Celebrate the leading ladies of Hollywood who are still killing it in their 40s.
Amy Adams (1974) Academy Award-nominated Amy Adams is best known for roles in Disney’s “Enchanted” and “Arrival.”
Kerry Washington (1977) Kerry Washington broke out in films like “Ray” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” but really came into her own on the small screen, picking up Emmy nominations for her work in Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal” and for playing Anita Hill in the HBO film “Confirmation.” In 2020, she starred with Reese Witherspoon in “Little Fires Everywhere.”
Zoe Saldaña (1978) Zoe Saldaña is best known for starring in the science fiction franchises “Avatar,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Star Trek.”
Reese Witherspoon (1976) A star since her teenage years, Witherspoon has expanded her profile with the Draper James fashion and home line as well as producing projects (that she often also acts in) such as “Wild” and HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”
Jennifer Hudson (1981)
The “Dreamgirls” star became the 17th entertainer to earn the rare EGOT honor — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — in 2022 for producing the play “A Strange Loop.”
Rose Byrne (1979) The Australian actress can do drama (the series “Damages”) or comedy (“Bridesmaids,” “Neighbors” and “Physical”). In 2020, she played Gloria Steinem in the FX limited series “Mrs. America.”
Angelina Jolie (1975) Academy Award-winning Angelina Jolie has starred in “Girl, Interrupted,” “Maleficent” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” She has also written and directed several films, including “Unbroken” and “First They Killed My Father.”
Eva Longoria (1975) Besides starring on “The Young and the Restless” and “Desperate Housewives,” Eva Longoria launched her own production company, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, in 2016, and directed her first film, “Flamin’ Hot,” in 2023.
Jessica Alba (1981) As a Golden Globe nominated actress, Alba has tackled everything from “Fantastic Four” to “Sin City” to “LA’s Finest.”
Jessica Chastain (1977) Jessica Chastain, who won the Best Actress Oscar for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (and nabbed previous nominations for “Help” and “Zero Dark Thirty,”) made her film debut in 2008’s “Jolene” and has gone on to star in “Miss Sloane,” “Molly’s Game” and “IT: Chapter Two.”
Stephanie Beatriz (1981) Her debut as Detective Rosa Diaz in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” earned Beatriz the role of Carla in the hit musical film “In the Heights.” She also voiced Mirabel Madrigal in the 2021 Disney film “Encanto.”
Charlize Theron (1975) From “Mad Max: Fury Road” to “Long Shot,” this Academy Award-winning actress can do it all.
Natalie Portman (1981) The “V for Vendetta” star received an Academy Award for her performance in “Black Swan.” She also starred as Jane Foster in “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” and hoists the hammer herself in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” In 2023, she costarred in and produced the Todd Haynes film “May December.”
Sutton Foster (1975) After winning two Tony awards for her work on the Broadway stage, Sutton Foster broke into Hollywood through her leading debut in “Younger.” In 2024, she was back on Broadway as Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” opposite Aaron Tveit in the title role.
Kate Hudson (1979) After her Golden Globe-winning performance in “Almost Famous,” the actress and Fabletics founder has starred in “Bride Wars,” “Music” and Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion.”
Alicia Silverstone (1976) The “Clueless” star has also starred in “Batman & Robin” and “Miss Match,” along with publishing two vegan cookbooks. In 2023, she costarred in the Netflix thriller “Reptile” with Benicio del Toro and Justin Timberlake.
Michelle Williams (1980) The “Dawson’s Creek” actress has starred in “Brokeback Mountain,” “The Greatest Showman” and “My Week with Marilyn.” She’s been nominated for five Oscars and won an Emmy for playing dancer Gwen Verdon in “Fosse/Verdon.”
Bryce Dallas Howard (1981) Besides costarring in the massive “Jurassic World” films, she has also directed episodes of “The Manadalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.” She is also making her directorial feature film debut with “The Flight of the Navigator.”
Amy Schumer (1980) Comedian Amy Schumer is best known for her roles in “Trainwreck,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Snatched,” and co-hosting the 2022 Oscars.
Uzo Aduba (1981) Best known for her Emmy-winning role as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on “Orange Is the New Black,” Aduba also won an Emmy for playing Shirley Chisholm in “Mrs. America” and played Dr. Brooke Taylor on the HBO drama “In Treatment.” She is set to star in the upcoming Shondaland Netflix series “The Residence” as Cordelia Cupp, an eccentric detective who investigates a case at the White House.
Chrissy Metz (1980) For her role as Kate in “This Is Us,” Chrissy Metz has earned nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy.
Carrie Coon (1981) Carrie Coon is best known for “Gone Girl,” “The Leftovers,” “The Gilded Age,” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.”
Isla Fisher (1976) The Australian actress, who broke out in “The Wedding Crashers,” stars in and executive produces the Peacock series “Wolf Like Me.”
Kirsten Dunst (1982) The star of “Bring It On,” “Spider-Man” and several Sofia Coppola films was finally nominated for an Oscar for her performance in “The Power of the Dog.” In 2016, she received an Emmy nomination for her role on “Fargo.” In 2024, she starred as a photojournalist in Alex Garland’s dystopian drama “Civil War.”
Kate Winslet (1975) The Oscar-winning “Titanic” star earned two Emmys (for the HBO mini-series “Mildred Pierece” and, more recently, for her her role as a dogged smalltown detective in 2021’s “Mare of Easttown”). She’s been nominated for seven Oscars. In 2024, she played the autocratic leader of a fictitious country in the Max series “The Regime.”
Rebel Wilson (1980) The Australian actress is best known for “Pitch Perfect,” “How to Be Single,” and her leading roles in “Isn’t It Romantic” and “Senior Year.”
Constance Wu (1982) The star of “Crazy Rich Asians” and ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat” also starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers.”
Tiffany Haddish (1979) The comedic star of “Girls Trip,” “Tuca & Bertie” and “The Afterparty” has also proven herself adept at drama in films like Paul Schrader’s “The Card Counter.”
Christina Ricci (1980) The former child star who made her mark in the ’90s with “The Addams Family” and “Now and Then” went on to costar in “Monster,” “The Matrix Resurrections” and earned an Emmy nomination for her 2006 guest turn on “Grey’s Anatomy.” And she terrifies us, in the best way possible, as Misty on “Yellowjackets.”
Melanie Lynskey (1977) Between “Yellowjackets” and “Candy,” this New Zealand actress is killing it. It’s about time the “Heavenly Creatures” star got the acclaim she deserves. She has received three Emmy nominations: Two for her role as Shauna on “Yellowjackets” and one for her guest star role on “The Last of Us.”
Rebecca Hall (1982) This British actress, who we loved in “The Town” and “The Night House” and topped critics’ lists with her harrowing performance in 2016’s “Christine,” made her directorial debut in 2021 with the acclaimed period drama “Passing.”
Ruth Negga (1982) The Ethiopian-born Irish actress was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and won an Independent Spirit Award for her role in “Loving,” and received universal praise — and a BAFTA nomination — for her performance opposite Tessa Thompson in 2021’s “Passing.”
Keri Russell (1976) The former “Felicity” star made a very convincing spy on “The Americans,” which earned her three Emmy nominations. She also costarred in the films “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. She plays the title character in the Netflix series “The Diplomat,” which returns for its second season later this year.
Jenny Slate (1982) The actress co-created, wrote and produced the children’s short film and book series “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” which became an A24 feature film. She also charmed us in “Gifted” with Chris Evans and “I Want You Back,” and won numerous critics awards for her lead role in 2014’s “Obvious Child.”
Natasha Lyonne (1979) The “American Pie” star scored a hit with the Netflix series “Russian Doll,” which she co-created with Amy Poehler and is Emmy nominated for her lead role in the Peacock detective series “Poker Face.”
Maggie Gyllenhaal (1977) After receiving a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for the 2009 film “Crazy Heart, in 2021 she made her directorial film debut with “The Lost Daughter,” which earned Oscar nominations for her screenplay, as well as acting nods for stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley.
Rosario Dawson (1979) The actress who made her acting debut in the 1995 indie drama “Kids” has gone on to star in “Sin City” and five Marvel/Netflix series including “Daredevil.” She also stars as Ahsoka Tano in the live-action Disney+ series, “Ahsoka.”
Natsha Rothwell (1980) The actress, who plays Kelli on HBO’s “Insecure” was also a supervising producer on the series. Her other TV shows include “The White Lotus” and “Archer.”
America Ferrera (1984) The “Ugly Betty” star received her first Oscar nomination for her impassioned monologue about the pressures of being a woman in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” She is also known for voicing Astrid in the “How to Train Your Dragon” films and appears in the upcoming Disney movie “Elio” and Paul Greengrass’ drama “The Lost Bus,” which is based on the true story of a teacher and her students who survived the deadly 2018 Camp Fire in California.
