I would model when they wanted me, and as I got older, they wanted an older model. I was quite willing to be mother of the bride at 28. I was quite happy to be on the cover of a grandparents' magazine at 42; I have no ego about that.
What's worse in Hollywood, being handicapped or being a woman over 50?
It used to be that when an actress reached thirty, she was considered almost washed up.
The movies that I did in the '80s were either good or bad, but I never was oppressed with any feeling - I mean, I thought it was ridiculous to play high school or college students when I was 30. But at the same time, that was really done then.
It's hard to get older as an actress. You see a lot of people, especially in L.A., chasing youth.
The fact of the matter is that we're all aging, and there's this stigma that older actresses don't work as much as younger actresses, and I don't think that's true anymore.
There's ageism in everything. I don't give a hoot. It isn't what other people think; it's what you think. But it's hard to come to terms with getting older. I admire people like Vivienne Westwood.
If you're a lead actor, people are just waiting to say 'you're too old' or 'you're too unhip.' If you're a supporting actor, you can just work forever.
Soaps are one of the few areas on TV that really embrace older women. In drama, there's this ridiculous invisibility for women between the ages of 40 and 60. Unless you're old enough to play a grandmother, there just aren't the roles.
'Ageism,' or whatever you want to call it, is a very English phenomenon. You don't get it too much in many other cultures. And no one says it about authors or poets or filmmakers. 'Oh, they're too old to make films or write books.'
I was comfortable in my thirties playing the romantic partner, the hero that saves the day, or the woman who is facing a world that revolves around younger kid actors.
The latest wrinkle is on wrinkles. There is a widespread belief that women can't grow old in television news.
There is this thing in America where actresses reach 40 and go mad. The film industry wants all these young people.
Certain type of actresses get younger instead of older. I always say, 'Only ingenues age.'
Older actors can still play young, but it's harder for young actors to be able to play that age range.
Yeah I'm thirty-six, but on the show I'm thirty-two. Nobody wants to watch a thirty-six year old woman, so they decided to make me thirty-two. Much more appealing somehow.
In the U.S., with very few exceptions, actresses older than 35 are simply discarded.
Some people in our business want to play young as long as you can. I just wasn't interested in being a 30-year-old playing a teenager.
When I went back to modeling, nobody knew how to deal with a 46-year-old model!
I have been really lucky to play roles younger than myself for most of my career.
When I first met Sam Mendes, I was a bit confused and said to him, 'I'm 50 years old. What am I going to do at 50 in a Bond film?'
Age is just a number. Unless, that is, you live in Hollywood, where there's this notion that if you haven't hit it big by your 20s, you may as well hit the road.
I don't talk about how old I am because sometimes it can affect parts that you get in Hollywood. I don't believe that it's a necessary element. I feel that I'm a character, and I'm an actor. People focusing on my age instead of the role I'm playing can be a hindrance.
I'm not one of those actors who lies about their age.
