The return of Demi Moore is proof that women over 50 can still triumph
Is Demi Moore the feel-good comeback story that 2025 has already never needed more? She sure is!
Once part of the infamous “Brat Pack,” a raspy-voiced, sexy style icon of the ’80s and ’90s, Moore is experiencing an unlikely resurgence due to her role — and Golden Globes win — in “The Substance.”
Earlier this week Moore also nabbed a SAG award nomination for playing Elisabeth Sparkle, a youth-obsessed actress who clones herself with gory results. There’s even talk of an Oscar nod.
Once the highest-paid actress in America, Moore sat out the middle of her career, more of a laughingstock than the legend she should have been.?
She referenced that low during her Globes speech, saying, “I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor.”
That she’s having a renaissance at 62 speaks more about Moore than “The Substance.” It’s her whole glam-yet-relatable vibe right now that is resonating with fans. At the Golden Globes, her inspirational acceptance speech (not to mention that stunning Armani dress!) felt like a mic drop.
Because we’ve all felt like we’re not enough, or subjected to unrealistic measuring sticks to compare ourselves to others. We’ve all had someone try and hold us back or make us feel small. That’s why her speech clicked with so many people.
And it feels like everyone is rooting for Demi!
You’re rooting for her if you loved “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “About Last Night,” and “Ghost.” You’re rooting for her if you couldn’t “handle the truth” in “A Few Good Men.” You’re rooting for her because she’s been so compassionate and present for her ex-husband Bruce Willis during his aphasia diagnosis. And you’re rooting for her because maybe you think Ashton Kutcher is slightly creepy.
There’s something deeply satisfying about Demi’s comeback. For us Gen Xers, the Brat-Pack-era Demi was the one you wanted to be — or be friends with. She was sultry, stylish, and funny, but also vulnerable and frenetic. Fragile yet strong. Complicated in the best way.
Whereas the other Brat Pack leading ladies were just meh. Molly Ringwald? Too perfect and aloof. Ally Sheedy? The dandruff scene in “The Breakfast Club” still haunts me today. Mare Winningham? She developed into a fine character actress but was never particularly cool.?
In the ‘90s, we watched Demi mature in “Ghost,” as the grieving wife who made the pixie cut chic and pottery look erotic. Demi held her own with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men,” not an easy feat.
And “Indecent Proposal”? It was a water cooler moment that had everyone talking about how much money it would take to let your wife sleep with Robert Redford. The Roswell, NM, native even shaved her head for “GI Jane!”
Most significantly, Demi became the highest-paid female movie star of the ‘90s with her $12.5 million “Striptease” payday. Oh, and she was married to the biggest action star in the world, Bruce Willis. Appearing seven months pregnant and basically naked on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991? Yup — the controversial edition sold out on newsstands around the country.
Demi was everywhere! And then she wasn’t — taking a break to have three children and moving to Hailey, Idaho, of all places. But many other actresses have successfully juggled motherhood and movies, from Meryl Streep to Julia Roberts. So why did Moore falter?
Perhaps because she wasn’t connecting with audiences anymore, who wanted to see the “popcorn” actress in more roles like “Ghost” and less like “GI Jane.”
Demi’s 2000 divorce from Willis didn’t help, while her bizarre marriage a few years later to the much younger Ashton Kutcher felt off. In her 2019 autobiography, “Inside Out,” Demi revealed that the ill-fated union — the couple divorced in 2013 — led to a drug and alcohol relapse and threesomes.
For years, it felt like the Demi we loved was gone.
But this comeback is giving Demi worshippers hope. For women of a certain age, her arc feels like redemption — for all of us.?
Demi’s revival isn’t an isolated event either. Look at Pamela Anderson, another Gen X icon, who also scored Golden Globes and SAG nominations this year. Nicole Kidman, Michelle Yeoh, Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jodie Foster — the list of women over 50 thriving in Hollywood is growing. And they’re not just working. They’re winning.
So yes, we’re rooting for Demi. Her story feels like our story. It’s proof that reinvention is not only possible — it’s powerful.
