Demi, Jodie and Nicole: is Hollywood finally ready to recognise complex female characters over 40? | Natasha Ginnivan
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At the Golden Globes, the spotlight was on women playing multilayered, courageous and middle-aged lead roles. There’s something spectacular happening in movies and television at the moment and it’s not a superhero fight sequence or a motorcycle stunt off a cliff. No, it’s the celebration of courageous, multilayered middle-aged and older female characters being portrayed in all their complexity on screen.
![[Must-see moments from the 2025 Golden Globe awards – video]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f3eb2829e87cb47ab2fb136612867c46cf6d3cee/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The Golden Globes highlighted this trend, handing out a swag of awards to the women who played these characters – often to their surprise. The longtime Hollywood star Demi Moore, who was awarded best female actor in a musical or comedy – fittingly for a film that critiques how the film industry discards older female actors – said she was shocked to receive the award. “I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor.”.
Jodie Foster also noted the trend while accepting her fifth Golden Globe for the latest season of True Detective. “The greatest thing about being this age and being in this time is having a community of all these people,” she said. 2024 was a standout year for complex, courageous female characters, who show a steely perseverance in getting through life’s challenges and yet can still be unpredictable.
Take 50-year-old Hannah Waddingham of Ted Lasso fame who plays Rebecca Welton, an embittered divorcee who manages to transform her disappointment and shame into becoming an amazingly strong support to the coach she has hired. She shows us how to overcome an ugly divorce with wit, humour and charm.
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