The older I get, the more disenchanted I find myself becoming with the world of entertainment and television. Like an old person I shake my head at the flood of reality shows and so-called ‘celebrities’ and just sum it up as, ‘Things were so much better in the ’80s.’ Granted, I was born in 1984 and wasn’t fully aware of the 80s or television beyond shows like Punky Brewster, Small Wonders and The Facts of Life, but looking back and re-watching older shows and movies on DVD and Blu-Ray it’s really easy to note the decline in quality from then to now. We live in an age where people with the name Snooki are stars. REALLY.
I think the worst part in the decline is how we no longer have truly wonderful power-house female stars. Some of you may argue that we do but I’m sorry, all of those that I’d call stars or who can put some real emotion into their performances are over 40 and usually confined to the role of haggard housewives, tired moms or old grannies. I hate that I reference a star of the past like Jane Russel, Linda Evans or Joan Van Ark and people under 25 give me a perplexed ‘huh?’ expression but if I mention any ‘star’ of The Hills or someone like Kim Kardashian, suddenly their faces light up with glee and they proceed to recount the latest exploits of this or that person. This is not good, people!
We’ve heard the argument before but it seems like when you’re famous and a female, you only have a short shelf life. You hit 40 and suddenly you’re quietly ushered out the backdoor to be replaced by someone a quarter of your age with less talent. I’m sorry, no female lead associated with Twilight can hold a flame to some of our older actresses. What makes these older female actors and personalities hot? Well, yes, part of it is there looks. While some obviously feel the need to compete and stay forever young in our eyes and butcher their looks (Linda Evans and Joan Van Ark come to mind and Heather Locklear’s recent appearances on Melrose Place has me worried she’s headed down that road to meet them at the end fairly soon), the truly hot ones just embrace their age and how off their confidence by not conforming. When they act, they really put on a performance and reflect years of experience and exhibit an emotional depth that no young actress can come close to matching. When they sing, they actually sing about something rather than singing about looking cute or crushing on a boy. When they appear on screen, you take notice of them first.
So, though Hollywood and celebrity culture has pushed these female actors and personalities to the side, I’m putting them on display for being not only good looking but really having talent that the reality stars and other young female personalities severely lack.
1. Jill Larson (Opal on All My Children)
Jill Larson as Opal on 'All My Children'
At 62, Jill Larson is one of the hottest things on ‘All My Children’. Sure, AMC is all about Erica Kane but to me, the show gets ten times better when crazy Opal with all of her Southerness comes to play. What I like about Larson is her style and personality; when it comes to playing a character like Opal who is the odd-ball of Pine Valley, she obviously has to find a way to bring herself into the role. When AMC was about to make its move to LA, it was rumored that Larson wouldn’t be continuing her role on the show. But I think the producers recognized that losing the actor, not just the character, would be an extreme hit for AMC.
2. Sally Field (The Flying Nun, Steel Magnolias, Nora on Brothers & Sisters)
Sally Field
Sally Field doesn’t seem to age at all! At 63 she’s just as good as she was in Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Doubtfire or Forrest Gump. I remember first being introduced to her in 1995’s mini-series “A Woman of Independent Means” (yeah, I was 11 at the time) and ever since I’ve been hooked. This woman is captivating and really underrated. People always flock to Meryl Streep as the ‘It’ girl for the over 50 crowd. Yes, Meryl can do anything. She could probably pull off playing Michelle Obama in a film but Sally Fields is one of the few actresses that really knows how to not act but play from experience. When she plays the universal mother Nora on Brothers & Sisters, I don’t feel like she’s acting at all but rather relaying life experiences. She has depth, she can cry at the drop of a hat and when she needs to play any other emotional mood – angry, sad, depressed – she pulls it off and makes you smile.
3. Joy Behar (The View, The Joy Behar Show)
Joy Behar from 'The View' and 'The Joy Behar Show'
What makes Joy hot is her feisty mannerisms. I tune into ‘The View’ everyday just to see her rip Elisabeth Hasselbeck to shreds. Joy, unlike so many popular celebrities today, really doesn’t seem to give a sh*t what people think about her opinions and views. She dishes it, rarely apologizes and states the facts as they are. She doesn’t at all hide her dislike of stupidity – a trait I for one admire and like! Watch her face when Elisabeth or some conservative comes onto ‘The View’. She’ll roll her eyes, give that ‘oh brother’ expression, shake her head. She’ll jab her finger in someone’s face and speak for the (at times) unheard minority. I really could care less about Elisabeth and Sherri – Whoopi is awesome, too, and serves as Joy’s backup while Barbara Walters doesn’t always seem ‘there’ even when she graces the show with her opinion. Take note celebrities – it’s okay to voice and let your opinion be known! It’s lead to a secure job for Joy over the years and even given her a show of her very own on HLN!
4. Diane Sawyer (Good Morning America, World News)
Diane Sawyer
Sure, there have been other female news anchors – Joan Lunden, Katie Couric, Barbara Walters – but in my view, none of them hold a flame to Diane Sawyer. Her move from Good Morning America to World News for me was a surefire win for ABC – it proved that age and gender doesn’t matter and that they had faith in Sawyer. I like her delivery of the news – she’s what I’d consider old guard journalism meaning she really gets in there, does her interview or research and reports/delivers a story based on what she’s found. Her reporting isn’t biased (in my opinion) and is pretty captivating. She’s willing to expose flaws as well as gems and praise-worthy things, but as stated, she’s not willing to completely hold back. In many ways she reminds me of the character Murphy Brown – a strong female personality with a backbone, looks, but one who shouldn’t be underestimated.
5. Rachael Ray (Cooking Personality)
Rachael Ray
Rach is no Julia Child! She’s made cooking sexy, hot and cool. Have you seen her lately? In 2009 she had surgery on her throat and couldn’t talk for weeks so ended up channeling all of her energy into running. The result? A slimmed down, impressive, alluring figure! She’s definitely kicked it up a few degrees on her daytime show this season by wearing flattering black mini-skirts, form-fitting tops … need I go on? Many seem to be annoyed by her voice or bubbly personality but not me. She’s full of energy and is always bouncing around, talking about how life’s wonderful now that she’s in the 40s club. She giggles, she freaks out around any animal on her show. The list of Rachael Ray’s likable and personable qualities goes on and on. Besides her looks, she can teach you in 30 minutes or less how to prepare a gourmet-looking meal. Now where else are you going to go for a lesson like that from a teacher that looks like Rachael Ray?
6. Katey Sagal (Married With Children, 8 Simple Rules, Sons of Anarchy)
Katey Sagal
It seems like Katey Sagal has been playing a TV mom since the 1980s, doesn’t it? It wasn’t until her post Peg Bundy days that her true hotness emerged. Without the big hair and unflattering housewife getup she dawned as the Bundy matriarch you really are taken by how rockin’ Katey Sagal is! Also, this woman has range, again, something that many of the young female actors of today lack. Who else could go from the outlandish role of Peg Bundy to the tame mom on ‘8 Simple Rules’ to the hardcore motorcycle-riding mother on FX’s ‘Son of Anarchy’? Again, she’s highly underrated and overlooked when it comes to being awarded for her work and acting but most real talent in the entertainment industry seems to be. It’s hard to believe she’s 56 but age is just a number. I’m sure she’ll still be doing her thing well-into her golden years and will still be looking amazing and wowing audiences.
7. Emma Samms (General Hospital, Dynasty, Models Inc)
Emma Samms
Oh, Emma Samms. She gets bashed by old-timer ‘Dynasty’ fans for taking over the coveted role of Fallon Carrington but you know what? She brought sexy-back into that role. There were scenes toward the end of that show’s run where Samms would dawn some scantily-clad lingerie and outfits, something the first actress who played Fallon never seemed to care. Now Emma is approaching 50 and unlike many of her ‘Dynasty’ co-stars, she doesn’t seem to be going overboard with the plastic surgery. I’ll be honest- it’s the accent and smokin’ good looks that propels Emma Samms into my top 10 list of hot female celebrities. The photo is how she looks today – it was taken from her most recent appearance on ‘General Hospital’. Now this is how you handle aging gracefully in Hollywood!
8. Linda Gray (Dallas, Models Inc)
Linda Gray
She’s almost 70 and still is the HBIC (head b*tch in charge) of the 1980s soap world in my books, slightly edging out Joan Collins and Donna Mills for that title. Linda Gray will forever be Sue Ellen Ewing in my life and memory, no matter what role she occupies from then or here after. I saw her on the first Melrose Place playing Amanda’s mother and she might as well have been playing Sue Ellen! So, regardless that she may forever be stuck in the role of the ‘Dallas’ drunkard, she still rocks today in my book. Unlike so many actresses her age, I’m always seeing photos of her out and about with fans or doing this charity event or making an appearance for this or that cause. She seems to be comfortable interacting with her fans and is probably the only 1980s soap actress that has a Twitter account. Again, she’s never really been given her dues in terms of awards but her work as Sue Ellen was truly groundbreaking, must-see-tv. I mean … for half the series she had to play the emotionally abused housewife who turned to the bottle for comfort since her husband continually ran out on her. Then before her lackluster exit from the show, she ended up becoming the only person who could really beat the notorious J.R. at his own games. She always played the role well – going from vulnerable and delicate to truly confident, knock ’em out, HBIC by the time the show ended it’s run on TV. And I don’t care what you say or think – at 69 she’s one of the hottest female celebrities out there.
9. Daphne Zuniga (Spaceballs, Melrose Place, One Tree Hill)
Daphne Zuinga
This woman never gets old! I mean it! I remember watching her in 1987’s ‘Spaceballs’ playing Princess Vespa (“My hair, he shot my hair! Son of a b*tch!”) and then her run as the always moody, pissy Jo Reynolds on Melrose Place … and she looked EXACTLY THE SAME. And she reprise her role on the newest Melrose Place and she looks the same! I love Daphne Zuniga. She’s one of those women that I seriously think if given the opportunity and chance I’d switch for, and that’s saying a heck of a lot if you know me. She’s beautiful and talented and really knows how to play the closed-off, detached, irritated role well. Regardless, I’m just amazed by how well she’s aged over the years and how captivating she is. Whenever I come across something with her in it, even something as horrid as ‘One Tree Hill’, I can’t help but to watch.
10. Gates McFadden (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Gates McFadden
There were really two reasons to tune into Star Trek: The Next Generations – those being Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi) and Gates McFadden who portrayed one of Trek’s few female doctors. Gates is one of those strange ones who seems to get hotter and more put together the older she gets. Again, she tended to get the shaft on the show – never really given any good material to work with, probably there more for her looks than acting chomps – but I always remember McFadden as really owning each scene she was in with her presence and well… good looks. Even as she went into the movie realm with the franchise McFadden took it to astronomical levels with her awesome looks and (finally!) getting some scenes that made her stand out a bit. Even though she doesn’t seem to do much acting these days she’ll forever be my favorite tv doctor.
11. Madonna (Singer Extraordinaire)
Madonna in 2010 'Dolce & Gabbana' Ad campaign.
I intentionally saved the best for last. If ever there was woman in the entertainment industry that proves that age isn’t anything but a number and that you can’t go wrong with the pros, it’s Madonna. Some call her Madge, some call her the Queen of Pop, others call her a lot of other unsavory things and descriptors but really … they can’t touch Madonna. Since she’s come onto the scene in the early 1980s, she’s been a mainstay ever since. She continually changes her image, she has hardly stopped making music and unlike many mega stars that complain of fame and who threaten retirement (ahem Cher, Celine, Tina) she seems to laugh and scoff at the idea of stopping or slowing down. When she isn’t churning out the pop tunes, she’s trying to be superwoman and save little African countries, she’s adopting babies, she’s writing children books, she’s designing clothes, she’s beating out younger starlets for big endorsement campaigns and appearing in fashion shoots for H&M or Dolce & Gabbana. To me, she’s the epitome of fame and the female celebrity long since passed and gone now. Every year she’s faced with some new adversary in her field who’s seemingly better and more famous – Paul Abdul, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Fergie, Lady Gaga – but she seems to keep her cool and wait it out. She’s outlasted a lot of ‘hot’ acts, even sometimes befriending them only to learn their style and what makes them hip and then she plays it to her own advantage and drops them, leaving them wondering what became of their fame. I seriously think Madonna is one of those people who’s going to refuse to get old. She’s going to be in her 90s still parading around in black S&M lingerie on stage looking 20 years younger than she really is. Madonna is inspiring, or should be at least, to women and men alike- here’s a woman who could of course act her age but what does she do instead? She seems to flip the bird to society and does whatever the heck she wants. She’s not just a pop star, she’s a rock star – defiant, vibrant, unstoppable and one of those polarizing figures you’re jealous of but can’t help but to cheer on and admire. I saved her for last because really she encompasses everything I like about the named female personalities – she has the looks, the talent (albeit she can only act in music videos rather than on television or in movies), she has the depth and emotion but no matter what she’s told, she’s still going onward and there’s no stopping her.
Before you propel figures like Sarah Palin, Miley Cyrus, Heidi Montag, Octo-Mom and Snooki into the stratosphere of celebrity and fame, you need to really examine these people. What makes them famous? What do you admire about them? In most cases, their rise to fame or notoriety is something ridiculous and not worthy of praise. We need to stop flocking to new ‘talent’ every year when there are tons of strong female personalities to really admire and learn from. Not only are they good looking beyond 40, they’re talented and it’s a shame we often are so quick to dismiss them based solely on looks and age.
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I have to say, since Diane Sawyer took over the anchor chair of ABC’s World News, I’ve been tuning it a lot more often. Then I got another reason to watch – Matt Gutman. Where the heck did ABC recruit this guy from? Seriously, he looks like he was ripped from the cover of Men’s Health or Muscle & Fitness. It’s like Christmas when this guy comes on to report about something – he has that stereotypical immaculate dark news anchor hair, a nice build to him, wears the tightest shirts he can find. Wooh, heat wave! I feel like Blanche from The Golden Girls whenever ABC drags him out of hiding. Here’s a few screen captures from his report on the oil crisis in Louisiana. The story was depressing … but Matt Gutman left me more than hot and bothered! MORE MATT GUTMAN, ABC, GIVE ME MORE!
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