: Often cited as one of the greatest actresses of all time, Streep has enjoyed a career spanning decades, taking on a wide range of roles that showcase her versatility.
Historically, the entertainment industry placed a premium on the male gaze, which equated female value with physical desirability. For men like Sean Connery or Harrison Ford, age added gravitas and led to roles well into their 70s. For women, the dynamic was inverse. As film scholar Molly Haskell noted, the "lady films" of the 1930s and 40s gave way to a youth-obsessed market. Actresses like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford famously struggled as they aged, with Davis forming a production company to create her own roles due to a lack of substantial scripts. milf striptease