Actresses Who Have Aged Like Fine Wine

For women, the road to aging is paved with double standards. And for female celebrities, this pressure is only magnified under the spotlight. In an industry that equates youth with relevance, aging actors often find themselves being pushed to the back burner, with their beauty being referred to in the past tense. But today, as these standards slowly evolve, older actor are commanding a different sort of attention that values confidence and timeless charm.

A growing league of actors — from Angela Bassett and Salma Hayek to Andie MacDowell, and Rachel Weisz — are aging so gracefully that they have caused a dent in the mainstream narrative that doesn’t let women grow old in peace. Whether it’s rocking their gray hair, rejecting procedures like Botox, going back to simple skincare, or speaking candidly (and kindly) about their maturing selves, these women are rewriting the rules of what it’s like to age on their own terms. Here are 15 performers who are showing us how it’s done.

Penelope Cruz

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From the first time she lit up screens as a teen actor in “Jamón Jamón” to now, after crossing the 50-year mark, Penelope Cruz seems almost untouched by time. This extends beyond her seemingly eternal youthful appearance; the poise and grace that have become signatures and carried Cruz through her years in showbiz still remain intact every time she steps out in public.

As one half of Hollywood’s most magnetic celebrity couples who are aging gracefully, Cruz — along with husband Javier Bardem — is redefining what it means to age. She told Elle about turning 50: “It’s a huge, beautiful thing, and I really want to celebrate that with all my friends. It means I’m here and I’m healthy, and it’s a reason to have a party.” Cruz has not let decades of public scrutiny pull her positive outlook on aging down. Dividing her days between family time and healthy routines, Cruz has found a rhythm that seems to keep her grounded.

Sandra Bullock

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She has hardly ever played by Hollywood’s rules, and as a result, Sandra Bullock’s stunning transformation has been something bold and beautiful to behold. Though she has appeared in her fair share of conventional romcom roles — think “The Proposal” and “Miss Congeniality” – Bullock has always seen herself as someone who exists outside the mold. This approach seems to have served her well, especially in managing to navigate aging in an industry that doesn’t like letting its actors grow old.

“I’ve never been a great beauty,” she humbly told People in 2015, the year the magazine declared her the World’s Most Beautiful Woman. “In an odd way, that made growing older a lot easier in this business. I guess I’m doing it on my own terms, and that is my wish for everyone.” Even as fans wonder what happened to Bullock — in the event of her stepping back from her reign as one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors — it seems she has simply traded her megastardom for a life full of good health, motherhood, and graceful quietude beyond 60.

Halle Berry

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Halle Berry is somewhat of a legend when it comes to taking care of herself — with beauty routines and a healthy lifestyle that have become benchmarks for both fans and contemporaries. At almost 60 as of this publication, the Oscar-winning actor has become her own best case study in what it means to be at ease with the passage of time and why aging doesn’t mean neglecting your needs.

Cutting through the common industry narrative of polished humility, Berry shared refreshingly honest insight with Vanity Fair about her intentional self-care routines: “Women at this stage of life, we need different products that are rich in peptides, have hyaluronic acid — things that we really need as we’re aging and our skin is drying and we’re losing our hormones.” But her advocacy for aging women doesn’t stop there. The “Catwoman” star makes ample space on her platforms and in interviews to de-stigmatize women’s health and milestones like menopause — proving that, for her, age isn’t something to dread, but embrace.

Lucy Liu

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Looking at Lucy Liu today, it’s hard to believe that her film breakthrough in “Charlie’s Angels” happened 25 years ago. Well into her 50s as of this publication, the actor looks just as fresh as she did when she played the badass investigator who captured audiences’ imaginations back then. Her preserved youth is hardly random. Liu has been consistent with her health and self-care routines for years, following simple yet time-tested habits that include drinking enough water, eating abundant fruits and veggies, and avoiding direct contact with the sun.

She has also embraced less conventional wellness practices, including acupuncture. “It has been a part of my culture and my life for a long time, and it really, really works,” she once told CNN, talking about how the traditional Chinese medicine had been passed down by her parents and helped with everything from weight control to maintaining youthful skin. This sense of her cultural identity has carried Liu for years, helping her break the mold of beauty in a largely homogenous industry.

Viola Davis

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Viola Davis has been flipping the script in Hollywood for decades. A powerhouse who isn’t afraid to toe the line of convention that dictates how actors should approach everything from their careers to their identities, she does it in the best way possible — inspiring other women along the way. “In this town, I’m telling you, everybody you look at, everyone coming in with the same hairstyle, face, clothes… Dare to be you. See how it feels,” the star told Bustle, expressing the importance of her internal story over her external one.

Davis’ acceptance of her age wasn’t wisdom that came with time; it’s something she has carried since her youth. “Even when I was younger, I’d look in the face of Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda and Cicely Tyson, and all I’d see was beauty,” the L’Oréal ambassador told Essence. That is not to say that Davis avoids self-care altogether, in allowing herself to age naturally. The “Fences” star has been honest about reaching for products labeled anti-aging — but it’s more a bid for feeling good in her skin than chasing youth.

Salma Hayek

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It is not without reason that Salma Hayek is often described as someone who’s aging in reverse. The Mexican beauty, who is nearly 60 as of this publication, seems to be carrying a youthfulness deeply reminiscent of her earliest days in Hollywood — as in “Fools Rush In” or “From Dusk till Dawn.” And she has managed to maintain her aura without any major use of needles or knives. “I don’t look at things short term; I think of longevity,” she told DuJour, talking about her disinterest in quick fixes like Botox. “I want to look like a lovely lady when I’m 70.”

Although Hayek has been forthcoming about relying on certain procedures like radio-frequency treatments and neck tightening, her health routines for the most part have been minimalistic. “I’ve been very consistent and very simple. I didn’t go into any of the beauty trends, not in my 30s, not in my 40s, and not in my 50s,” she told The Cut. Much of this no-frills approach is rooted in lessons passed down by her cosmetologist grandmother, who left her with a wealth of no-nonsense beauty secrets.

Andie MacDowell

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In a world where women often feel pressured to conceal signs that they are aging, Andie MacDowell is doing the opposite. One of the many celebrities confidently rocking gray hair today, she let her curls go silver during the pandemic. “And I have to say, I’ve never felt more beautiful,” she told NPR. “I like that people are comfortable with me getting older.” Comfortable is probably an understatement, given that the press and audiences at large can’t stop raving about how radiant MacDowell looks, even as she approaches 70.

While she has lost none of her charm that gave her a reputation as America’s sweetheart in the ’90s — in romcoms like “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Groundhog Day” — MacDowell’s magnetism today is rooted in how she’s aging in front of the camera. As one of the longest-serving faces of L’Oréal Paris, she has used her visibility to normalize aging in beauty campaigns– and has simultaneously taken on a maternal role for the younger generation, urging them to enjoy their youth without paying heed to social expectations, per Harper’s Bazaar. “When you’re young, don’t worry about your size, just wear shorts and short dresses.”

Rachel Weisz

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It’s not aging that Rachel Weisz hides from; it’s the sun. The “Constantine” star makes no bones about being borderline militant when it comes to taking care of her skin. “I don’t set foot in the sun without a big hat,” she told Allure, while also listing out a bunch of beauty products she swears by. Her dependence on certain cosmetics hardly takes away from the fan consensus that Weisz is a natural beauty, who is only getting finer with age.

Age has also brought a well-earned gift of clarity in life for Weisz, who entered showbiz in her 20s and described the decade as being challenging. “Now, I have wisdom and experience,” she told Extra TV. “Anyone can obsess over their physicality at any age and be unhappy. The trick is not to think about it.” And given her once-famous declaration that actors should be barred from getting Botox, her aging process seems to be unfolding in the natural direction.

Nicole Kidman

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Among the many rumors that surround Nicole Kidman is the persistent one that she has had cosmetic procedures done to keep her face looking as radiant as it does at almost 60. But despite the gossip, one is compelled to believe that her agelessness is au naturale, given her admission: “I’ve tried a lot of things, but aside from sports and good nutrition, most things don’t make a difference” (via People).

The “Bombshell” star is no stranger to beauty treatments — including Botox — but found that a simpler approach worked best. Products like sunscreen and retinol are staples that keep her looking youthful. As she told Glamour: “Nobody wants to look like you’ve had the life sucked out of you. I just say it’s about gracefully aging—because it can be fun!” Maturing has been about more than just physicality for Kidman, though. At her age, the Oscar-winning actor is thankful for the shared support of sisterhood that binds women everywhere, as well as the expanding scope of roles she can enjoy at par with her male contemporaries.