Actress Rita Wilson named editor of 'Huff/Post 40'

LOS ANGELES – The Huffington Post is launching a new site aimed at the baby boomer generation, and Rita Wilson will direct its vision and content.

AOL Huffington Post Media Group President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington said Thursday that the actress and producer will be editor-at-large of "Huff/Post 40," which is set to launch in August. She says Wilson even came up with the name of the new site.

Huffington said in an interview that the new site is designed to appeal to men and women over 40 and it will be "both about news and about people sharing their own experiences about that stage in life."

She credited her and Wilson's shared Greek heritage for setting them up to value aging as a process that brings wisdom and new possibilities.

The 54-year-old Wilson, who is married to Tom Hanks, has acted in movies, on television and on Broadway. She has also written stories on style and health for O, The Oprah Magazine and Harper's Bazaar, where she has been a contributing editor since 2006.

Wilson made good on a lifelong dream to perform on Broadway at age 49, Huffington said. That drive, and Wilson's sense of humor, is what makes her the "perfect godmother" for the new site.

"She's always following her own passions and making things happen, so I think she's a great role model," Huffington said.

The HuffPo founder said she wasn't concerned about Wilson's limited experience in journalism, calling the new editor-at-large "a wonderful writer herself and she has a clear sense of what the theme of the site will be." She said they are now working to fill other top editorial positions for the new site.

"Huff/Post 40" will be uplifting and interactive, Huffington said.

"It's important to cover this with a sense of joy about this age ... that's another thing that's often missing from the writing about this stage of life," she said. "You worry about approval less; you're more clear about who you are — all those things are so liberating. It's a very liberating time of life, I say as I turn 60...

"It's an age where you can look less at the past and more into the future."

Huffington is also looking into the future as she continues to expand her media empire with AOL. She's developing Huffington Post France; Huffington Post UK launches July 6 and Huffington Post Canada went live last month.

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Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://twitter.com/APSandy