Hollywood could benefit from a time out to think long and hard about what it’s done wrong when it comes to empowering women. After all, ageism in Tinseltown is a tale older than the woman it continues to shun year after year. Even today, women in the television and film industry would be hard-pressed to avoid conversations about aging in front of a camera. Why? Because legend has it that women in Hollywood are past their prime as they approach their 40s, a stigma that’s followed actors around for longer than anyone would like to admit.
But, let’s face it — so many celebrities look better with age, and they come with years of experience balancing the unreasonable expectations the entertainment industry continues to promote. With that in mind, we’re celebrating the wisdom on aging from some of Hollywood’s most beloved women — regardless of the unreasonable standards they have become accustomed to dismantling.
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1 / 20
Sarah Jessica Parker
Fans and critics of Sex and the City had a lot to say about how much the actors had aged when they began to promote the television show's reboot And Just Like That. In particular, people came for Sarah Jessica Parker who dared to revive her role as Carrie without dying over her grey hair. Naturally, the offensive comments made towards the actress took place on the internet, but that didn’t save SJP from scrutiny. The comments came most notably after the actress was seen on a patio, makeup-free with Andy Cohen. “‘Gray hair, gray hair, gray hair. Does she have gray hair?’ I’m sitting with Andy Cohen, and he has a full head of gray hair, and he’s exquisite,” she told Vogue. “Why is it OK for him? I don’t know what to tell you people!”
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2 / 20
Andie MacDowell
When Andie MacDowell decided to embrace her long, grey hair, people had a lot to say about it — but it wasn't the first time the actress and fashion model had to manage comments about her age. When she turned 40, a journalist dared to ask her how she felt about getting older and losing her beauty. MacDowell shot back by stating, "I told her I really don't feel like I'm losing my beauty; it's just a different kind of beauty." She also pointed out that men are never asked this question, a similar statement made by many actresses in her age range when questioned about their beauty standards. One of the reasons she embraced her natural grey was to prove to other women that they can look and feel confident at any age.
See also: Celebs who welcomed babies after age 44.
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3 / 20
Taraji P. Henson
Actress Taraji P. Henson isn't afraid of what Hollywood thinks about women when they age — she's making her own rules as she goes. At the end of 2021, Henson appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and explained her approach to aging. "I'm going to turn 50 just like I turned 30, except, you know, my knees are a little different. But I'm not going to buy into 'my career is over' or 'life for me is over' or 'my sexy is over' or 'I shouldn't wear this.' I'm going to do what I feel." A few years prior, Refinery29 asked Henson if she felt pressure about getting older, to which she replied, "There's no way around it — it is inevitable. I just think you accept it and try to age as gracefully as possible. What, you going to freeze yourself, going to walk around on a frozen ice cube? No. You live your life."
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4 / 20
Iman
Age came to the surface again when Taraji P. Henson had the thrill of interviewing Iman for Harper’s Bazaar in 2018. The Somali fashion model, actress and entrepreneur spoke with Henson about what it’s like to be still modelling, and how she views fashion today. Sooner than later, Henson asked her what it means to age gracefully, to which Iman replied, “Philosophically? Not giving a damn. Physically? Taking care of your skin. I swear by the SK-II 3D mask. Even if you’re tired or have a fever of 104, if you put this on, you’ll look like you just stepped off a plane from Ibiza.”
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5 / 20
Meryl Streep
Like most women in Hollywood, Meryl Streep began to worry about the future of her career as soon as she approached her 40s. Based on her track record, it’s easy to see that Streep’s fear did not hold her back from success. It also hasn’t stopped the three-time Academy Award winner from speaking out. In 2016, she reflected on aging in Hollywood during an interview with WSJ magazine: “Everybody has troughs and dismal times — every single person. I remember as I was hovering around 40, I thought each movie would be my last, really. And all the evidence of other 40-year-old women at that time — this is 27 years ago — would lead you to believe it was over.”
See also: Hollywood’s most badass moms.
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6 / 20
Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet has barely reached 50, and already she has faced years of backlash regarding what the industry deems as the perfect body shape and age for success. Over the years, the actress has been selective of her roles, and while playing the lead in the hit show Mare of Easttown, Winslet garnered a lot of conversation about just how ordinary she looked on screen. She told the Daily Mail, "I guess that's why people have connected with this character in the way that they have done because there are clearly no filters. She's a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that move in a way that is synonymous with her age, her life and where she comes from. I think we're starved of that a bit."
Related: The shortest marriages in Hollywood.
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7 / 20
Halle Berry
While promoting her work as the star and first-time director of Bruised, Halle Berry had concerns that the film about a disgraced mixed martial arts fighter looking for redemption was initially written as a 20-something white woman, with Blake Lively set to star as the lead. When Lively decided the role wasn't for her, Berry met with the producer, Basil Iwanyk, and pitched the story as a middle-aged Black woman instead. With Iwanyk's blessing, Berry attempted to secure a director, but that coveted position went to her in the end. She told Variety: "It used to be when you were 40 your career was done, and I mean really done, or you had to wait until you were old enough to play a grandma, and then you could have another bite at the apple, right? I mean, I couldn't think that I'd be playing an MMA fighter at 54 years old. Yet I did, so it's got to be changing. I'm proof of that.”
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8 / 20
Salma Hayek
During the summer of 2021, Salma Hayek told InStyle that she had meditation to thank for her fresh outlook on what it means to age as a woman. "It makes you experience your body with a lightness that's really delicious and satisfying. With the breathing and the going inside, you explore your body in a different way, and you learn not to go crazy with the expectations," she explained. The actress is approaching her mid-50s and is showing no signs of stopping, as she continues to score roles in some of Hollywood's biggest films, including Eternals and House of Gucci. "I don't think I am some hot tamale, but I know that for my age, for the lifestyle that I lived, I'm not doing too badly. And I attribute all of this to meditation."
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9 / 20
Jennifer Aniston
Another actress who firmly believes in the power of meditation is Jennifer Aniston. While speaking with Yahoo! Life in 2021, the actress said this about how her self-care has evolved over the years: "We take so much for granted when we're in our 20s and 30s when self-care is like, 'Oh, I'll sleep when I'm 80.' No. You need to sleep now. You need to start meditating now." Aniston has been open about her displeasure with the way society frames conversations around women and aging: "Society has put these expiration dates on ourselves, so we need to change that. It's like, alright, you're this age, so now this is the time when you go off to pasture because you actually are of no use to us anymore, to society. There's some catching up to do — the languaging, the messaging. I think we need to stop putting ages next to people's names."
Related: Jennifer Aniston’s style evolution.
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10 / 20
Julianne Moore
Flipping our topic on its head, actress Julianne Moore has spoken out on the term "aging gracefully," claiming that it is sexist. Moore, who is now in her 60s, criticized the term during a 2021 interview with As If magazine. "There's so much judgement inherent in the term 'aging gracefully,'" she explained before stating, "Is there an ungraceful way to age? We don't have an option, of course. No one has an option about aging, so it's not a positive or a negative thing. It just is." Thankfully, Moore is not alone in her pursuit to fight the terms associated with age in Hollywood. "It's part of the human condition, so why are we always talking about it as if it is something that we have control over?"
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11 / 20
Drew Barrymore
For Drew Barrymore, coming to terms with her face and body changing with age was a journey, but one that would be important for her to accept and understand for her daughters' future. In 2019, Barrymore shared her feelings on age with New Beauty, where she stated, "I went through a couple of hard years, and I can see it wearing on my face. It's not about aging; it's about how I am on the inside." The actress and talk show host explained that while she isn't into meditation, she does believe that you need to work on who you are inside before it can shine through the outside. And when it comes to her daughters, Barrymore said, "I'm now determined more than ever to show my daughters that aging is a luxury. If we're lucky, we are all going to age. I just want them to be at peace with who they are and not what they look like."
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12 / 20
Tina Fey
In 2016, actress, writer, comedian and producer Tina Fey spoke to Town & Country about the struggle she faced with aging in Hollywood. "The greatest challenge for me as an actress is just getting older," she told the magazine. "Trying to play the scene at hand while also trying to hold your face up. Fast-forward to being 68, and it's a glorious act of bravery." Fey and her pal Amy Poehler hosted the Golden Globe Awards from 2013 to 2015 and again in 2020 and often included jokes about what it's like to be a woman in Hollywood, let alone an aging one. She spoke about the experience with the mag, saying there were people at the awards in their twenties "who were so Botoxed. In their twenties! We've been so conditioned now to never see a real human face, one that moves, with its original teeth."
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13 / 20
Cameron Diaz
It’s been over six years since Cameron Diaz famously retired early, and the former actress has never fully explained why until Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed her for Goop in 2020. During that conversation, Diaz shared how leaving the industry made her feel. “I got peace in my soul because I was finally taking care of myself,” she claimed. Diaz made a rare appearance on Drew Barrymore’s Instagram in 2021, and fans took to the comments immediately to share how both women were aging so gracefully. When Paltrow asked Diaz what her favourite part of aging is, she replied, “What I have to offer the people around me, the wisdom I have gained through the experiences I have had, and looking forward to all of the years I have ahead of me.”
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14 / 20
Naomi Campbell
Superstar fashion model Naomi Campbell doesn't look like she's aged a day since her first catwalk, but in reality, the model has recently entered her 50s. Campbell is feisty is well-known for not holding back, so it came as no surprise that her "who cares?" attitude showed up during a 2015 conversation about age with Harper's Bazaar. While the supermodel maintains a healthy diet and disciplined beauty routine, she told the magazine that she doesn't care about age, further claiming, "I don't worry about a number. Plastic surgery is fine for those who do it for themselves and not to please someone else."
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15 / 20
Jamie Lee Curtis
When you begin your career as everyone’s favourite scream queen, it can be challenging to break out of the horror movie mould. But nothing could be further from the truth for Jamie Lee Curtis. When faced with the concept of giving in to Hollywood’s ageist ideals for women, Curtis decided to go full steam ahead and only take on roles worthy of her existence. Now, at 63 years old, the star recently told InStyle magazine how she was able to fight for the roles she deserves by stating, “I have a motto now, as I am past that sell-by date, which is, ‘If not now, when? If not me, who?’ I say it to myself every single day. And after more than 40 years in the business, I am busier today than I have ever been in my entire life.”
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16 / 20
Jada Pinkett Smith
There's no shortage of honesty on Red Table Talk, the show built and co-hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith. The show is designed to share the perspectives of three generations of women on any given topic, which includes Pinkett Smith's daughter, Willow, and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris. And while topics of age pop up on the show, Pinkett Smith shared her thoughts on aging with Entertainment Tonight way back in 2016. "I think as you get older, you really get to the point where you just don't care anymore what people think," she said. "There's a certain freedom that comes with that, [which] you really don't have when you're young. With age comes a lot of wisdom, and I'm happier now than I have ever been, so it's good."
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17 / 20
Kim Cattrall
When Kim Cattrall was approached to play the role of Samantha Jones on Sex and the City, she nearly passed it up because she thought she was already too old to play her. After six seasons and two feature films walking in Sam’s shoes, Cattrall realized that playing a character who defied age helped her become more comfortable accepting her own age. Cattrall would continue to search for work that defined women beyond the stereotypical role of mom or wife. In 2016, Cattrall was the executive producer and star of Sensitive Skin, a dark comedy about a 50-something gallery owner who struggles with getting older. When Canadian Living asked how the show impacted her, she said, “I love that so many of the actors in the show are of a certain age because there’s camaraderie. We have survived in this business, which is pretty tough, and created a supportive enclave in telling this story.”
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18 / 20
Reese Witherspoon
In 2019, Reese Witherspoon spoke with Allure about being proud of her grey hair and fine lines. Among the many tips and reflections she shared regarding the '90s and '00s era films that made her, Witherspoon got real with the magazine about why she enjoys the aging process. "I have a point of view because I've been on this planet for 43 years, and I didn't feel that same way when I was 25. I didn't have the same things to say. I'm 43, and I've had a whole bunch of experiences, and I can speak with thoughtfulness about the changes I'd like to see in the world and — I just feel like I earned that [grey] hair and my fine lines, and I like 'em. I so prefer 43 to 25."
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19 / 20
Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross is an actress, singer, television host, producer, director — and a woman who has learned to like aging. She discussed these thoughts in 2018 when she spoke with InStyle about what it's like to age in Hollywood and the social media era. She told the magazine that she had an image of becoming the a woman she admired, including Wonder Woman, Carol Burnett, and the ladies of Charlie's Angels when she was young. Admiring her icons paid off by the time she hit her mid-forties, as she explained, "The gift of age is that you actually get to have the boldness and the courage to be that woman. Some of the things I've discovered is that I actually like myself! And I like getting older. At 45, I feel the sexiest and the most beautiful I've ever felt. I didn't say I look my most beautiful; I said I feel my most beautiful, and that's what's important to me."
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20 / 20
Diane Keaton
After spending years knocking down barriers in Hollywood, Diane Keaton got real on paper when she released her 2014 memoir, Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty. The book has been described as an impactful look at beauty, aging, and the importance of staying true to yourself and offers wisdom and advice from Keaton's years in the business. In it, she explains that cosmetic surgery isn't something she was ever interested in, but she can understand how it might be appealing for some. "I don't see anything wrong with face-lifts or Botox or fillers," she wrote. "They just erase the hidden battle scars. I intend to wear mine, sort of."
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