Demi Moore is an actor who needs no introduction: the 62-year-old has been well-established in Hollywood since the 90s and has been a pivotal figure in pop culture ever since. Propelled into the spotlight in 1990, Moore starred in Ghost, the highest-grossing film of that year and one that went on to become a cultural touchstone. It earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and she subsequently went on to become the highest-paid female actor in history by the time she appeared in the 1996 erotic comedy Striptease.

Yet, despite this influence, seniority and an extensive backlog of work that spans from A Few Good Men to Indecent Proposal to Charlie’s Angels, Moore has never won an award for her acting… until last night at the 2025 Golden Globes.

In her powerful acceptance speech for best actress in a motion picture – musical or comedy for The Substance, Moore candidly reflected on her career and revealed the limiting comment that she internalised early on in her career that defined what she thought was possible as an actor. In an emotional admission, she said: “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me I was a ‘popcorn actress’ and, at that time, I made that mean this [award] wasn’t something I was allowed to have.”

Moore believed that while she could act in big-budget movies, she “couldn’t be acknowledged” as a credible professional actor based on this one producer’s opinion of her abilities, and she “bought” into that narrative.

Deflated by this invisible ceiling, that advice corroded away at Moore’s self-esteem, leaving her at a “low point” prior to being cast in Coralie Fargeat’s body horror. Before the “magical” script arrived, she thought that her career had come to its natural end. Fast forward a few years, and at 62, Moore feels as though she does now “belong” in the industry, having finally been seen and appreciated for her talent.

The immense accomplishment is empowering to witness: Moore’s trajectory is wildly different to the career narrative that women are so often fed. Age-based accolades exist to encourage women to achieve their life’s work by 30, when they’re likely to be only 10 years into their career. How can they be expected to land the biggest accomplishments of their working life when they’ve only just started it?

There’s an ingrained societal pressure that professional success for women only counts if they’re still young. Youth is a lucrative cultural currency that brings with it abundant opportunities and visibility, but it’s portrayed as a finite period of innovation, risk-taking and self-interest for women prior to assuming their ‘most important’ (and final) role as wife and mother.

In recent years, this currency has been amplified by the commodification of girlhood on social media. One scroll offers a plethora of hidden secrets to youth that prevent women from becoming what’s treated as the least desirable and valued version of themselves: old. Throw in a few overnight success stories and endless ‘30 under 30’ lists and many women are left feeling as though they ‘missed their chance’ to be recognised as smart, talented and inspirational individuals due to their advancing ages.

At the ripe age of 27, the pre-30 professional panic has already started to set in. I’m conscious I can no longer call myself a young woman in job applications; I will probably never be on a ‘30 under 30’ list and, at some point, I might have to make a more ‘sensible and stable career choice’ and leave my freelance escapades behind me. I lie awake at night and contemplate how I will squeeze all of my accomplishments in before I hit 30, before rationalising with myself that this is internalised propaganda.

If anything, I become better at what I do the more days, weeks and months I spend doing it. I know significantly more than I did at 21 and wouldn’t trade places with that naïve new adult who had unrealistically high expectations and always fell short of them. I’ve come to terms with the idea that the biggest achievement of my career might not happen in my 20s, which is endlessly freeing as it relieves the outward time pressure and allows me to be more creative and curious about the paths I could take. Seeing Moore win her first acting award in her 60s is a helpful reminder of all that endless potential.

There’s a delightful irony that Moore won her first award for The Substance, a film that interrogates our modern obsession with the tireless pursuit of youth and beauty. Moore’s character, Elisabeth Sparkle, is an ageing actor willing to chance anything on a miracle drug that offers her the opportunity to be adored and admired once more as a young woman. 

The film serves as its own warning of youth as a superficial standard of women’s worth, but it’s Moore’s big win that proves that youth isn’t the secret to success; time is. If your work isn’t recognised in your 20s or 30s, that doesn’t mean that it won’t ever be acknowledged. It simply hasn’t been yet.

Accolades are not the only way for women to feel ‘complete’ in their careers, but Moore’s second wave of success in her 60s is an important reminder that there’s no set timeline in life. If you call it quits on your career when the clock hits 30, you could miss out on the most stimulating and exhilarating chapter of your professional life.

There’s something immensely comforting in the knowledge that we might do our most profound, bold or courageous work in our 60s. And maybe it will make everyone who thought they knew us view us in a whole new light.

Images: Getty; Mubi