As 2021 winds down, it’s clear that women in Hollywood were ready to bang down the door when it comes to ageism this year. Supermodel Paulina Porizkova led the way with her consistent Instagram posts, reminding women to “celebrate who we are, wrinkles and imperfections and all.” But she wasn’t the only one to speak up about the hot topic because the stars of And Just Like That… definitely had a lot to say about the criticism they received for trying to age gracefully.
It’s also a reminder that women have the right to age the way they want. It’s OK to enhance your looks with Botox and fillers the same way it’s just as acceptable to embrace every wrinkle that you’ve earned from those decades of smiles. So many actresses over the age of 50 are more successful than ever with Halle Berry fighting hard to make her directorial debut to Salma Hayek finding a way to play a superhero and talk about menopause all in the same year. (And her empowering bikini photos are stunning.)
We love that Brooke Shields revealed that she explored her sexual experiences with her husband over the age of 40 while Rita Moreno is itching to play more than “a grandmother” at the age of 90. Are you listening, Hollywood? These women are calling out the antiquated ideas of aging and they’re sharing their fresh perspectives. Learn more about what these powerful actresses are saying about knocking out ageism for good, and hopefully, making it an issue that doesn’t carry over to 2022.
Paulina Porizkova
As a 56-year-old supermodel, Paulina Porizkova has become a leader when it comes to battling the stereotypes of aging. Her signature phrase, “between [Jennifer Lopez] and Betty White is me” has become a calling card for her on social media because she’s tired “of falling into the hole of being invisible between those two women and I’m not okay with that.”
That means sharing her truth with her followers and rewriting the script of what it means to be over that age of 50 — and people are listening. While she’s feeling empowered about combatting ageism, there are days that get her down. “As much as I’m proud of who I am, I’m also broken,” she admitted to the StyleLikeU YouTube channel. “And I’m assembling myself. So, it’s not the greatest place to be yet. It will be though. It’ll be pretty freaking awesome.”
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek is proud to be 55 years old and “working more than ever” and she’s using her voice to make her decade feel represented on-screen, too. She made sure her character in the Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard talked about menopause since it reflected her real-life situation. “When I was going through menopause myself,” she explained to AARP Magazine. “I wondered, How come nobody talks about this in the movies?”
Her role in Eternals also helped her speak out about ageism in Hollywood because she had the rare opportunity to play a superhero in her 50s. “I was shocked to get that role in my 50s,” she said. “I felt a sense of gratitude and excitement, not only for this, but for what it meant about the possibilities for the future.”
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields is feeling amazing at 56 years old and she wants other women in their 50s to join her because she thinks it’s time “to change the narrative.” Telling USA Today, “I feel stronger now and more in my own skin and sexier that it took me years to earn. Now that I feel very much in this and am embodying this, I’m told, ‘It’s over.’ I just won’t accept that.”
Halle Berry
If Halle Berry playing an MMA fighter in Bruised wasn’t inspiring enough, she also made her directorial debut with the film. She’s not only patting herself on the back for her accomplishments, but Berry is also hoping to bring other women along for the ride with her.
“It used to be when you were 40 your career was done… and I mean really done, she tweeted. “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.”
Sarah Jessica Parker
Even if you don’t love the And Just Like That… we should all applaud that there’s a series featuring women in their 50s, but it isn’t all sunshine and roses for Sarah Jessica Parker. She’s been hearing the criticism about letting her hair go gray — and she’s tired of the constant commentary. “I know what I look like. I have no choice,” she explained to Vogue. “What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?”
The double standard does exist because it’s rare for men in the entertainment industry to feel the same heat that Parker and her co-stars are receiving. “It almost feels as if people don’t want us to be perfectly okay with where we are as if they almost enjoy us being pained by who we are today, whether we choose to age naturally and not look perfect, or whether you do something if that makes you feel better,” she said.
Kristin Davis
And Sarah Jessica Parker isn’t the only one on the receiving end of comments about their looks, Kristin Davis is also speaking up about the issue of ageism. She’s done with being polite about viewers refusing to let her age gracefully and she’s not going to let the trolls win on this issue.
“I also feel — I’m going to be blunt — I feel like, ‘F**k you. F**k you people, like, come over here and do it better,’” she told The Sunday Times Style Magazine. “You know what I mean? Like, what are you doing?”
Cynthia Nixon
Even Cynthia Nixon is getting in on blasting ageism in the industry because she hopes that shows, like her HBO Max series, open the door wide open for other actresses in her age category.
“We spend so much time exploring childhood, adolescence and young love, but I hope as the population ages, there will be more works of art, television, books, movies and podcasts that talk about what it’s like to be in your 50s or 60s or 70s,” she wisely told Parade. “At 55, I’m really interested in women a generation or more above me.”
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith reached a major milestone in 2021 — she celebrated her 50th birthday. On Red Table Talk, where she shares all of her opinions, she decided to turn the tables on what society thinks about people who are half a century — and she’s “so done” with trying to be enough to anyone but herself.
“I just feel like, women taking back our power, in any form that you need to, to be done with the convincing,” she declared. “That you’re smart enough, that you’re pretty enough, to convincing people that you’re worthy. To come to that place of really grounding myself in that understanding… that’s been the most beautiful part of almost turning 50.”
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon has figured out what direction she’s moving in and she’s not making any room for people who have a problem with her current stage of life. And that’s because, with age, she has the wisdom to only keep those who matter close to her.
“I’m 45. I know who I want to spend time with and who I don’t,” she explained. “And that is one of the great things about getting older—it just clears out so much space,” she told Gayle King for InStyle. “I want to be with my mom, my kids, and the people who fill my tank. And everybody else, I wish them well.” #ByeAgeistHaters.
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is 90 years young and she is gracing the screen for the second time in West Side Story, but that’s not satisfying enough. She wants to take on juicy roles, but Hollywood isn’t letting her do this at this season of life.
“Why should I have to play a grandmother simply because I’m old? Can I be a lawyer? A scientist? So far, the answer is … not so much,” she pondered to Variety. “Hollywood suffers in a profound way from ageism.” Give the woman another starring role!
Nicole Kidman
Don’t tell Nicole Kidman she can’t do something because she will find a way to make it happen. In her early 40s, she noticed that fewer scripts were coming her way, so The Undoing star decided to start a production company to produce scripts that allowed her to keep her acting career alive.
“I was frustrated – as so many women are in different careers – at the idea of being told, ‘Well, that’s it. You’ve passed through that period where it’s all going to be fine and now you’re in your 40s we’re not interested as much in your storytelling or your ideas or in who you are as a woman or a person,'” she said to The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine. Channeling her efforts into her career has led to incredible projects like Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and a possible Oscar nomination for Being the Ricardos.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez spent part of 2021 promoting her new skincare line, JLO Beauty, but her some of her critics weren’t buying her anti-aging regimen, claiming her face is full of Botox — and that’s when she clapped back.
“I don’t judge anybody. If you want to do Botox and injectables, that’s fine! But I don’t want people lying on me and saying, ‘Oh, she’s trying to make believe that this stuff works,'” she told People. “No, I’m telling you what I do that works! Please don’t call me a liar. I don’t have to lie about things. I’ve been pretty honest about my whole life.”
Madonna
Madonna has been raging since she emerged on the pop music scene in the 1980s and she’s tackled every topic that needs a strong voice. At 63 years of age, she’s made sure that even Instagram hears her after they censored a photo where her nipple was exposed. “Giving thanks that I have managed to maintain my sanity through four decades of censorship…… sexism……ageism and misogyny,” she wrote.
50 Cent joined in on the conversation (uninvited, of course) with a few ageist Madonna memes based off her stunning lingerie photos, and despite apologizing a few times, their feud continues. She scolded him, “An apology is not valid if you don’t know what you’re apologizing for. What you should be apologizing for is your misogynistic, sexist, ageist behavior and remarks.”
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston isn’t interested in society putting her “out to pasture” now that she’s 52, she has a better idea. “No, no, no. Youth is wasted on the young, I get it. But I want to keep putting information in my head that’s going to inspire me, she explained to Vogue. And she keeps reminding herself that “it’s a privilege to grow old,” so she refuses to “look at aging as a negative” anymore.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Even though Gwyneth Paltrow is a spokesperson for Xeomin, an anti-wrinkle injectable, she believes that “women should feel empowered to make whatever choice they want without judgment.” She wants society to start raising the next generation of women to embrace a healthier approach to aging, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “We, as women, just have to keep cultivating other women, our daughters and the women that are coming up behind us with this idea that we’re all enough.”
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