We grow, we bloom, we wrinkle up. That's what we do. That's what we are supposed to do. End of story.
Once upon a time, aging stars--our models of cinematic beauty--did not get plastic surgery. If they performed late in life they either played strong elderly women or they used make-up and all kinds of lighting tricks to look like their younger selves. Marlene Dietrich was a master of this.
Would everyone have a look online for a photo of their favourite old time woman actor looking naturally beautiful in her old age and post a link? Old age here means anyone 65+. Of course, it can be difficult to see who has "had work" which did not go horribly wrong. (I was going to mention glamorous Helen Mirren and then suddenly I wondered...)
So far the very beautiful 50-something Kristin Scott Thomas has not mutilated her face. I hope she holds out.
10 comments:
I can't say I have a particular actress In mind, but I have been thinking if this, as last week I came across this article: www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/18celebrities-who_ve-aged-horribly which really brought my dander up, because many of them have simply AGED!
Grr. Why can't we just let people age without commenting on something they have little control over!?
Oh, I did randomly look up Phil Collins last weekend, and he has aged wonderfully. More handsome than ever if you ask me.
Brigitte Bardot! I think she has aged well: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2013/01/brigitte_bardot.jpg.
I also remember reading that she had expressed disapproval of plastic surgery etc. late in life. So I don't think she has had any.
http://thosegraces.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/audrey_hepburn_at_podium_older.jpg
First I'd like to add an actress to the "currently mid-50s and I hope she'll hold out and avoid cosmetic work" - Emma Thompson - who apparently has called the whole mess "psychotic" - http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/444712/Emma-Thompson-Cosmetic-surgery-is-psychotic
As far as "old age" actresses, I generally don't think about what they look like - I love Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith because they are just awesome! So I have no clue what they looked like younger, or whether at any point they ever had work done. I would suspect Judi has, because I would not have realized that she and Maggie were the same age, but whatever she has had done was done well, and done tastefully (and avoided the Joan Rivers lips...)
For me, definitely Judi Dench. She still has such a sparkle to her:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001132/
Yes, these are all great "aging gracefully" models (we'll give Judi the benefit of the doubt).
I hope Emma Thompson will be acting in great roles for the rest of her life! Certainly Dame Judi and Dame Maggie have been blessed with great opportunities--which they no doubt worked for!
Helena Bonham Carter has also spoken out against plastic surgery. And she says Dame Judi hasn't had it.
A good, working actor like HBC knows that plastic surgery ruins the ability of your face to express emotion and doesn't want to become a worse actor just to look younger.
Awesome! Love Helena too...
(And yes, losing expression is not good for an actress! I'm on Botox injections for my migraines, and while the fact that the main potential side effect was the inability to raise one's eyebrows, I did have to give it a second thought, as one who does community theatre on occasion,,, of course you can't really do theatre well with chronic migraine either, so I finally went for it (and was much relieved to be able to rIse my eyebrows after!))
I can hardly blame female actresses .... do you know how hard it is to get a job acting as a woman past 40? Men just go, and go, and go .... until you've got 70-year-old men acting opposite 25-year-old leading ladies. It's very sad. But how many movies have middle-aged or older women as main characters?
Which brings to mind the thought that acting, for women at least, is like football or figure skating -- you had better have a second career planned. Because no matter how much you try, you are going to be deemed "too old" for all the roles you try out for eventually.
Luckily this is something I will never have to worry about, as I can't act (or model either). But I feel for those women, working to develop their craft while all anyone notices is their appearance, leaping all over them the moment it alters.
Even though I'm vigilant about the sunscreen and moisturizer, my face still shows my life: I've cried and laughed and have spent time outside, so and I have a few wrinkles coming and a bunch of freckles. I have my mother's eyes and my father's nose and mouth. I look like my siblings. Why would I want to pay a lot of money to lose all that?
Post a Comment