Culture

After decades of being sidelined, ghosted or belittled, are older women having more than just a fleeting moment in the sun?

From veteran model Marie Helvin’s lingerie campaign to Nicole Kidman’s slashed Versace dress, older women are being seen and heard, and ripping up the rules of ageism as they go

Red carpets are awash with impeccably glamorous women such as Glenn Close (76), and Kristin Scott Thomas (63) – veteran actresses who (gasp) are now landing substantial, lead roles in films and TV dramas, rather than being corralled into playing the lead actor’s mother – such as Thomas’ current run in the superb series ‘Slow Horses’.

It’s breakfast time on Mother’s Day, and a time-honoured tradition is unfolding in family homes up and down the country. Mother/Mum/Mammy/Ma sits up in bed in nightie and dressing-gown, smiling fondly as one or more kiddies wobble towards her with a tray of burnt offerings so she can enjoy the luxury of incinerated toast and crispy rashers before she must rise and see about the Sunday roast.

Or..perhaps not so much, these days. While the ...