Hollywood’s hottest over 50
By Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Thanks to greater knowledge about the detrimental effects of staying in the sun, the positive effects of exercise and moisturizer, and the ever-increasing popularity of Botox, collagen and face lifts, some of our most attractive pop culture icons are staying impossibly beautiful for unprecedented amounts of time.
As Madonna and Michelle Pfeiffer enjoy the last few months before their 50th birthdays (Pfeiffers in April, Madonnas in August), we took a look at other celebrities who are still smoldering at 50. (Markus Schreiber / AP)
Helen Mirren, 62
A longtime fan of the very low-cut top (she bared her bra for the cover of Los Angeles magazine last year), Mirren proved older women can still be sexy last awards season as she picked up statuettes all over town in a myriad of fitted, bust baring gowns. Shes not nipped and tucked and smoothed out. At 62 she doesnt hide her age, she owns it. (Andrew Gombert / EPA)
Kim Cattrall, 51
She was always a hottie, but as Cattrall got older she made a career of showing that its not just the young hot things who want some (and get plenty). Her portrayal of sex-crazed Samantha Jones on Sex and the City showed a grown woman with a libido as big as any mans, and she made sex personal in her 2003 book, Satisfaction: The Ultimate Guide to the Female Orgasm. (Natalia Kolesnikova, AFP / Getty Images)
Denzel Washington, 52
Smooth-skinned, virile, inevitably confident and usually a bit cocky, Denzel Washington may be 52, but his attractiveness is more about his youthful energy than the stately-older-man thing. Any guy would be lucky to look as good as Washington does over 50. (Jesse Grant / Getty Images)
Sigourney Weaver, 58
She may have lost the ripped arms that she sported in the Alien movies, but Weavers features are still sharp and tight, and even pushing 60 she continues to exude a sexy sense of authority. Shes also not afraid to look bad for a part (see photos from 2006sSnow Cake). Risk-taking is hot! (Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images)
Harrison Ford, 65
Hes handsome, hes smirky, hes a little rough and tumble, but thats the point, because first and foremost hes rugged, and thats what makes him sexy. He looks like a man. And while his hair has gotten grayer and his middle has gotten thicker, he still looks like the kind of guy who can take a punch and give a punch. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
Michelle Pfeiffer, 49
Shes not 50 yet, but were including her anyway because were certain that by 50 shell still be the hottest of this bunch. Pfeiffer is blessed with a slim physique, perfect facial bone structure, seductive cat eyes and old-school movie star elegance. Her skin is not flawless, shes not hiding her age, shes bonier than she used to be, but when she walks a carpet, shes usually the most beautiful woman on it. (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)
Mikhail Baryshnikov, 59
He was one of the worlds greatest dancers ever, which means hes graceful, artistic, sensitive, incredibly strong and, at some point, had a body to die for, which one imagines has not gone to pot, even as he nears 60. Sexy in that arty Eastern European way. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Sophia Loren, 73
This sultry Italian beauty has enough sex appeal to last well into her 90s. As shes moved into her 70s, the perpetually tan actress has become one of those voluptuous elderly women who tie scarves around their necks, wear enormous tinted glasses and are still showing off their ample cleavage. (Shizuo Kambayashi / AP)
Emmylou Harris, 60
Anyone who has seen Harris play live in the past few years will tell you that the country singer is still as gorgeous as ever. The silver hair, which she has gracefully (and daringly) decided to keep, picks up the lights of whatever stage shes playing on, and her delicate features and large eyes continue to make it difficult for her audience to look at anything else. (Stephen Chernin / AP)
