Yahoo Lifestyle Julia Duffy Says Aging in Hollywood is 'Awkward,' It's 'Very Disappointing' the Way Older Women Are Written
The 'Newhart' alum sounded off on the stereotypical roles of older women, pointing out that a 70-year-old "could have been at Woodstock"
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Actress Julia Duffy (left) on "Newhart"; (right) in March 2024.Julia Duffy — who famously played snooty beauty Stephanie on the hit sitcom Newhart for seven seasons — says aging in Hollywood is “very awkward.”
The actress, who earned seven Emmy nominations for her role on the sitcom, which aired from 1982 to 1990, sounded off on the roles available to older women during an Oct. 14 appearance on Steve Kmetko’s podcast, Still Here Hollywood
“Has aging in Hollywood affected you?” Kmetko asked, prompting Duffy, 73, to quip, deadpan, “Oh not at at all, Steve. It's been fine.”
Duffy said that it’s “very awkward,” and said the roles for older women all seem to be stereotypes.
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Julia Duffy in Beverly Hills, California, in 2018.“I'll tell you something that drives me up a wall, because it's symbolic of all of it,” Duffy said. “I have read for and actually played the role of a woman who's older, that they have named Myrna — that takes place present day.”
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The role was on Melissa & Joey — Duffy guest-starred for one episode in 2010.
“Now, I know what people were named who are my age, now. We were Patty and Kathy and Susie. These women that they write in older roles could have been at Woodstock,” she said as a nod to the cool young women who attended the famous 1969 concert, “if you're having them be 70 today in 2024.”
“You have to write the person and not the type,” Duffy, who also starred in the hit Designing Women, explained. “And it is very disappointing to me how much even younger writers seem to be writing Aunt Bee or something when they write an older person and not an individual.”
Aunt Bee, of course, was the frumpy older relative on The Andy Griffith Show, played by Frances Bavier.
“I hope they're listening and I know you have the talent to do it,” Duffy urged. “Make that a real person.”
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