Joe Manganiello Praises This Actress for "Aging Backwards"

Joe Manganiello knows that Ming-Na Wen's reflection shows who she is inside.

The True Blood actor praised his longtime friend for "aging backwards" when the Mulan actress accepted the Timeless Beauty prize at the Hollywood Beauty Awards March 3.

"When you hear the phrase 'timeless beauty,' you think of someone frozen in time," Manganiello shared on stage in Los Angeles. "But that's just not the case with Ming."

As he put it, "I can tell you firsthand that this isn't a person frozen in time or a person who isn't aging—this is someone who is aging backwards." 

His proof? Well, Manganiello—who split with Sofía Vergara last year—has actually known Wen for many years, as they both attended Pittsburg's Mt. Lebanon High School, as well as Carnegie Mellon University.

"I've seen Ming's awkward high school photos from back when she was the president of the Science Fiction Fantasy Club," Manganiello explained. "This is a person who keeps getting better looking as time goes on."

And Manganiello, 47, has a theory as to what "witchcraft" has allowed the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star to maintain a flawless appearance at age 60.

"Anyone who has ever met Ming will attest that her beauty radiates from within," he continued. "She's one of the most sincerely kind-hearted people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

The actor—who is now dating actress Caitlin O'Connor—added, "I believe it's her karmic reward, for being that person that she is on the inside, the fact that her outside appearance has no choice but to reflect it."

While accepting her award, Wen thanked both Manganiello and her husband Eric Michael Zee, who was by her side on the red carpet.

"Whenever I do go on the red carpet, I pretend I'm Beyoncé for those brief moments, because I can't be me," she shared in her speech. "To get this award is such a validation that sometimes it is, like Joe says, it comes from within—and your confidence and your strength and your perseverance is what makes you beautiful."

Read on to get details on more surprising celebrity friendships.

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