Some notable mature women in entertainment include:

This is echoed in cinema. In The Lost Daughter (2021), Olivia Colman (in her 40s, but playing a woman grappling with midlife regret) delivered a searing, unsympathetic, and brilliant performance about maternal ambivalence—a topic once deemed too "uncomfortable" for leading ladies. Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar-winning turn in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) redefined the action hero as a weary, overwhelmed laundromat owner, proving that a woman’s existential crisis is the ultimate special effect.

: Researchers have proposed an Ageless Test , requiring a film to feature at least one female character over 50 who is essential to the plot and free from ageist stereotypes.

: More mature actresses are taking control of their careers by producing their own projects when Hollywood fails to provide suitable roles. As one industry perspective notes, if the system risks an actress's career because she "looks old," she may choose to produce the work herself to maintain her agency. The Role of Women Behind the Camera