For years, Curtis was known for Halloween and Trading Places . But at 64, she won an Academy Award for Everything Everywhere All at Once . Her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre—a frumpy, grumpy IRS inspector with a heart of gold—was a masterclass in letting go of ego. It showed that middle-aged women can be weird, sensual (yes, that hot dog finger scene), and triumphant.
: Organizations like Women in Entertainment focus on empowering the next generation while ensuring "creative powerhouses" aren't aged out of the industry. For years, Curtis was known for Halloween and Trading Places
For decades, the narrative was painfully predictable. In Hollywood and global cinema, a woman had a "shelf life." The ingénue had her moment in her twenties, the romantic lead carried her thirties, but by the time the first wrinkle appeared or a strand of grey hair emerged, the industry often relegated her to the character actress bin—playing the mother, the witch, the busybody neighbor, or worse, simply fading into irrelevance. It showed that middle-aged women can be weird,