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Perhaps the most critical barrier is the lack of older women in creative decision-making roles. Data shows that a staggering 88% of U.S. feature films released in 2025 were written by men or by women under 40. You cannot create complex, multidimensional characters for older actresses if the people writing those roles have themselves been systemically aged out of the industry a decade earlier. As film scholar Martha Lauzen, who has studied these trends for decades, explains, male characters tend to be valued for what they do , while female characters are valued for how they look and who they are attached to . When older women do appear, their narratives are often confined to their relationships with others (mother, wife, widow) rather than their own agency and accomplishments. The solution, as noted by industry initiatives like The Writers Lab, which supports female screenwriters over 40, is not complicated: production companies need to actively fund and greenlight projects by women over 40, not as a diversity initiative, but as a standard business practice.
Historically, women in Hollywood have faced a "sell-by date," with roles often declining after age 34, whereas male counterparts frequently peak in their late 40s or 50s. Disproportional Roles : Of all film characters over 40, only approximately 25% are women Box Office Parity : In 2024, a rare moment of parity occurred, with 42% of top-grossing films ftvmilfs 24 08 06 kitten even bigger toys xxx 1
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Behind these awards is a new canon of cinema that refuses to treat older women as secondary characters. In The Substance , Demi Moore's portrayal of a fading celebrity desperate to reclaim her glory is a brutal, satirical and profoundly moving commentary on the industry's dehumanising standards. The film's success, both critically and commercially, forced a conversation about how Hollywood values—and discards—its women. The solution, as noted by industry initiatives like
Perhaps the most significant structural shift ensuring the longevity of mature women in entertainment is the rise of the actress-producer. Weary of waiting for Hollywood to write compelling roles for them, prominent women established their own production companies to option books, develop screenplays, and greenlight projects.
The recent success of actresses over 50 presents a compelling, albeit misleading, narrative of triumph. The 2025 awards season was a landmark moment. Demi Moore, at 62, won her first Golden Globe for her fearless performance in the satirical body-horror film The Substance , a role that earned her a long-overdue Oscar nomination. Alongside her, Fernanda Torres (59) and Karla Sofía Gascón (52) were nominated in the same category, marking a significant increase in the visibility of older women among the industry's highest honors. On television, the Emmys told a similar story, with icons like Jean Smart (74), Jamie Lee Curtis (66), Kathy Bates (77), and Catherine O’Hara (71) dominating nominations and wins, suggesting a golden era for seasoned talent.
: A push to portray mature women as sensual and active, countering the historical invisibility of older women in romantic leads.
On the small screen, the success of series like Grace and Frankie proved that audiences are not just tolerant of stories about older women—they are hungry for them. Dr. Laura Minor, a television studies expert, noted that the show's success with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in their seventies and eighties "proved what many already knew: audiences are hungry for stories about women who don't disappear after a certain age".