Ultimately, cinema is a business. The reason this renaissance is happening now is because the audience demanded it. The demographic that grew up watching Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock in the 90s is now in their 40s and 50s. They still buy tickets. They still subscribe to streaming services.
The contemporary renaissance for mature women in cinema began not with a single film, but with a collective roar against ageism, accelerated by the #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite movements. The demand for diverse voices extended to age. We are now witnessing a golden age of “ageless” narratives. Consider the visceral power of Isabelle Huppert in Elle (2016), a film that revels in the unapologetic, complex sexuality of a 60-something woman. Or the nuanced fury of Laura Dern in Marriage Story (2019), playing a sharp, world-weary lawyer who is neither a villain nor a saint. These roles are not “good for her age”; they are simply great roles. Television, with its long-form appetite, has been even more revolutionary. Jean Smart’s career resurgence in Hacks (2021) deconstructs the very notion of the aging diva, showing a legendary comedian grappling with relevance, ego, and desire. She is allowed to be ruthless, fragile, horny, and hilarious—a full human being. redmilfrachel muschi