Five actresses face down the big
By Donna Freydkin and William Keck, USA TODAY Forty. For five of Hollywood's top actresses - Halle Berry (news), 38; Julia Roberts, 37; Nicole Kidman, 37; Naomi Watts, 36; and Catherine Zeta-Jones, 35 - that number looms like a bright red stop sign. It's the age when, historically, desirable roles for women begin drying up. When good scripts stop rolling in. And when fresh-faced twenty-somethings begin to grab coveted roles. For every Katharine Hepburn (news), who won her fourth Oscar at age 74 for On Golden Pond, there are many more female stars who seem to fade away like once-treasured oil paintings left out in the sun. Think of Jessica Lange, 55; Melanie Griffith (news), 47; or Michelle Pfeiffer, 46. "The roles thin out when (actresses) get to a certain age," acknowledges Oscar-nominated director and actor Clint Eastwood (news), who at 74 is still considered leading-man material. "It's a crime." But Kidman, Roberts, Berry, Zeta-Jones and Watts - all either Oscar winners or Oscar nominees - stand a chance of beating Hollywood's odds for several reasons, experts say. •They have not worn out their welcomes. "These women's careers really blossomed when they were in their 30s," says Entertainment Tonight film critic/historian Leonard Maltin. "So it's not as though anyone is tired of them." •They've varied their roles. All the actresses mix it up by starring in both big-budget audience pleasers - Berry as Storm in the X-Men flicks, Watts in next month's The Ring Two, Zeta-Jones in Ocean's Twelve- and smaller, more intimate films. That includes Watts in 21 Grams, Roberts in Closer and Kidman in Birth. •They're planning for the future. All five actresses either produce films or have their own production houses that they use to find or develop screenplays. It's all part of using their clout while they're on top to prepare for the leaner years. And that's smart, because the longevity of a female star is grounded in a combination of "good roles, good genes and good luck," says Jeanine Basinger, founder and curator of the Cinema Archives and chair of the Film Studies Department at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. "The man can be the romantic interest until he's 101. But there's a point for a woman where, if you're not the romantic interest, what are you going to play?" That's why, Basinger says, it's key for actresses in their 30s and beyond to pick substance over sizzle. Eastwood's ex-love Frances Fisher, 52, who has maintained a steady career by playing supporting roles, points to Kidman as someone who is heeding Basinger's advice. "Nicole is really smart about her career," Fisher says. "She's been taking on some very juicy roles and showing her range. She hasn't gotten herself locked into one type of (role)." Kidman won her Oscar not for playing a glamour-puss cancan dancer in Moulin Rouge but an unattractive Virginia Woolf in The Hours, complete with a prosthetic nose and frazzled hair. Berry de-glammed to portray a bitter waitress in Monster's Ball. Roberts played against type as an unlikable adulteress in Closer. And Watts earned raves for playing a depressed, washed-out widow in 21 Grams.
By Donna Freydkin and William Keck, USA TODAY Forty. For five of Hollywood's top actresses - Halle Berry (news), 38; Julia Roberts, 37; Nicole Kidman, 37; Naomi Watts, 36; and Catherine Zeta-Jones, 35 - that number looms like a bright red stop sign. It's the age when, historically, desirable roles for women begin drying up. When good scripts stop rolling in. And when fresh-faced twenty-somethings begin to grab coveted roles. For every Katharine Hepburn (news), who won her fourth Oscar at age 74 for On Golden Pond, there are many more female stars who seem to fade away like once-treasured oil paintings left out in the sun. Think of Jessica Lange, 55; Melanie Griffith (news), 47; or Michelle Pfeiffer, 46. "The roles thin out when (actresses) get to a certain age," acknowledges Oscar-nominated director and actor Clint Eastwood (news), who at 74 is still considered leading-man material. "It's a crime." But Kidman, Roberts, Berry, Zeta-Jones and Watts - all either Oscar winners or Oscar nominees - stand a chance of beating Hollywood's odds for several reasons, experts say. •They have not worn out their welcomes. "These women's careers really blossomed when they were in their 30s," says Entertainment Tonight film critic/historian Leonard Maltin. "So it's not as though anyone is tired of them." •They've varied their roles. All the actresses mix it up by starring in both big-budget audience pleasers - Berry as Storm in the X-Men flicks, Watts in next month's The Ring Two, Zeta-Jones in Ocean's Twelve- and smaller, more intimate films. That includes Watts in 21 Grams, Roberts in Closer and Kidman in Birth. •They're planning for the future. All five actresses either produce films or have their own production houses that they use to find or develop screenplays. It's all part of using their clout while they're on top to prepare for the leaner years. And that's smart, because the longevity of a female star is grounded in a combination of "good roles, good genes and good luck," says Jeanine Basinger, founder and curator of the Cinema Archives and chair of the Film Studies Department at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. "The man can be the romantic interest until he's 101. But there's a point for a woman where, if you're not the romantic interest, what are you going to play?" That's why, Basinger says, it's key for actresses in their 30s and beyond to pick substance over sizzle. Eastwood's ex-love Frances Fisher, 52, who has maintained a steady career by playing supporting roles, points to Kidman as someone who is heeding Basinger's advice. "Nicole is really smart about her career," Fisher says. "She's been taking on some very juicy roles and showing her range. She hasn't gotten herself locked into one type of (role)." Kidman won her Oscar not for playing a glamour-puss cancan dancer in Moulin Rouge but an unattractive Virginia Woolf in The Hours, complete with a prosthetic nose and frazzled hair. Berry de-glammed to portray a bitter waitress in Monster's Ball. Roberts played against type as an unlikable adulteress in Closer. And Watts earned raves for playing a depressed, washed-out widow in 21 Grams.