So, is sexist ageism really – if you’ll pardon the pun – ‘old news’? Well, it does seem as if things are changing for the better… albeit slowly.

A new report from The Guardian has shown that, as the Oscars age, so have the winners. Indeed, since 2010, best actresses had an average age of 41, up from 36 in the previous decade (2000-2009). And it’s not just the Oscars, either: 2018 saw a (then) 50 year old Nicole Kidman accept her first ever Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in HBO’s Big Little Lies.

“How wonderful it is that our careers today can go beyond 40 years old,” she said, before turning her attention to her fellow nominees – Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Reese Witherspoon, and Laura Dern – as well as the other women who have inspired her over the years.

“Twenty years ago we were pretty washed up by this stage in our lives,” she continued. “That’s not the case anymore. We’ve proven… that we are potent and powerful and viable. I just beg that the industry stays behind us as our stories are finally being told.

“It’s only the beginning.”

Images: Getty

Davina McCall just got real about sexist ageism in 2020