Not too long ago, turning 60 was the point of no return for women in show business. But not any more!
These days, women in their sixties claim their power and love every minute of it. A number of A-listers – think Meryl Streep, Kathy Bates and Sigourney Weaver – have romped right through the unofficial stop sign and are still in hot demand in their seventies. And coming through the ranks are even more household names who are celebrating their 60th birthdays this year and have no intention of putting up their feet.
Janet Jackson
Popstar Janet fascinated fans when she gave birth to her first and only child, son Eissa, at age 50. On May 16 this year, the Rhythm Nation hitmaker celebrated her 60th with a pool party, taking to the dance floor in a sash that read “Sixtylicious”.
Janet’s career is still going strong – she completed a highly successful residency in Las Vegas in 2025 and in June this year toured Japan.
“It has taken me most of my adult life to come to terms with who I am,” she says. “To do that, I had to break free of attitudes that brought me down.
I’d love to still inspire people with my work. I feel that is what I was put on this Earth to do.”
Despite winning five Grammys and selling hundreds of millions of records, Janet admits her gongs live in a storage unit as her worth is about more than awards.
“I don’t need that to make me who I am,” she says. “I don’t need to walk by and look at that every day and say, ‘You know what? I did that!’ That
was my job.”
Helena Bonham Carter
When she turned 60 on May 26, Helena couldn’t have been more pleased. “I’m miles happier than I was when I was younger,” says the Harry Potter star. “I don’t ever want to go back there.”
In fact, she says she feels like she’s reached her prime and says streaming services have made more roles available for older women.
“It would be great if we could change our society rules and say, ‘Come on, we’re in our prime in our sixties. We’ve got everything and we’re coming into our power.’
My envelope may be less aesthetically pleasing, but on the inside, I’m much more interesting and dynamic – and I think attractive.”
The Fight Club star currently has her dance card full to the brim, recently appearing in the third Enola Holmes movie and now filming Netflix’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Other upcoming projects include romantic drama The Housekeeper and period drama The Offing.
Helena simply refuses to be put out to pasture.
“Instagram… anything… it’s all about ‘thou shalt not age’,” she muses. “It’s a dirty word, ageing. We’re all obsessed with it. It’s sort of pathological. It’s almost a crime, the shame attached.”
Salma Hayek
Turning 60 on September 2 was a milestone Salma was excited about.
“You can kick ass at any age,” says the Frida star. “You can hold your own at any age, you can dream at any age, you can be romantic at any age.”
The Mexican dynamo, who catapulted to fame in the 1996 action flick Desperado, still works tirelessly in Hollywood, recently signing her production company Ventanarosa to a two-year partnership with streaming platform HBO Max.
Her movie Without Blood, directed by Angelina Jolie, 51, was released in US cinemas last month and Salma was also recently spotted filming a secret movie deep in the jungles of southern Mexico.
Getting older, she says, has opened up new horizons.
“There was a time when I was the sexy girl, but thank God age came and gave me the ability to expand.
“Everything about ageing is different than I expected. I thought getting older meant I wasn’t going to work.
“I have more work than ever. I love working. I need to always be creative.”
“I have lots of ideas that don’t let me sleep!
I could retire but I don’t want to miss out on this time. I fought for it.”
Katherine LaNasa
Her fifties were a tough decade for Katherine as she thought her acting career was over, all while battling breast cancer and alcoholism. But when The Pitt star turns 60 on December 1, she enters it sober and healthy, with an Emmy to her name and a busy slate of work.
While it hasn’t been a straightforward path, Katherine says it happened at the right time as she wouldn’t have made the most of the wild ride she has been on since signing on to play nurse Dana on the acclaimed medical drama.
“I would have probably robbed myself of the joy of the experience,” she reflects. “I would have been very worried about how I looked, how my dress looked, my speeches, whereas now I see the journey as the prize.”
Téa Leoni
After six seasons playing the title character in Madam Secretary, Téa needed a break – and she took a long one. She spent three years chilling out before dipping her toes back into Hollywood with goofy satirical movie Death of a Unicorn.
The star, who turned 60 on February 25, has now pushed things up a notch – she wed her Madam Secretary co-star (and on-screen husband) Tim Daly, 70, in 2025 and, in a curious case of life imitating art, the pair are starring once again as husband and wife in a new sitcom, Newly Married. The show, which also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, 67, is a fresh and exciting project for the actress, who has no plans to retire and is happy to embrace the age she’s at.
“Chasing youth is a war I’m not going to win,” says the mum of two. “I earned every line on my face, every mistake, every sunburn, every stress, every beautiful moment, every minute of a 30-hour labour. I’m wearing it. And I wonder why that isn’t considered, in its own way, gorgeous.”
Julianna Margulies
The Good Wife star hasn’t missed a beat since her run on The Morning Show ended. Julianna appeared in the movie Millers in Marriage last year and is set to star in indie film Penny, plus season three of TV series Paradise next year. She turned 60 on June 8 and says TV is where it’s at for women in Hollywood. “Roles written for women are so much more complex on television. The film world is becoming quite flimsy.”
Cynthia Nixon
Last year, at the age of 59, Cynthia found herself starring in not one but two hit TV shows: Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That and historical drama The Gilded Age.
Being written off as too old when she entered her seventh decade this year was not on her bucket list! “Once you get out of your childbearing years, you get to play really complicated women,” shares Cynthia, who turned 60 on April 9.
The actress says women have a lot to look forward to in their sixties. “It has certain things in common with adolescence. You can return to yourself and ask, ‘Who am I? What do I wanna be?’ There is a chance to look at your life and make some changes or draw some boundaries.”
Robin Wright
Robin turned 60 on April 8 this year and she’s up for both working in front of the cameras and behind them as well. She began directing during her run in House of Cards, and is now pulling double duty in Hollywood as a lead actress and a director. Most recently, she directed three episodes of the thriller mini-series The Girlfriend, in which she also starred.
She’s also set to appear in the upcoming comedy Kissinger Takes Paris and has no time for critics who say she’s too old for Hollywood. “Too old to do what?” she laughs. “If you’ve got the energy and the want, do it. You couldn’t pay me enough money to go back to being 20. So many tears. What a nightmare it was. It’s much better being older.”
