Yahoo Lifestyle Midlife women were the real winners at this year's Golden Globes
There was a time, not so long ago, when women aged between 40 and 60 all but disappeared in Hollywood, in a phenomenon known as the “fallow years”. Bar a handful of exceptions – Meryl Streep and Judi Dench spring to mind – actresses who had laughter lines and grey hairs were at least temporarily aged out of the profession, sent back to the subs bench until they could come back and play an elder stateswoman, or perhaps a grandmother. So how refreshing it was to see that women in midlife were being celebrated for their talent, style and general fabulousness at the Golden Globes.
This year, seven of the best actress gongs went to women over the age of 40, including Fernanda Torres (59) for I’m Still Here, Jodie Foster (62) for True Detective: Night Country and Zoe Saldaña (46) for Eva Pérez. Golden Globes host Nikki Glasser (40) was quick to point out the higher age bracket of this year’s female winners, wryly noting: “Turns out, if you’re a woman over 50 in a lead role, they call it a comeback. If you’re a guy over 50 in a lead role, congratulations – you’re about to play Sydney Sweeney’s boyfriend.”
One of the most talked-about wins of the night was 62-year-old Demi Moore’s. She took home best actress in a musical or comedy for last summer’s epic body horror, The Substance. Collecting her award, she recalled being dubbed a “popcorn actress” by a producer three decades ago – classed as someone who, as she put it, could be in successful films that made a lot of money, but who would never have her talent critically acknowledged. Having worked in the industry for 45 years, last night's award was her first ever – a staggering fact when you consider the quality of her oeuvre. In an ironic case of life imitating art, the role for which Moore has finally been recognised is one that questions society’s ageism and sexism, criticising in particular how Hollywood treats older women dubbed “past their prime”.
Then there was the plethora of impeccably turned-out midlife women on the red carpet, including everyone’s favourite actress, Jennifer Coolidge (63), as well as Salma Hayek (58), Angelina Jolie (49), and Isabella Rosselini (71). Their ringleader was Nicole Kidman (57), star of the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to the patriarchy film, Babygirl. Widely touted as an incredibly brave role, it sees Kidman playing a high-powered CEO who enters into an illicit relationship with her much younger male intern (Harris Dickinson). But what’s braver than turning Hollywood’s favourite age-gap fantasy on its head? The fact that Kidman has Botox on screen – a nod to the standard that Hollywood, and the business world in general, places on women of a “certain age” having to look good (read: youthful) in order to succeed.
It would be easy to equate the dominance – or even just the presence – of women in their 40s, 50s and beyond on the big and small screens with society’s acceptance of anti-ageing treatments like Botox and fillers, as well as the ease of colouring your hair. Suddenly, being past the age of 39 doesn’t mean the scaffolding in your face has fallen down and you’ve turned grey. After all, in the 1990s, women in their 40s were depicted as white-haired and well, old-looking. They wore frumpy clothes and had unflattering haircuts. A classic example of this is Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in 1991's Father of the Bride, who by today’s standards look at least a decade older. Two forty-somethings in a TV show or film today look like Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in Nobody Wants This, not like your grandparents.
Yet, it’s not as simple as midlife women looking younger – and therefore being more acceptable to be seen on screen. Just look at Pamela Anderson (57), who has put two fingers up to Hollywood’s expectations of how you should age. As someone who has come out of the other side of what her industry dubs the “dry decade,” she’s taken back the narrative, with a best-selling memoir (which reportedly didn’t have a ghostwriter) and a hit Netflix documentary.
Others who have taken a similar approach include the plethora of actresses-turned-producers, such as Reese Witherspoon (48) and Jennifer Aniston (55), who, by taking matters into their own hands, have ensured that they are making some of their best work ever (see: The Morning Show, starring both), at a time when usually they would be struggling to get roles at all. Of course, the rise of the streaming giants has also played its role here too, churning out more content than ever before, and therefore allowing for midlife actresses to continue to work to keep up with demand.
Millennials are the largest consumers of TV and film, and as many begin to enter middle age (the oldest millennials are turning 44 this year) it’s unsurprising that they are lapping up these interesting – and so often untold – stories of midlife women. Take note, Hollywood: may this era of accepting the ageing of women continue.
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