Catherine Zeta-Jones became a global crush in 1998 when The Mask of Zorro turned her into a movie star overnight. 27 years later, she’s still making headlines. Not for a bad performance. But for ageing. But many have come to her defense, saying the 56-year-old looks beautiful.
The Oscar winner stepped onto the red carpet at Netflix’s Wednesday FYC event in Los Angeles on 9 November. She spoke to TikTok cameras about returning as Morticia Addams in season two. The interview should’ve stayed there. Instead, the comments section swerved into familiar territory. “Is she only 56?” “She has not aged well.” “Omg! What happened to her?”
Laura White, 58, this year’s Miss Great Britain Classic winner, called the backlash “complete nonsense” and said, “men don’t have this sell-by/use-by date that women do”. She even rocked up to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast makeup-free to prove there’s no fixed template for women in their 50s. Her reason for entering the over-45s category was simple. To show midlife women are still here and still have it.
Beauty journalist Sali Hughes, 50, has strong words too. The author said women face judgement just for existing online as they age. Men don’t. No one quizzes Tom Cruise, George Clooney, or Tom Jones. They just “look great”.
Then came the viral defence. Facebook user JayDee Milo posted a video that hit 1.7 million views. He summed it up neatly: “Ya’ll make no sense. You bully women when they get too much work done and bully them when they don’t have enough.”
Comments piled in. “It’s called ageing naturally and she looks beautiful.” “She looks her age. That’s reality.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones reminds us that ageing isn’t a flaw. It’s a privilege. And yes, she still looks fantastic.
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