 45th birthday. Does she pause to reflect on such milestones? "I guess it is a milestone. I really try not to focus on it too much, to be honest. Society focuses on it way more than we need to. I think it’s always important to reflect anyway, no matter what age you’re approaching or what milestone is in front of you."

Does she just laugh off all the speculation about your wedding and your future? Aniston said: "It’s on a level that I don’t even understand. It’s weird. I think because we are so normal. We’re very non-fabulous in any way. They try to create all sorts of narratives to go with a very normal, wonderful life that’s just two people loving each other and living life and working and doing the best they can."