Ageism works in both directions. As a teenager in the public eye, people would talk condescendingly to me. When you get older there's this feeling that you have to start carving up your face and body. Right now I'm in the middle ground - I think women in their thirties are taken seriously.
As I plotted 'Blueprints,' I realized that ageism against women is most obvious in the field of entertainment - and that I needed a TV show in my book.
The beautiful thing is that ageism just doesn't exist on 'EastEnders.' The show saved me.
For artists of my caliber, we're not played on the radio, so we don't really get a chance to get involved in that debate at all. We don't get a chance, because this weird kind of ageism exists in pop music. If you're past a certain age, you're not relevant. That's the kind of cliched term.
This phenomenon with Betty White is so wonderfully amazing. In a world where ageism runs rampant, out of left field, all of a sudden, the country decides to celebrate Betty White, and she becomes cool at 90. That's remarkable.
Ageism is as odious as racism and sexism.
There's ageism in everything. I don't give a hoot. It isn't what other people think; it's what you think. But it's hard to come to terms with getting older. I admire people like Vivienne Westwood.
I do feel that the trend is away from ageism and toward a recognition that older people have a unique voice.
It is important for the film industry to rise above ageism.
I think as more women see that there are women out there building vibrant and creative and powerful lives and careers in their 40s, 50s, etc., then these older views of ageism will fall away.
