Women 'Of a Certain Age' Absolutely Crushed It at the Oscars – Kveller
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Women ‘Of a Certain Age’ Absolutely Crushed It at the Oscars

By Joanna C. Valente

One of the most noteworthy parts of the 2018 Oscars was the fact that many of the nominated leading women and supporting actresses were over the age of 50 (hi, Frances McDormand and Allison Janney). This, in the #MeToo and #TimesUp era, is significant, illustrating that women of “a certain age” are not invisible. Women of all ages are important, and should be seen and heard.

Too often in Hollywood, and in real life, older women are excluded from roles and opportunities — not to mention most middle-aged women are hardly ever seen as “sexy.” Men, on the other hand, don’t suffer in quite the same way, often reaping the benefits of illustrious career offers well into old age.

This is why it was especially inspiring to see McDormand and Janney win Oscars, and to see plenty of “mature” women absolutely crush it on the red carpet. We rounded up our favorite badass women who showed up and looked absolutely amazing — proving that women don’t “expire” or fade into the background with time.

1. Allison Janney, 58, is a babe in this long-sleeved gown. Her speech for best supporting actress (for I, Tonya) was also so inspiring:

Backstage, Janney added how she thought “this wouldn’t happen to her,” but we’re so glad it did: “I kind of didn’t dare to have dreams like this, because I didn’t want to be disappointed. At a certain point I had given up thinking this could happen to me. I just wasn’t being given the right kind of roles in films.”

2. 51-year-old Salma Hayek looking like an ethereal goddess, as usual:

3. Let’s not forget Meryl Streep slaying in red (and looking suspciously like the fairy godmother from Shrek):

3. 72-year-old Helen Mirren, as usual, was a fox in blue:

4. Rita Moreno stunned us all in her Oscar dress from 1961, proving you can be gorgeous at any age (she’s 86!):

6. While Frances McDormand is not known for being the world’s most famous fashionista, she was absolutely badass (and won for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri):

Also this dress really is truly unique:

7. OK, not quite over 50, but Ashley Judd, 49, turned heads in a form-fitting, deep purple dress. She and friend, Mira Sorvino, walked the red carpet together in protest, as she and Sorvino were both victims of Harvey Weinstein.

8. Mira Sorvino, now 50, walked the red carpet in a fairy tale-dress with Judd in order to raise awareness for sexual assault and sexual harassment — and looked amazing while doing so.

Joanna C. Valente

Joanna Valente is the former Staff Writer at Kveller. Joanna is the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Xenos, and Marys of the Sea, and received an MFA at Sarah Lawrence College. You can follow @joannasaid on Twitter and @joannacvalente on Instagram.

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