We all know that men and women are held to completely different standards when it comes to aging, particularly in Hollywood. For years, so many famous women have been scrutinized for aging while men are frequently called hotter as they get older — a depressingly glaring reflection of society’s beauty standards and what we’ve been conditioned to find attractive. Let’s take a look at some examples:
1. At the 2025 Met Gala, Pamela Anderson, 57, was called “frumpy” in a cruel, viral tabloid headline after she stepped out onto the red carpet embracing her natural beauty. In fact, Pamela decided to ditch heavy makeup back in 2023 — a decision that initially left her sons, Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger, “horrified.”
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2. When 42-year-old Hilarie Burton was questioned over her decision to let her gray hair grow out, she directly referenced the difference in treatment between men and women. “When I was growing up, the men who were really handsome, like the Harrison Ford’s out there, there was always that twinkle of gray hair. There was George Clooney. He turned into a silver fox… I loved how their aging process was embraced. And so rather than just complain that us girls don’t get to do the same thing, I thought it was really important to walk the walk. And so, silver is here to stay,” she said.
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3. In 2023, Madonna, 66, hit back at critics of her Grammys appearance after close-up photos of her face went viral. “Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim- Many people chose to only talk about Close-up photos of me Taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face!!” she wrote on Instagram. “Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny That permeates the world we live in. A world that refuses to celebrate women past the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her If she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous.”
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4. In 2022, Sarah Jessica Parker recalled media outlets spending “months and months” describing her as “brave” for letting her hair go gray. “I was like, please please applaud someone else’s courage on something!” she said.
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5. Amid the release of her very apt film The Substance, Demi Moore, 62, talked openly about struggling with finding her “place” in Hollywood after turning 40. “I had more challenges, particularly in my career, in my 40s than I do now. At that time, no one quite knew what to do with me. I wasn’t 30, but I wasn’t 40 in a way that people could comfortably identify me as a mother, etc. There was no place for me,” she told Variety.
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“I turned 40 on [the Charlie’s Angels sequel]. After that, there was so much focus on my external self; no one knew where to put me. But I do feel like things have changed. We see so many more interesting roles for women who are 40 to 50 — what I would call “young women.” The Substance is harsh in how it tackles the entertainment industry, its judgments and its beauty standards. But it’s also throwing this idea that a woman’s desirability ends with her fertility in Hollywood’s face.”
6. Renée Zellweger, 56, has repeatedly called out critics who fixated on her appearance and accused her of getting plastic surgery. When asked about aging in Hollywood in 2016, the actor replied, “I’ve never see the maturation of a woman as a negative thing…Why do we value beauty over contribution? We don’t seem to value beauty over contribution from men.”
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7. After being called “unrecognizable,” Meg Ryan — who is now 63 — told Glamour, “Our culture is so obsessed with youth. As an old person now, I love my age. I love where I’m at. Aging is not that terrifying. We’re all doing it. I wish someone had told me earlier, ‘Just relax. It is what it is. Don’t pay attention to the obstacles.’”
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8. Cameron Diaz, who has long been vocal about aging in Hollywood and embracing her beauty, discussed the subject in her 2016 New York Times bestseller The Longevity Book, during which she detailed being told that she’s “no longer valuable” at age 44. “To be told at 44 that I’m no longer valuable or that I’m not viable or that I’m just going to be discarded and nobody’s going to care…I have another 40 years in me, at least. Why am I all of a sudden going to be afraid to live the rest of my life because I’m not 25?” wrote the now-52-year-old.
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9. Maggie Gyllenhaal, now 47, once recalled being told by a film producer that she was “too old” to play the love interest of a 55-year-old when she was 37. “It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh,” she said.
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10. Tia Mowry, 46, once revealed that she was urged to cover her gray hair by someone on a film set. She recalled to InStyle, “Someone on set told me, ‘You really need to cover those gray hairs! Girls shouldn’t be seen that way.’ And I said, ‘No. I’m going to keep my gray hair. This is normal, this is what happens.’ Because at the end of the day, no matter what the trends are or what people tell me about how I should look, I define what beauty is for me. And for me, beauty is confidence, beauty is feeling good about yourself, beauty is embracing all of your flaws, and beauty is aging.”
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11. 56-year-old Jennifer Aniston, who has been called “aged out” by critics, previously opened up about being treated differently in Hollywood as soon as she turned 50 and facing “pressure to be ageless.” “So it’s weird that it’s all of a sudden getting telegraphed in a way that’s like, ‘You look amazing for your age,’” she told InStyle. “I think we need to establish some etiquette around that dialogue and verbiage.”
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12. Julia Roberts, 57, once recalled being scrutinized over her looks and told she wasn’t “aging well” after her niece, Emma Roberts, shared a sweet photo of the pair on social media. “The number of people who felt absolutely required to talk about how terrible I looked in the picture — that I’m not aging well, that I look like a man, why would she even post a picture like this when I look that terrible! And I was amazed at how that made me feel. I’m a 50-year-old woman and I know who I am, and still my feelings got hurt,” she told Oprah Winfrey during a 2018 conversation for Harper’s Bazaar.
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13. Andie MacDowell revealed in 2021 that her managers urged her against embracing her gray hair. “I somehow feel like I look younger because it looks more natural. It’s not like I’m trying to hide something. I think that it’s a power move, and that’s what I kept telling my managers,” said the star, who is now 67.
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14. Julianne Moore, 64, once admitted that she finds it “sexist” when people tell her that she’s “aging gracefully,” questioning, “Is there an ungraceful way to age?” No one has an option about aging, so it’s not a positive or a negative thing. It just is. It’s part of the human condition. So why are we always talking about it as if it is something that we have control over?”
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On the contrary, men are often viewed a little differently when it comes to aging — not just in terms of praise, but also the very fact that they don’t struggle with landing leading roles in TV and film as soon as they hit a certain age:
1. Keanu Reeves, now 60, has long been deemed one of the most attractive men in Hollywood. In fact, he shockingly won praise in 2019 for simply dating a woman close (ish) in age to him: Alexandra Grant, who is 9 years his junior.
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2. Pedro Pascal’s looks have long been praised — especially since he starred in The Last of Us, with outlets hailing him for “aging like fine wine.” Back in 2022, the 50-year-old actor hilariously confessed to viewing himself as a “heartthrob” during a now-viral lie detector test with Vanity Fair — something that heaps of internet users and outlets gladly agree with.
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3. Idris Elba — who was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2018 at age 46 — is very often remarked for his suave charm and appearance, with several fans and critics citing him as the ideal James Bond time and again.
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4. George Clooney is one of four celebrities who have been named People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” twice: Once in 1997, and once in 2000, when he was in his late 30s. Now 64, the star is frequently praised for his “silver fox appeal.”
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5. A couple of years ago, now-82-year-old Harrison Ford was reminded by a reporter at Cannes that he’s “still very hot” — to which the star replied, “Look, I’ve been blessed with this body. Thanks for noticing.”
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6. Patrick Dempsey — who shot to renowned fame after playing Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy — was named the “Sexiest Man Alive” by People in 2023, when he was 57. “I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life,” said the star, who is now 59.
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7. Brad Pitt, 61, has long been deemed one of the hottest men in Hollywood — with several notable outlets frequently publishing roundups of his “sexiest” looks throughout the years. Like most of the men on this list, Brad has been named the “Sexiest Man Alive” by People. In fact, he was the first man to achieve the title on two separate occasions, in 1995 and 2000.
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8. Similarly, Matthew McConaughey, 55, is often featured on lists praising famous men who are aging like “fine wine.”
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9. Having recently turned 50, David Beckham has long been admired for his good looks, with Elle magazine writing in 2016 that he “just gets better and better with age” amid an article highlighting the “evolution” of his hotness.
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10. Not only has Tom Cruise been called hot for years, but his “stunning transformation” has been praised by outlets.
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11. When he was in his mid-60s, Denzel Washington was listed on People’s famous ranking of the world’s sexiest men. In fact, just last year, the now-70-year-old was crowned the winner of the “Sexy at Every Age” accolade in the outlet’s 2024 issue.
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12. Since letting his gray hair grow out, Steve Carell’s “silver fox” look has been described as “so much better” looking. In fact, numerous fans were shocked to discover that the actor was in his 60s when he appeared on Stephen Colbert in 2023, with some comments reading, “60 has never looked so good,” and, “That man ages like fine wine.”
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13. John Krasinski, who is 45, was most recently named People’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” last November — and the star admitted just this month that he’s still enjoying owning the title.
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14. Finally, Lenny Kravitz, 60, was told earlier this year that he’s getting “better with age” during an interview — a sentiment that has been shared online by fans for years.
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Of course, this is just a generalization; famous men have also been critiqued by the media as they age, though not to the same extent that women have. Let me know if you can think of any other examples down below in the comments.
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