Growing Older in Old Hollywood

A Vintage Nerd, Veronica Lake Older, Veronica Lake, Old Hollywood Blog, Classic Film Blog, Ageism in Hollywood, Old Hollywood Stars Old

Veronica Lake (1967)

When I think about the actresses from Old Hollywood I instantly think about all of the glamour but I also think about all of the struggles that they went through just by being a woman in the film industry. Fast forward to when these women are in their 40's-60's and Hollywood slowly starts to push them out the door. Getting quality jobs as an actress becomes harder to find and those that are good are usually that of characters that are much older than the actresses themselves.

The photos in this post are of Old Hollywood film stars in the 1960's when they were in their 40's-60's. They were not quite the young ingenue of their day but certainly weren't elderly either. Why is it that we can’t celebrate the process of aging with all of it bumps and uncomfortable creases? Imagine getting older and being told you’re just not as beautiful and viable as you were when you were 19. What sort of toll does that take on a woman mentally, physically, or emotionally?

I believe that the way we view age should be adjusted. We need to change our mindset and educate ourselves and expose ourselves to different kinds of beauty. There shouldn’t be a beauty standard. A woman’s body changes every year for the rest of her life. And somehow the film industry seems to just celebrate women when they at their youngest instead of acknowledging that they may have just as much to offer in their older age as they did when they were younger.

What do you think about how the film industry treated and still treats women of a certain age? Do you think a woman is just as beautiful at 20 as she is at 50? Should we change our way of looking at age and beauty?

Hedy Lemarr