What Hath HDTV Wrought on Older Actresses?

Tongues were wagging around the SheFinds watercooler today as talk turned to some of Hollywood's greatest actresses migrating to television. While it's great to be able to watch their work in prime time, in one case I was so focused on someone else's work that I stopped focusing on the actress. So what ever happened to aging gracefully?

This season's premier of Grey's Anatomy featured Tony-award winning actress Bernadette Peters, who barely looked 40 years old, much less her actual 60. Emmy winner Glenn Close in FX's Damages looks stunning at 61. But what in the world happened to Hollywood icon Mary Tyler Moore, who was barely recognizable on NBC's Lipstick Jungle on Wednesday night at 71? Is it Botox? Restylane? Surgery? One of us almost spilled a glass of wine when she came on the screen, it was so jarring.

It's hard enough to have to age without having to worry about high-definition programming and millions of viewers judging you, but at the point where viewers have to look twice to see if it's you in there, the procedures just have to stop. May we suggest a Bliss Youth Group Skincare Kit ($68)? Some Freeze 24/7 anti-wrinkle cream ($65)? Allegedly that stuff works in minutes. At least try one of the solutions in our Plastic Surgery At Home guide before going under the knife or needle.

There has to be something we can do...

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Comments

[AngryAmish]

Leave MTM alone. Please. She is a treasure. She also has suffered for years from diabetes, which takes a heavy toll on the skin and the eyes, and no doubt has contributed to her taught post-surgical look. Also, the effects of aging tend to be more apparent on naturally thin women: "It's your face or your fanny!," as they used tell girls of a certain age. Maybe they still do. MTM never had to make that Hobson's choice. She's a stick. And as a fellow stick, I love her for that, but not just for that. I love her most for her double-take. Among the best in the business.

I smile when MTM pops up on my t.v. screen; I save the wine-spilling for Sarah Palin--she of the tattooed lip liner.

[96Bravo]

There's no denying women have it rougher in Hollywood. But actresses who try desperately not to age only hurt themselves. Just as men like Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman embrace their age and continue to succeed, actresses like Maggie Smith and Judi Dench thrive in films and television by being who they are. In doing so, they are the ones who are "aging gracefully"...not the one's who try to look 20 years younger.