Dame Emma Thompson says “cinema just needs to catch up” after damning statistics on older women in film.
Dame Emma Thompson has called out Hollywood ageism
New research from the Centre For Aging Better as part of the UK’s first anti-ageism campaign has found that, across 2023, 2024 and 2025, a woman over the age of 60 is less likely to appear in a movie than an actor named Chris, or a talking animal in a lead role.
In a statement supporting the campaign, Dame Emma, 67, said: “Women are half the population and we get older. So where are the stories about us?
“The older we get, the more interesting we are. I want to see more films centre aging women; we are compelling, relatable, and overdue for centere stage.
“Older women don’t need permission to exist on screen. They already exist in the world; cinema just needs to catch up.”
In a study of the 100 highest-earning films of the three year period, six films featured someone named Chris, compared to just five focused on older women.
Meanwhile, the study found that films are far more likely to include a talking animal as a lead character than an actress over the age of 60.
Across 2023, 2024 and 2025, the only five films starring an older women to make the top 100 list were Allelujah with Jennifer Saunders, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 with Nia Vardalos, and Book Club: The Next Chapter with the late Diane Keaton, which were all released in 2023.
2024’s The Substance with Demi Moore also made the list, as did last year’s Freakier Friday, which saw Jamie Lee Curtis back for the Disney sequel.
In a contrast, Chris Pratt alone had half of the six top-grossing films of the period, which included 2023’s The Super Mario Bros Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and 2024’s The Garfield Movie.
The other films in the top six featured Chris Pine (Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), Chris Hemsworth (Transformers One), and Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest).
Dame Emma, who grew up with actor parents Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law, previously admitted she never actually intended to follow in their footsteps.
The Oscar winner told Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “I didn’t grow up wanting to be an actor at all. It always seemed like a rather precarious job to me – and it is! I remember wanting to be a hospital administrator at one point.
“But then, somehow, I became a comedian. Acting came to me from that, rather by accident. I never intended to be doing this for a living, but it’s worked out rather well.”
