Body brave: style icons over 50

By Sam Wylie-Harris

 

Nicole Kidman’s been a poster girl since day dot, and the 54-year-old is breaking boundaries once again.

This time it’s not for leading roles – such as her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours, for which she won an Academy Award – but for the fabulous cover shots for Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue.

The mother of four certainly looks stunning. Not since she graced the silver screen in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! has the actor looked quite so sultry, or worn anything quite so skimpy – and we’re talking more than 20 years on.

Naturally, women should be admired and valued for their inner selves, intelligence and bold career moves, not just their appearance. But with so many taboos about showing off your figure after a certain age, we applaud Kidman for demonstrating that doesn’t need to be the case.

Here are five more style icons who look fabulous over 50…

 

Cindy Crawford, age 55

The American supermodel, actress and TV personality was once the world’s highest-paid model and the face of the 1990s. Having graced 18 American Vogue covers, the mother-of-two is still going strong at 55 years old. Now her daughter, Kaia, is following in her footsteps and has a flourishing modelling career.

 

Halle Berry, age 55

With 7.5 million followers on Instagram, the American actress has been sharing the secrets to her impressive physique with age-defying yoga poses and workouts. Who would have thought it’s been 20 years since the Bond girl wowed us in that teeny-weeny tangerine bikini in Die Another Day?

 

Lauren Hutton, age 78

She’s been at the front of fashion for six decades. The American gap-toothed model and actress was the million-dollar face of Revlon, a first at the time, and has 27 Vogue covers under her belt. Hutton has previously praised her skincare routine and Pilates classes for keeping that glow.

 

Helen Mirren, age 76

She’s never lost that twinkle in her eye and still wows us with stylish outfits choices, and the award-winning British actor has starred in dozens of films over the years. Mirren is perhaps best known for her role as DCI Jane Tennison in the television series Prime Suspect, and for her brilliant portrayal of Elizabeth II in The Queen – for which she won an Academy Award.

 

Meg Ryan, age 60

The American actress is one of the silver screen’s sweethearts, with her cute smile and spirited sense of humour. Her breakthrough role in When Harry Met Sally in 1989 led to a 30-year career, with hits such as Sleepless In Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Still the queen of romantic comedies, there’s no denying she knows exactly how to wear a little black dress, at any age.