The American industry is finally catching up to this international standard, recognizing that a woman’s face in her 60s holds as much drama, history, and beauty as one in her 20s.

These roles often reinforced negative stereotypes about aging women, portraying them as either asexual, overly sexualized, or marginal.

When Barbie grossed over a billion dollars, it was a watershed moment. It was a film directed by a woman, centered on women, that spoke to the female experience across generations. It proved that women—and specifically mature women who took their daughters and granddaughters—are a potent economic force. We saw similar success with the resurgence of rom-coms featuring stars like Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and the action-star longevity of Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once . Yeoh’s performance was particularly ground-breaking; at 60, she played a martial arts hero and a weary laundromat owner, bridging the gap between the physicality of youth and the emotional gravity of age.