Today’s Hollywood Golden Gals ‘Are Golden’

Have you noticed that Hollywood women over 70 have become ‘all the rage’?  A few examples that come to mind include Joan Rivers (77)  with her sell out stand-up comedy shows, new documentary and endless line of jewelry sold on QVC, the always busy and seemingly ageless legendary acting sirens Sofia Loren (76) and Raquel Welch (Welch turns 70 this week), Florence Henderson (76) who is joining the next line up of Dancing with the Stars contestants, last year’s Dancing with the Stars contestant Cloris Leachman (then 82),  and of course the incomparable Betty White (88)who seems to be everywhere these days.

I was especially happy to see Betty White’s Emmy win for her stint on Saturday Night Live, which was truly hilarious. (this was her 7^th Emmy by the way). The irony about all the Betty White hype, as well as the women listed above and others, is that it makes it seem as though White has just appeared out of thin air or has returned from some hiatus.  On the contrary, 88 year-old White has been working non-stop her entire career.  Just take a look at her Wikipedia page and you’ll see that this woman has not slowed down a bit since the Golden Girls ended in 1992.  As a matter of fact, her career kicked off in the late 40’s and hasn’t stopped since then.  Highlights include the deliciously sarcastic and man hungry “The Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girl’s lovable nitwit Rose—she won Emmys for both of those roles as well.   White was a regular on many game shows including Password, from 1961-1975.  It was on that show that she met her husband, Password host Allen Ludden.  Sadly, Ludden—the love of her life—died of cancer in 1981 and White never remarried.  She did, however, continue to be a guest on Password throughout her career and the show’s many changes.  A year or two ago, I saw White on the new Million Dollar Password hosted by Regis Philbin and she wiped the floor with the other much younger celebrity guests and contestants.  She is a sharp one!  She now stars in the new TV Series Hot in Cleveland.

And what’s to make of this focus on older women in Hollywood?  I’m not sure.  Perhaps it’s that we are waking up to the fact that age really is a number and that woman do not cease to be beautiful, funny, clever, talented, confident, opinionated, or interesting when they reach a certain age—but mostly, that nothing has really changed except for our own collective awareness.

 Rona