The New Goddesses of Love : All Over 50

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 11:38:36 AM EST
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I love this piece by Alexandra Zacharios-Haight at Huffington Post praising Diane Keaton and Helen Mirren and other actresses over 50.

I agree Diane Keaton, one of my all-time favorite actresses, is extremely under-rated. From Looking for Mr. Goodbar to Annie Hall to Something's Gotta Give, she is just so terrific.

The comparisons:

Wisdom, character. These are the new aesthetic criteria for beauty. The vapid, vacuous images of Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears and others are no longer just annoying, they are profoundly disturbing. The crash and burn of Anna Nicole Smith is another chilling and grizzly phenomenon. None of this is beautiful or sexy. And the media coverage of these young women is ugly and cheap. Thank goodness for The Huffington Post, where we can EAT THE PRESS.

Here's to the new goddesses of love, beauty and wisdom--the Athenas and Aphrodites of 2006/07 and all over 50: Jane Alexander, Judi Dench, Tyne Daly, Ruby Dee, Nora Ephron, Mia Farrow, Arianna Huffington, Diane Keaton, Eartha Kitt, Sherry Lansing, Yoko Ono, Nancy Pelosi, Lynn Redgrave, The Ronettes, Patti Smith, Meryl Streep, Anna Wintour and Queen Elizabeth II (mostly thanks to the artistry of Helen Mirren and the extraordinary power of a great film). And whether we like it or not, Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice are part of the phenomenon as well.

I'd add Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn. Any others?

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The New Goddesses of Love : All Over 50 | 27 comments (27 topical)

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Catherine Deneuve (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by oculus on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 11:52:59 AM EST

Vanessa Redgrave n/t (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by dutchfox on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 12:50:19 PM EST

oops and I forgot (none / 0) (#6)
by dutchfox on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 12:51:03 PM EST

Dame Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith


I'm going to see her next week in Joan Didion's (none / 0) (#8)
by oculus on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:05:42 PM EST

The Year of Magical Thinking. Reviews have been lukewarm--but, who cares?


: Joan Didion (none / 0) (#11)
by Jeralyn on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:21:00 PM EST

is my favorite author. I love her novels and the characters in them like Mariah in like Play it As it Lays and Inez Victor in Democracy.

: I read the memoirs (none / 0) (#14)
by dutchfox on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 02:25:13 PM EST

I'll be in NYC for my birthday at the start of May. Maybe I can see that play. Tell us how it was, please!

Definitely (none / 0) (#3)
by Jeralyn on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 12:15:07 PM EST

Thinking about those into their '60s: Tuesday Weld, Kim Novak, Ursula Andress, Jacqueline Bissett.


Wonderful women over fifty (5.00 / 2) (#7)
by boss on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:02:30 PM EST

I would add my wife to that list!

Sigourney Weaver and Geena Davis (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Sanity Clause on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:08:32 PM EST

Action, drama, comedy, and tough as nails.

And holding her own with William Shatner, (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by Sanity Clause on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:19:55 PM EST

Charlie McCarthy's little sister, Candice Bergen.

Better add Olympia Dukakis and (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by oculus on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:24:36 PM EST

Julie Christie.

Dyan Cannon (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Sailor on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 01:32:56 PM EST

I worked with her once at a Oxfam benefit and she was beautiful, gracious, funny and passionate for the cause.

Judy Davis whoops them all (none / 0) (#1)
by Dadler on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 11:46:40 AM EST

Hands down.

Ninety is the new sixty? (none / 0) (#4)
by Madison Guy on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 12:18:29 PM EST

Easter -- the time of spring, rebirth, new life, and sometimes, the flowering of an older life. Late bloomer: Harry Bernstein's literary spring brightens up the autumn of his life.

April is the cruelest month (none / 0) (#15)
by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 02:38:38 PM EST

GROW old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith `A whole I planned, 5
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!'

---Rabbi Ben Ezra, Robert Browning

Two more from Europe... (none / 0) (#16)
by Scott Lemieux on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 02:38:52 PM EST

Isabelle Huppert and Charlotte Rampling, both of whom have given some of the best performances on film anywhere in the last five years...

Cher (none / 0) (#17)
by Lora on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 03:10:40 PM EST

I love her, I hate her, but talent and beauty and brains she has.

Goddesses Over 50 (none / 0) (#18)
by womanwarrior on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 03:16:22 PM EST

Don't forget Jane Fonda. Not to mention, ME.

Miss Devore (none / 0) (#19)
by Miss Devore on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 03:19:45 PM EST

52-no surgical or dye interventions ever, though what would the point of the latter be with scarcely detectable gray? I could go on, but I'm far too modest.

Actresses over 50... (none / 0) (#20)
by dakine01 on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 03:33:19 PM EST

Blythe Danner
Veronica Hamel
Isabella Rosellini

Women over 50 (none / 0) (#21)
by HK on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 03:34:03 PM EST

on the whole do not get the admiration they deserve. As far as looks go, I am particularly envious of the seemingly effortless way that French women age so gracefully. Actress Fanny Ardant, seen in this photo all in red on the right hand side, is stunningly beautiful with a wicked and worldly smile - fabulous!

better add some medication, for those (none / 0) (#22)
by cpinva on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 04:01:59 PM EST

delusions you're obviously suffering from.

all those ladies mentioned are wonderful, and getting little actual work. i can count on one hand, with fingers left over, the # of truly compelling, first run movies that any of them were in the past year.

quick, what's candice bergen done lately? brrrrrrrrrrp, time's up! um, hmmmmmmm, uh, well, uh............nothing, that's what. judi dench and helen mirren (both of whom are stunning actresses, and hotties to boot! :)) have had the most work lately, and that ain't much. diana rigg, who i still pine for from her "avengers" days, is pretty much seen only on BBC productions on PBS, hasn't really done much of substance in 20 years.

alas, though these women are great, they aren't, for the most part, what the viewing audience wants to see. that's why the vapidity of a paris hilton (assuming she even rises to that level) sells tickets. on the other hand, scarlet johannsen shows promise.

: No film work (none / 0) (#24)
by dutchfox on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 04:32:46 PM EST

but a lot of these fine actresses can be seen on stage, in NYC or London.

: Good point ... (none / 0) (#25)
by Sailor on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 05:22:52 PM EST

... but I would quibble about "what the viewing audience wants to see" ... I think it's what the studios & MSM foist off on us.
Not even TL is immune, e.g. Anna Nicole coverage.
IRT paris hilton; I'm sure the occupancy rate has been higher than the Paris Hilton ... not that there's anything wrong with that;-)

How could I forget... (none / 0) (#23)
by dakine01 on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 04:30:47 PM EST

EmmyLou Harris, Cybil Shepherd, and there are just so many more.

: If We're getting into music (none / 0) (#26)
by Jeralyn on Sun Apr 08, 2007 at 06:51:49 PM EST

Bonnie Raitt

true enough (none / 0) (#28)
by cpinva on Mon Apr 09, 2007 at 01:23:08 AM EST

but a lot of these fine actresses can be seen on stage, in NYC or London.

which limits their audiences to what, maybe a few thousand, if the show has a decent run?

.. but I would quibble about "what the viewing audience wants to see" ... I think it's what the studios & MSM foist off on us.

the studios and MSM would quickly stop doing so, if there wasn't a paying audience. the edsal was actually a decent car, which no one bought. ford stopped producing them. production is driven by demand, not vice versa.

IRT paris hilton; I'm sure the occupancy rate has been higher than the Paris Hilton ... not that there's anything wrong with that;-)

um, uh, yes, i think so! lol