Age as equalizer
I have observed that even the beautiful usually don’t stay so.
Youth is a wonderful thing that enhances the looks of all. But those who were spectacularly beautiful when young don’t necessarily age in a way that keeps them a few steps ahead of people who started out looking much more ordinary. And cosmetic surgery doesn’t necessarily help; sometimes the formerly beautiful are more strongly motivated to have ever-escalating interventions that end up making them look not only like a caricature of their former selves, but like aliens from another planet. So sometimes it’s best to say away from the knife and let nature and time have its way with you.
Case in point, Carol Lynley. You may not remember her, but I do. She was a beautiful blond model-actress:
Today, she’s nearly seventy. She’s still a perfectly fine-looking woman (without cosmetic surgery), as you can see, and is somewhat recognizable as herself:
But now she probably would not be picked out of a crowd of her age-peers as markedly more beautiful than many of them. Age seems to often take away (and not just for Lynley; she’s merely an example) whatever it is that makes the extraordinarily beautiful so very extraordinary.
Not always, though. I think Katharine Hepburn retained her striking quality to the bitter end; perhaps it was the cheekbones, and the fact that she never seemed to gain much weight:
Likewise Audrey Hepburn (hmmm, is it something about that last name?):
And let us not forget the late great Paul Newman:
But they are the exceptions among the already-exceptional. For most of those who gain fame early on because of their astounding physical beauty, age comes as a double shock and a double trial, because they not only lose their youth, they lose what made them distinctive. No wonder so many try to hold on ever more desperately (I’ll skip the images of that; suffice to say they are legion).
Hepburn was a bad choice if you compare her with Anne Bancroft young and old…
(people just like her more for her progressive politics without seeming political – and she got parts for it from socialist hollyweird. much the same as Hanoi Jane did)
by the way… compare the women of socialism/feminism with the women on the right/freedom
on the left from Helen Thomas, Dworkin, etc… its as if sociopathic evil rots them…
Artfldgr: here’s what I wrote about Anne Bancroft, whom I thought was great.
My mom who is a normal looking person was so happy last year when we were at a event with a former big deal bombshell from the late sixties, who alas has had a lot of not very good plastic surgery, and yes, my own wee mum was possibly better looking than former bombshell. Who looked sadly freakish, and more sadly, did not handle former celebrity well, and was pretty nasty to everyone at the event, including my mom. Well, this just made Mom’s day I tell you. She couldn’t stop talking about how she was better looking than bombshell. And how amazing this was, because when she was young, mom was cute but normal looking. It was hilarious, especially as we had no idea Mom even noticed or cared about stuff like that.
“perhaps it was the cheekbones . . . .”
Or perhaps it is the cheek-implants, which according to a young woman I know, that worked in that industry, are amazingly common in Hollywood and elsewhere.
Let me throw this observation into the mix: Some women, while we may not exactly think of them as beautiful, could more accurately be described as “handsome”. After youth has gone, their faces show character and experience. Their manner expresses warmth and an ease with the world. They look like they can do things.
Lor-en. Lor-en. LOR-EN!
Ozripus: not when we’re talking about the Hepburns, Katharine and Audrey. They had those cheekbones long before the craze for implants, and they kept those cheekbones without implants.
By the way, cheek implants don’t really give a person the hollows of cheekbones. They (supposedly) correct for the loss of fat tissue, and the consequent droop, of the cheek area with age. I think they always look obvious and phony—but then again, if they are very well done I probably can’t tell the person has them. To me, though, they seem dreadful.
Case in point, Priscilla Presley, and many others. But not the Hepburns.
vanderleun: yes indeed, Loren.
I know it is cruelly unfair to us females, but there are male actors who were only so-so when young, but as they aged and got interestingly craggy, they looked better and better. Case in point: Jimmy Stewart. Pencil-necked geek in twenties, OMG! in fifties.
I do agree with Jed, though – that handsome women with character do age better. Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Judi Dench. If they had work done, then it was very skillful!
Sgt Mom: here’s another woman who seems to have aged quite nicely. And if she had work done (which is certainly possible), it was done well.
Of course, she’s not that old yet. Just 53, a mere baby.
Don’t forget Sophia Loren who just turned 77 this week.
And Sigourney Weaver still looks pretty good, too. Maybe she and Michelle P. have the same plastic surgeon, or workout coach!
I looked forward to the phenomenon Sgt. Mom describes: some men look better when older. Didn’t happen but at least I’m in a lot of pain so I don’t think about it and changing my diapers gives me something to do.
Marge Simpson talking about Homer at the fix-your-marriage retreat:
He scratches himself with his keys. When he wakes up, he makes honking noises. Oh, and his toenails are long. And yellow.
Homer (sobbing): Ohhh, it’s true, all true.
I made the mistake of telling a senior lady (very elegant, superb cook, intelligent) that perhaps God does us a favor by giving us infirmities and grossities as we age. She was extraordinarily fit and nice looking in her 70’s and I could tell even the thought offended her. But it is something I think may be true. Helps us let go of life gracefully and gratefully.
No mention of Catherine Deneuve? Still gorgeous at 67!
Helen Mirren, too.
I think one of the things the Hepburns have going for them (at least in those pictures) are their sincere, radiant smiles.
Michelle P. is definitely beautiful…so much so I have wondered if she encouraged the pumped lips phenomenon. (Upper lip slightly full on each side with a small crease in the middle.)
I have thought MP an unloved, for some reason, unappreciated actress. There is this scene in a movie where she is a mother of a missing son and has a break down. It is awesome. And she was awesome in “I am Sam.”
I had an extraordinary teacher in high school, for my German language lessons. She had her first child in a castle on a hill overlooking a city in Germany (which was being firebombed at the time, hence her going into labor) during the War. She still skated, and walked quite a deal, and was very fit, and still quite beautiful. This was in the late 70’s, and I haven’t seen her since ’77, but she emailed the school’s alumni magazine last year, so she’s still about, and still learning. The most striking thing about her was her attitude. Quiet and graceful, but facing the obstacles of life because they could be overcome. That last is what I think held everyones’ attention. I have seen and known physically plain men and women, whose force of character and attitude of life created a great beauty in them. The beautiful can be ugly of soul, and the outcast can have true beauty of character. These things are not always true, just about anything in a person that you can imagine, and more can be real. People are fascinating creatures. Enjoy those who love life, watch out for those who don’t.
JLK: I never thought much of Denueve, even when she was young. She seemed cold, boring, and bland to me. But she has held up very well.
By the way, here’s another woman—Faye Dunaway—who was very beautiful in her youth and who’s been done in (IMHO) by her cheek implants.
Wait–
I dated a girl in high school that looked like that photo of Carol in her seventies??
The trick is to keep the lights low….
I think it’s weight gain, pure and simple. Think of Grace Kelly in her later days. And I do believe Katharine Hepburn had some work done, especially around the eyes.
People who do martial arts for decades and keep doing em, tend to be much more physically fit. I wonder what would have happened with women in those cases. I know that a few martial arts women look a lot younger than their biological ages. 42 with kids that look like 30 without any births.
Rather than age, the only equalizer I recognize is death. Taxes, of course, aren’t really equal, so they cannot apply.
What I’m seeing in these pictures is not just natural ageing, but a lot of sun damage to the skin. It will be interesting to see how young people today fare in the future, since many protect themselves with sunblock as a matter of course (although others still fry themselves in the quest for a tan).
Have you heard of Bernadette Peters? I wouldn’t say she’s stunningly beautiful, but when I saw her age after seeing a recent picture of her, I nearly fell off my chair!
Anne: not only have I heard of Bernadette Peters, I’ve written a post about how fabulous she looks.
Ah! Maybe I first heard about her from your blog and forgot about it. She is remarkable, isn’t she?!
Cary Grant aged very, very well.
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I never went for classic beauties but I LOVED looking at Carol Lynly. And she did age well up to a point. I recently saw a picture of Helen Mirren at 66 in a bikini and I was blown away! Still curvy, firm and taut as a healthy 35 year old woman. And YES, Sofia Loren! And I would add Raquel Welch to this list. STILL amazing!
Three things will age you prematurely. Stress, bitterness, and toxicity. And doing things like Yoga, and martial arts keeps your subtle energy channels flowing freely as well as aiding circulation. Prayer, meditation are great regulators of the nervous system. This will slow the aging process. But by our 50s, 60s and 70s we are carrying an ever older, and larger toxic load in our cells, muscles, and intestines.
I am in Thailand right now and have seen a 58 year old friend reverse her age, and transform her body with 10 sessions of deep abdominal (detoxing) massage (Chi Nei Tsang) and 4 Colonic irrigations. Her skin has drastically improved from
the inside out. I have also gone back in time.
It is unfair to lump male and female celebs together in this kind of conversation – male standards of beauty signify power and allow for craggy patriarchs, while female standards of beauty tend towards physical signs of youth and fertility.
Look at Carol! Looks great and all grown up. WOW, I’d forgotten about that girl.
I was very lucky to see some of these greats at work and close up at their offices in the 70s when I was getting my legs as a yoot in my 20s and early-mid 30s.
Neo , you missed your chance to quote Proverbs 31: “30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” KJV
After the time of Job’s trouble, he was apparently rewarded with …” And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.” Job 42:15 KJV
The more modern NIV translation may be more fitting to your post however : ” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30
I always think it’s quite sad to see a former beauty so changed by normal aging. Life can be hard, and it’s not always easier for the lovely.
Smoking, of course is an ager, as is tanning. But the most serious de-beautifier is ATTITUDE. Those women who turn down their mouths in anger and bitterness develop awful lines. Keep a smile, and you’ll find that you age well.