Women in their forties, fifties and sixties were in the spotlight at the Golden Globes this year, taking home major awards for their roles in both feature films and television series.
Historically, Hollywood has been unkind to women in mid-life and beyond but we may be starting to see this shift. Jodie Foster, 62, Demi Moore, 62, Fernanda Torres, 59 and Zoe Saldaña, 46, won awards for their performances, ushering in a celebration of the increasing roles for women beyond the age of 35.
For her widely praised performance in the body-horror film, The Substance, Demi Moore won best female actor in a motion picture (musical/comedy), using her poignant and moving acceptance speech to reveal that it was “…the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor.”
“Thirty years ago I had a producer tell me that I was a ‘popcorn actress’ and at that time I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have,” Moore said. “That I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged. And I bought in and I believed that.”
“And that corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it. Maybe I was complete. Maybe I’d done what I was supposed to do.”
She went on to explain how during a “kind of low point” in her life, she was sent the script for The Substance, describing it as “magical, bold, courageous out of the box, absolutely bonkers.”
“The universe told me that you’re not done,” she said, thanking the director, French filmmaker and writer Coralie Fargeat, 48.
She thanked her co-star, Margaret Qualley and “all of the people who stood by me and believed in me when I haven’t believed in myself.”
She concluded her speech, which has been widely praised, with inspiring words. “I will just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting,” she said.
“In those moments when we don’t think we are smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick’.
“So today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me, and the gift of doing something I love and being reminded that I do belong.”
On Instagram, Moore’s daughter Scout Willis (whom she shares with former husband Bruce Willis) posted a video of the family’s reaction to the win, captioning it: “I was weeping”, and “SHE DID IT” with the video showing a group of people jumping up and down ecstatically when Moore is announced as the winner on their screen.
Throughout her decades long career, Moore has starred in cult classics and popular films, including Gho (1990), A Few Good Men (1992) and G.I Jane (1997), but has so far not been recognised in any major awards.
Fellow sexagenarian, Jodie Foster also took home an award last night, winning best female actor in an anthology, limited series, or TV movie for her role in True Detective: Night Country. It is Foster’s fifth Golden Globe. Previously, she’d won for her roles in The Accused (1988) The Silence of The Lambs (1991) and The Mauritanian (2021).
The series, the fourth iteration of True Detective, was created by Mexican director, writer and producer, Issa López, 53, who was given a shout out by Foster during her acceptance speech.
“The greatest thing about being this age and being in this time is having a community of all these people and we and our True Detective team – who I love so much – are only here for one reason and that is the wonderful, beautiful Issa Lopez, our wonderfully talented showrunner and director, so grateful to you and your talent and friendship,” she said.
“All our cast and crew, the Icelanders and especially the Indigenous people who shared their stories with us. They changed my life and hopefully they’ll change yours.”
Foster concluded her speech by thanking her family, her sons, and expressing the hope that they “…would be able to understand the joy… that comes from doing really hard, meaningful good work.”
“My boys, I love you and this of course is for you and the love of my life Alex, thank you forever,” Foster said, referencing her wife of 12 years, Alexandra Hedison.
Fernanda Torres made history by becoming the first Brazilian to win a best actress Golden Globe award. The 59-year old, who stars in the French Brazilian bio-pic I’m Still Here, paid tribute to her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who was previously the first, and only, actress to be nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globes.
“I didn’t prepare anything because I was glad already,” Torres commenced her speech after winning best female actor in a motion picture drama. “This is such an amazing year for female performances, so many actresses here that I admire so much. Of course I want to thank [director] Walter Salles, my partner, my friend, what a story Walter.”
“And of course I want to dedicate it to my mother. You have no idea, she was here 25 years ago. This is proof that art can endure through life, even in difficult moments like this amazing film…There’s something happening now in the world with so much fear and this is a film that will help us think how to survive in tough times like in this. To my mother, my family… everybody, thank you very much.”
In her award winning performance, Torres plays Eunice Paiva, the legendary Brazilian lawyer and activist who spent her career campaigning for human rights after her husband was murdered for his opposition to the implementation of military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1960s.
Zoe Saldaña, 46, took home best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in a Motion Picture for her performance in the musical thriller, Emilia Pérez, which won a total of four awards on Sunday night, including best original song for French artists Camille and Clément Ducol’s “El Mal.”
Saldaña, who admitted on stage during her acceptance speech that she has dyslexia, praised her fellow nominees, saying, “I’m in awe of you, your strength, your complexity, your undeniable talent.”
“I know that it is a competition, but all that I have witnessed is just us showing up for each other and celebrating each other, and it’s just so beautiful,” she said.
Saldaña, whose breakout roles include Centre Stage (2000) Crossroads (2002) and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) has been acting since she was teenager, beginning her career as a ballet dancer.
Popular comedian Ali Wong, 42, won best performance in stand-up comedy on television for her fourth Netflix special celebrating post-divorce life, Ali Wong: Single Lady.
Looking surprised by the win, the actor comedian gave a brief but heart-felt message to the stand-up comedy scene in San Francisco.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all the stage time that I got there and all the practice I got to become a stand up comedian. So I really want to thank Molly Schminke from the San Francisco Comedy Club. And my best friend is here, Mia. Thank you so much for all of your love and support throughout the years, and this means a lot.”
Host Nikki Glaser, who was the first solo woman to host the Golden Globes, and had also been nominated for the award for her HBO special Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die, made fun of herself, saying she was a “first time Golden Globe loser.” Glaser also called out the sexism and ageism in Hollywood, saying at one point, “There’s been a lot of talk about comebacks…Pamela Anderson, Demi Moore. 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.”
Pamela Anderson, 57, who attended the awards make-up free with her son, Brandon, was nominated for her first-ever Golden Globe for her role in The Last Showgirl.
Thirty-two year old Japanese actor Anna Sawai took home best actress in a television drama award for her portrayal of the enigmatic high society Lady Mariko in the critically acclaimed FX series Shogun. It was Sawai’s first Golden Globes nomination and win, making her the second Asian actress to win a Golden Globe, after Sandra Oh. It comes just months after Sawai became the first Asian actress to win an Emmy for the same role.
Finally, Jessica Gunning, 38, won best performance by a female actor in a supporting role on television for Baby Reindeer, making it her second win for the role, after winning the Primetime Emmy in September.
“This is an absolutely honour,” Gunning said in her speech. “I honestly … there’s a video of me when I was little, over 8 years old, my mom and dad got me a hamster for Christmas and they brought it out in this bin bag — in a cage it wasn’t, just in a bin bag. Happy Christmas! And I’ve got a very Yorkshire accent. I kept saying, ‘I can’t believe this is happening to me. I can’t believe this is happening to me.’ “
“And I realised his morning that that has been a kind of soundtrack for the last year since Baby Reindeer came out. I cannot believe any of this is happening to me. I just want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who let me come on this journey.”
Baby Reindeer also took home best outstanding limited or anthology series.