Hollywood (and beyond) has long made it difficult for women to secure great acting roles as they age. We’ve been taught to fear, rather than celebrate, grey hair and other features that come with life experience. We’ve been led to believe wrinkles on our face is not beautiful.
Recently, a handful of Hollywood stars have spoken out about the oppressive standards women face in staying relevant in their industries.
There is actor Jennifer Aniston, as a start. Announcing her new haircare brand, LolaVie on her socials earlier this month, Aniston is seen talking to the camera about the product with her hair half up, and grey strands running along the top of her head.
The video garnered praise from fans for her “allowing grey to come through – refreshing,” as one fan commented.
Last week, British Vogue published an interview with the 54-year old where she opened up about her attitudes about ageism in Hollywood.
“You look great for your age” should just be “you look great – period,” she said.
“It drives me bananas; I can’t stand it.”
“That’s a habit of society that we have these markers like, ‘Well, you’re at that stage, so for your age…’ I don’t even understand what it means.”
The actor said she is in better shape today than she was in her 20s, insisting she “feel[s] better in mind, body and spirit. It’s all 100 per cent better.”
Aniston has been making the media rounds recently to announce her partnership with the functional fitness company Pvolve, co-founded by Rachel Katzman in 2017.
In speaking out against ageism and allowing the world to see her natural greys, the Friends star, who most recently starred in “Murder Mystery 2” with Adam Sandler, joins a cadre of Hollywood women who’ve called out the gendered discrimination.
Andie MacDowell was heralded in 2022 as a “grey army” trailblazer for not dying her hair colour, saying “I truly want to be where I am and look my age.”
Last month, the 65-year old said told People magazine she’s become “more comfortable” with herself as she ages and that she no longer needs to “pretend that I’m young anymore because I’m not young, obviously.”
“And I just think that’s going to help me and you have to dig in and make your characters more complex too. You have to struggle and fight with people to make them. You have to fight for what you know. I fight for what I know as an older woman, what I know to be true.”
“Men are seen as really sexy when they start to get wrinkles,” she continued.
“I like all the terms we use for older men. I want to hold onto those terms. I want to be debonair. Why not? What a beautiful term.”
The former L’oreal spokeswoman and model said that when it comes to ageing, society has been “brainwashed.”
“It’s a psychological thing that we’ve bought into because we’ve been fed it for so long. We don’t allow ourselves to feel good about ourselves and we even perceive [older men] as sexy, because we’ve been taught this.”
“There is this time period between 40 and 60 that I think women in the business can struggle because they don’t know what to do. They’ve been seen as one way, but they’re not really seen as what I am now,” she said.
“I was struggling and I’m much more comfortable with where I am right now. I love being an older woman. I really enjoy it. And it doesn’t feel less sexy.”
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham has also leapt on the “embracing ageing” momentum, telling The Sunday Times last month: “I am comfortable with who I am, I accept how I look, I make the best of what I have.”
“I feel, professionally and personally, really accomplished at 49,” she said. “I consider how I apply my make-up. But I like how it feels being older.”
“I wouldn’t want to be 25 again. I was the kind of young woman who would look in the mirror and see what needed to be improved upon, as opposed to what actually looked OK.”
“I’ve always been quite tough on myself, but because of that I’ve also always strived to be the best version of myself. It’s not about changing anything, it’s just about looking at the best version of yourself.”
And finally, last week, Salma Hayek won praise for posting a close-up selfie on her socials, captioning it — “Me waking up and counting how many white hairs and wrinkles have crashed the party this morning.”
Perhaps it’s easier to ‘embrace your age’ when you’re blessed with extremely good looks but at least these women are reminding us about the pervasive and harmful oppression women face as we simply let nature run its beautiful, wonderful course.
Maybe the best piece of advice we can embrace is from The White Lotus star, Jennifer Coolidge, who said on Saturday night in Sydney: “There’s one thing that can keep you forever young and sexy … pure denial.”
“Just ageing or any of that, if you just like, dismiss, you know? And that’s what it is. I think I have better denial than anyone on this planet. And it helps me function on every level.”