So, the next time you watch a film, look for the 60-year-old woman in the cast. Chances are, she isn't the set decoration anymore. She is the main event.

For most of the 20th century, female sexuality and desirability were tied exclusively to youth. A 55-year-old man could romance a 30-year-old woman on screen with no pushback (see: North by Northwest ). But a 55-year-old woman romancing a 50-year-old man was considered "experimental" or "uncomfortable."

Consider the work of . For decades, she was known as a "scream queen" or a comedic side character. Then, at 64, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once . Her character—a bureaucratic, cynical IRS inspector—was a far cry from the sexy roles of her youth. It was quirky, angry, and deeply human.

This article explores the evolution, the current renaissance, and the future of mature women in cinema. To understand where we are, we must look at where we have been. In the Golden Age of Hollywood, actresses like Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn fought similar battles. At 40, Davis was already being offered "hag" roles. Hepburn famously kept her age a state secret to prolong her leading lady status.

By the early 2000s, the situation had reached a fever pitch. The infamous 2015 Forbes study—which later became a viral meme—showed that male actors’ peak earning years were between 51 and 55, while female actors peaked between 26 and 30. Mature women in entertainment found themselves in a "no-fly zone": too old to be the ingénue, but not old enough to be the dowager.

Studios are for-profit entities. If The Lost City (starring Sandra Bullock, 59) makes $200 million, they will make another. If The Old Guard (starring Charlize Theron, 48) gets a sequel, the message is clear: Women over 45 are bankable. Despite the progress, the battle is not over. Mature women of color still face a "double ceiling." While Viola Davis (58) and Octavia Spencer (52) are getting lead roles, they are often the only one in a cast. The "grandmother" role is still frequently defaulted to a white actress, while Latina, Asian, and Black mature actresses fight for crumbs.