The red carpet this awards season feels more like a high school reunion — so many big actresses who dominated Hollywood in the ’90s and 2000s are back in the spotlight, and we are so here for it.At 62, Demi Moore is finally being acknowledged for her work, picking up her first-ever Golden Globe for her incredible role in brilliantly gory “feminist horror” The Substance. (She was first nominated in 1991 — more than half her lifetime ago — for Ghost). Even more impressive, she’s the frontrunner to take home Best Actress at this year’s Oscars on March 2.
Pamela Anderson, 57, who, like Moore, graced many men’s magazine covers in her youth as the face — and, of course, body — of Baywatch, has also spent this awards season being widely celebrated for her role in The Last Showgirl.
Meanwhile, Cameron Diaz’s first movie in a decade, the appropriately titled Back in Action, has also seen her make her red carpet comeback at 52, winning the world over once more with her trademark sparkle and charisma after taking a time out to focus on her family.
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And then there’s Lindsay Lohan, who was virtually written off in her 20s after becoming more famous for partying than acting. The 38-year-old star, now a decidedly more chill wife and mom, has seen her career soar in the past year or so, thanks to some endearing roles in festive rom-coms and a classy makeover.
On the one hand, it’s great news. These actresses are enduringly popular for a reason: they’re iconic, starring in some of the shows and movies that defined many of our childhoods, teens, and 20s: Baywatch, Charlie’s Angels, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Freaky Friday, Mean Girls… after reading that list, does anyone else just want to hunker down in a cabin with their girlfriends and watch them all back to back?
And perhaps that’s what this is all about: comfort and nostalgia. While many talented young actresses are working hard in Hollywood right now, like Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya, and Margaret Qualley (who plays Moore’s younger, seemingly superior self in The Substance), the changing face of fame means that none of them are (yet) as big or beloved as the generation before them.
Your boomer relatives would probably struggle to pick them out of a lineup, but would recognize Moore or Anderson in an instant, just as much now as 30 years ago.
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In 2025, reality stars and influencers are often the ones landing magazine covers and endorsement deals or dominating the red carpet in internet-breaking outfits, making it tough for genuine talent to cut through all the noise and drama.
But these ladies — true Hollywood royalty — show that, ultimately, skill, resilience, and grit can win out. You’re never washed-up, you just need the right role, and it’s often one with a concept that riffs off the very sense that you could be past it.
That’s the thing: there is ageism at play here too. Now that actresses like Moore and Anderson are regarded as “too old” to be typical sex symbols — literally the plot of The Substance — the world is finally waking up to how talented they are. But did it really take Anderson eschewing makeup and Moore morphing into a monster for everyone to clock that these women had never just gotten by on their looks after all?
Ultimately, everyone loves a reinvention, not least when we know that some of these stars have been through personal tragedies, heartbreaks, and numerous other setbacks in the years since they were last on top. Let’s just hope that being celebrated as a strong, older woman isn’t simply a 2025 trend but a whole new attitude.
