Madonna, Berry Lead the Charge of 40+ Stars
Stars and Supermodels Show There's Still Life -- and Career -- After 40
Take Madonna: The reigning queen of pop music turned 50 in August, days before kicking off her Sticky & Sweet tour, which is winning rave reviews as it sweeps the country. Time hasn't toned down the Material Girl. Her show is as aerobic as it is musical -- with her rock-hard thighs, resounding voice and ability to craft hits that are as catchy today as her classics were in the '80s and '90s, she's pratically the prototype for how to get better with age.
"Women aren't as afraid to grow older," Lee said. "It's about retaining their femininity and owning it in a way that's not desperate, like, 'I'm a 42-year-old woman who wants to look like 18. I can still go get my hair blown out and buy some nice makeup and go to yoga and Pilates classes. Before it was either give up and put on some high-waisted mom jeans and drive a minivan or try to stay forever young wearing dresses with a hem too high and a bust too low and become the mom everybody whispers about. Now there's a middle path."
Lee believes women in their 40s have finally captured the imagination of advertisers and media executives, who are taking notice of this largely untapped market.
"Advertisers have excluded older women for so many years, now they are saying that was actually a dumb financial move," said Jennifer Pozner, executive director of Women in Media & News, a media analysis, advocacy and education group based in New York. "Why don't we combine the culture's current nostalgia for anything '80s with models who still look gorgeous?"
Supermodels: Sexy at 40
The women who invented the supermodel phenomenon are back in the spotlight after leaving to have children and pursue other interests. They have eclipsed their teenage rivals to helm this season's most coveted collections. Evangelista, 43, is the face of Prada; Schiffer, 38, is fronting Chanel's main collection, and Turlington, 39, is promoting the designer's eyewear. And they are not the only ones.
Naomi Campbell, 38, who has hardly ever stopped working, will be representing Yves Saint Laurent this season. More impressive is her predecessor Christie Brinkley, who, at 51, renewed her association with Cover Girl and is currently the face for its Advanced Radiance cosmetics for older women.
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