At what age does a woman in Hollywood lose the designation “starlet?”
Mother Jones is one of those achingly progressive magazines that people only read so they can say “I was reading Mother Jones the other day….” (1. Guilty as charged, 2. see: Portlandia). They ran an interview earlier this week with actress Rosario Dawson in which they printed this sentence, “the sexy starlet hasn’t forgotten her hardscrabble roots.”
Urban Dictionary suggests that “starlet” describes a young, aspiring female actress who is generating a lot of buzz”. It seems quite a stretch for Dawson, who is 32 and has been making movies since 1995. Maybe during her Josie and the Pussycats role she could still have been called a starlet, but now? Seems a stretch.
I did a quick search, just to see who else gets the “starlet” label. Mostly, it’s the Selena Gomez types, Disney princesses gone awry. But then, there was the story at right:
That would be Drew Barrymore (age 36), who’s been acting since age 4 and also directs and produces her own films. Oh, and Queen Latifah who is 41 and has a Golden Globe and two SAGs to her name.
I’m not suggesting these women aren’t sexy, au contraire. Only that if I were either of them, or Rosario Dawson, a diminutive, cutesy title like “starlet” would feel a tad belittling. Twenty years in the industry would seem enough to lose the “let.”
Related Post: In defense of some other ladies too mature to warrant the “starlet” label.
Related Post: It’s no Cover Girl soiree, but I covered the People’s Choice Awards for Smart Girls, Stupid Things.
