It is without a doubt Demi Moore’s moment. She was the image of strength and elegance in a sculptural golden custom Armani Privée gown in the Golden Globe’s winner’s circle on Sunday, after securing best actress in a musical or comedy honours – the first major acting award of her career. But it was her acceptance speech that shook attendees and viewers with its bold honesty.
Moore, 62, struck a universal chord in citing the little labelled boxes that women get put in by Hollywood, and by the larger world. She told the story of how three decades earlier a producer had told her she was a “popcorn” actress – in other words, a sex symbol who could power up big money movies – but that she did not deserve a place in the pantheon of talented thespians who win awards. She explained how she internalized that criticism.
“That corroded me over time,” she said, “to the point that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete, maybe I had done what I was supposed to do.”
Women everywhere, diminished by the expectations we have had thrust upon us, felt that sentiment in our guts. She was all of us, and we had a new champion. Seeing her win, seeing her shine, is a tonic more potent than the “substance” at the heart of her transformative comeback movie of the same name.
That Moore has aged well is a serious understatement. She has always been a workout fiend – remember the buff G.I. Jane era? – and now is, along with a cluster of prominent peer actresses in their 50s and 60s, tearing up red carpets and award show stages. See also the lush hair and luminous skin of Nicole Kidman, 57, Michelle Yeoh, 62, Karla Sofia Gascon, 52, Cate Blanchett, 55, and Pamela Anderson, 57, to name a few.
Moore has developed a distinctive signature style: long black locks, razor-defined cheekbones and couture – pulled by her longtime stylist, Canadian-in-L.A. Brad Goreski – from her favourite houses: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Fendi, Shiaparelli and Dior, alongside notable indie labels such as Harris Reid, who designed her Met Gala gown last year.
Moore is also known as a serious vintage collector, with some 40,000 historical gowns in her personal vaults. She made a big splash at Cannes last year – only her second time at the festival – in support of both The Substance and the TV miniseries Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, in which she played Texas socialite Ann Woodward. She was hailed as a fresh fashion icon after the collaborative work she and Goreski did on La Croisette. Awards season promises much more Moore.
Women used to be retired to pasture in Hollywood after age 35. But actresses like Moore and her peers, who follow in larger numbers behind still-working legends of cinema such as Meryl Streep, 75, and Helen Mirren, 79, are redefining what it is to be an older women for all of us. If we see representation on the screen, the hope is that reality may just change for the rest of us in its wake.
But Demi Moore may have written a new rallying cry for women. The idea that we can break out of the little boxes that society tried to put us in, to spread our wings and fly and try new and harder things at any age, is inspiring.
And a great energy to start the new year.
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