Women over 50 years young are mad as hell and not taking it anymore. They are tired of being sidelined. They are creating scripts and roles for themselves that allow them to be portrayed as smart, sexy, viable human beings, ones that aren’t sitting at home knitting just because they clicked over into the AARP era of their lives and careers.
In 2024, we witnessed 95-year-old June Squibb become a vigilante action star in “Thelma,” Nicole Kidman turn the tables on sexual power dynamics with “Babygirl,” Pamela Anderson have the comeback of her career with “The Last Showgirl,” and much more.
Yet, we still watch one male actor after another paired with women half their age and no one utters a sound. You know the ones I’m talking about—always shirtless and portrayed as the catch of the century while easily looking like your grandfather.
Kidman, Squibb, Fernanda Torres, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jodie Foster, Jean Smart, Jennifer Coolidge, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Mary Steenburgen, and Demi Moore have all been kicking butt and taking names for decades, but many of them really hit their stride after turning 50, proving to Hollyweird that obsession with youth and beauty is literally starting to get old. Saying their names is a reminder that the famous 3 percent study was more than a number. These women are changing the game.
Hollywood fav Demi Moore has been defying gravity for decades. Yet, it was her Golden Globe acceptance speech, which really hit a nerve. Sharing to a hushed room of her peers and constituents, sharing what a woman once said to her, “…just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you put down the measuring stick.” She was telling all those dolls out there still hoping for their “big break” that’s it not over until it’s over.
At 63, Hollywood’s favorite comedic actress, Jennifer Coolidge, shared during her Golden Globes speech, “I had such big dreams and expectations as a younger person, but what happened is they get sort of fizzled by life.”
Some talent agencies won’t entertain even looking at you twice if you are over a certain age. They want what’s new, fresh and trending in the industry while being unapologetic that talent is the last thing on their minds.
A-listers Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin began producing projects on their own including films and a hit Netflix series, “Grace and Frankie.” Grace and Frankie gave audiences a different vantage point on what getting older looks like in the 21st century and is a far cry from days of yesteryear.
How did we get here? At about the age of 40, female characters begin to disappear in substantial numbers from both broadcast and streaming programs. On broadcast programs, the percentage of major female characters plummeted from 42 percent in their 30s to 15 percent in their 40s, according to a recent study.
Even Sarah Jessica Parker’s HBO hit “…And Just Like That” unapologetically addresses ageism within the industry from a literary, entertainment, and educational point of view through the lens of all types of women all over the age of 50.
During the studio system days, men simply hired men and had no interest in giving a voice to a woman within the film industry, of any age bracket. Yet, two groundbreaking lawsuits allowed women to improve conditions for other women.
Oscar-nominated actor Olivia de Havilland, who had an exclusive contract with Warner Bros., sued the studio in 1943 to be freed from her contract and won. In 1948, the U.S. federal government sued Paramount Pictures in an antitrust case. When Paramount lost, studios could no longer exclusively produce, distribute and exhibit their films. This is important as there is a connection between increased concentration of power and decreased participation of women.
This took power away from a handful of men and gave more people the power to start changing the industry. Women with power in Hollywood are making conditions better for other women of all ages and talents.
How one chooses to age is a personal decision, and all of this ageism drama has caused some Hollywood starlets (young and seasoned) to get a nip and tuck, imbibe in a little weight loss injection, or take part in Botox or any other procedure that attempts to preserve their once youthful appearance. These women aren’t competing with younger counterparts as much as simply trying to stay in the race by any means necessary.
Why do women consistently have to jump over hills and valleys just because they have aged? Having a seasoned actress inhabit and bring role to life can’t be duplicated.
What would the Queen of Wakanda look like played by a 20-year-old instead of the iconic Angela Bassett? Audiences lost their minds when Meryl Streep found love with Martin Short (on-screen and off) because of the life experience of both “Only Murders in the Building” characters. In the last few years, we have seen a “Golden Girls” meet “Girls Trip” genre with Jane Fonda’s “Book Club” franchise and films like “80 for Brady” and “Summer Camp” become modest hits.
There is a fearlessness as women age. They lose the necessity for consistent approval from others. Did we forget about Salma Hayek’s sexy dance in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as a warrior in “Lovecraft Country,” or Viola Davis’ amazing power in “The Woman King?”
Every name laden throughout this article is proof talent can’t be bought, taught or bottled. As Gypsy Rose Lee says in Gypsy: “You either got or you ain’t.” And these women don’t lose what they got just because the calendar turned over a few times. Talent requires skill, expertise and training that has been honed for years and in some instances decades. Women over 50 have lives that are rich in texture, passion, heartbreak and victories.
All of which contribute to more interesting projects, more interesting characters and better exploration of what it means to grow old in cinematic journeys. To quote Nicole Kidman from her famous SAG speech in 2018: “Twenty years ago, we were pretty washed up by this stage in our lives, so that’s not the case now.”
Let’s keep fighting the good fight and moving forward for better representation for women of a certain age in front of and behind the camera who are seasoned, smart, sexy and sellable.
