In a time where actresses are written off by Hollywood and rarely casted for films after turning forty, we are seeing a new group of women emerging, breaking the status quo, who are proud and embrace their age.
Hollywood has always been notorious for their double standard for casting older women as compared to older men, which has been significantly different throughout history. But now, women are speaking out about their aged beauty and the fact that their appearance should have no affect on their talents on screen.
One actress who is embracing her natural beauty is the Oscar, Emmy, ACA, and Golden Globe-winning Helen Hunt.
Earlier this month, the Mad About You actress posted a selfie to Instagram flaunting her natural wrinkles and hair on her way to the season two premiere of her Starz TV series, Blindspotting.
While she didn’t outright mention her natural look in the caption, many fans took to the comment section to express their gratitude towards her for being her natural self, with one user writing, “Thank you for looking real, authentic and gorgeous!!” with many other fans echoing that message.
The beloved Sally Field has also previously opened up about keeping the authenticity to her look in spite of Hollywood’s twisted standards.
Speaking with NPR in 2016, she was asked what she took away from critics calling her “brave” for portraying her actual age in a movie, specifically at the time, her film Hello, My Name Is Doris.
“You know, isn’t that sad?” she answered. “I mean I appreciate them saying that rather than them trying to chop me to pieces. But I’m an old woman, 70 is old, and that’s OK.”
“I’ve gathered strength behind my years, I owned them, I’ve earned them, I’ve deserved them, I have a right to have them,” she continued. “And I don’t like my neck, I don’t like a lot of things but it’s OK, it’s OK. Behind my years I have value that doesn’t come when you’re 50 or 40 or 30 or 20, it doesn’t come until you’ve been in that saddle for a number of years.”
Among these Hollywood greats, many other women have helped pave the way for future generations of actresses and female entertainers in being able to embrace their age and going after what they want despite what critics may say about the appearance and role selections.
One woman who’s very outspoken about comfortably aging is Drew Barrymore, who has just begun the new era of her life in which she’s starting to see her physical transformations.
Speaking with Women’s Weekly in 2010, she said about getting older, “It’s the best time of my life — it’s not traumatic at all. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. It’s like the older I get, the better I get. Gravity and wrinkles are fine with me. They’re a small price to pay for the new wisdom inside my head and my heart. If my breasts fall down to the floor and everything starts to sag, becoming hideous and gross, I won’t worry.”
Diane Keaton is another one who has spoken out against various misogynistic norms in society, one of which being the criticism of women as they age.
“The more you change, the more you see differently,” she told Vogue in 2014. “And the more you see differently, the more you’re open to different kinds of beauty. I think the more we embrace what our own feelings about beauty are, the more fun it’s going to be for us as we go along.”
Among these strong and powerful women, Cameron Diaz, Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Lee Curtis, and so many more are tackling the challenge that is scoring strong leading roles in films as they grow older. All of them being Hollywood stars once upon a time, they are calling out the film and TV industries for their discriminatory tendencies and bringing pride and confidence to a new era of actresses and female entertainers.
We at WomenWorking love to see it!
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2016/03/05/469299174/sally-field-navigates-aging-in-the-hollywood
https://news.amomama.com/402835-helen-hunt-shows-off-authentic-beauty-at.html
