UK study reveals sad truth about what you’re more likely to see than women over 60 in films

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Emma Thompson recently commented on a new study showing that actors named Chris appear on screen more often than women over the age of 60.

A recent survey by Age Without Limits examined the 100 most successful movies from 2023, 2024, and 2025, revealing some surprising trends in what we see on screen.

Six of the movies featured a male lead – with Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, and Chris Hemsworth among them. Only five movies had a woman over 60 playing the main character.

Surprisingly, a movie is four times more likely to feature a talking animal as the main character than to have a woman over the age of 60 in that role.

Actress Thompson, known for her recent roles in shows like Dead of Winter, Down Cemetery Road, and The Sheep Detectives, is urging the film industry to include more realistic and positive portrayals of older women.

Thompson, in a statement from Age Without Limits, pointed out that women make up half the population and, like everyone, age. She questioned the lack of stories featuring older women, asserting that with age, women become even more fascinating.

I’d love to see more movies that focus on older women. We have interesting stories to tell, and it’s time we were given more prominent roles.

Women as they age deserve to be represented in movies and television simply because they are part of the world around us – it’s time for the film industry to reflect that reality.

A recent study was conducted by Professor Dennis A. Olsen and his team at the University of West London’s School of Film, Media and Design.

This finding echoes earlier work by Cast Aside, who reported in 2023 that only about a third of characters with lines in movies and TV shows were age 50 or older.

British films feature significantly fewer women over 65 compared to men of the same age. When older women do appear in these films, they typically have about 14% less dialogue than male actors.

Older characters in stories often played the roles of comic relief, either by behaving childishly or by being sidelined from the main action.

According to recent findings, Harriet Bailiss, co-leader of the Age Without Limits campaign, stated that the film industry contributes to the marginalization of older people – especially older women – by not portraying them accurately or sufficiently.

Many seniors already feel undervalued because they’ve absorbed negative stereotypes about aging. This limited representation in media and society will likely strengthen that belief, making them feel even less important as they age.

It’s easy to understand why many women feel ignored as they age, since they often aren’t represented in media or advertising.

Authors

Tilly PearceFreelance Writer

Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist who covers a wide variety of shows, from popular reality series like Love Is Blind to science fiction hits like Fallout. She’s a highly qualified journalist, holding NCTJ Gold Standard accreditation, and has experience in editorial roles at both Digital Spy and Daily Express US, where she previously served as a deputy editor.

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2026-05-26 15:04