Do you like to watch movies? Do you like to watch movies that star strong and confident older women? I love watching movies that break the standard narrative surrounding women over 60. Movies that give older women the front seat.

It used to be that women over 60 were automatically dismissed from Hollywood and the film industry. Producers and casting directors seemed to think that older women didn’t have any value to bring to a movie and cast younger women for roles that were intended for older women.

I’m sure glad times have changed and women over 60 and 70 all over the world are changing the narrative for themselves and all women. We are now seen and heard more and more as confident women star in movies and TV series.

Here are a few of my favorite movies starring strong, stylish, and confident women over 60.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Starring the fabulous Meryl Streep in one of her most iconic roles, Miranda Priestly – the illustrious and powerful New York City magazine fashion editor. Andy, played by Anne Hathaway, is an aspiring journalist who lands a job as one of Priestly’s assistants. Andy quickly realizes that she is an outsider in this dog-eat-dog fashion world and quickly learns the ropes by changing her style.

Meryl Streep’s role in The Devil Wears Prada earned her a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Hello, My Name Is Doris (2016)

This coming-of-age romantic comedy starring Sally Fields is fresh and a must-watch. Doris is an eccentric woman in her 60s who has lived her entire life with her mother. After the death of her mother, she decides to romantically and awkwardly pursue a young co-worker which lands her in some clumsy situations.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

Academy Award winners Judi Dench and Maggie Smith star in this beautiful comedy drama film about a group of British retirees who move to India to live in a luxury hotel. Turns out the hotel is not what they expected, and their lives are forever changed.

Also, the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) is definitely worth watching as well.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Another great movie with a strong female leading role is Florence Foster Jenkins which is based on a true story and stars Meryl Streep. Set in 1944, Jenkins is ill and wants to pursue her longtime wish of having a singing career. Her singing is, well, not very good, but she manages to get herself on the stage of Carnegie Hall.

The comedy-drama earned a Best Costume Oscar nomination as well as a Best Actress nomination for Meryl Streep’s incredible performance.

Queen Bees (2021)

Starring Loretta Devine and Ellen Burstyn, Queen Bees is like “Mean Girls, but with medical alert bracelets.” The romantic comedy movie is set in a retirement home where comedic rivalry and budding romances take place.

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

The Joy Luck Club is an exquisitely beautiful movie about four women who leave their homeland in search of better lives in America. The movie is about the relationship the Chinese immigrant women have with their American-born children.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Jessica Tandy stars in the critically acclaimed movie Driving Miss Daisy, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. The movie explores the unexpected work/friendship relationship between a Jewish woman in her 70s with an African American man in his 60s.

Juanita (2019)

Alfre Woodard stars in this Netflix movie about a middle-aged woman who leaves her hometown in Ohio to rediscover and reinvent herself. She makes new friends at a native-owned French restaurant and rediscovers her romantic side.

Book Club (2018)

Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candace Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen star in this romantic comedy. The foursome read the book Fifty Shades of Grey as part of their monthly book club and see their lives and personal relationships change.

Watch for the sequel coming out in May 2023: Book Club: The Next Chapter

Calendar Girls (2003)

Calendar Girls is a British comedy starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. The movie is based on a true story where a group of middle-aged women decides to raise money for Leukemia patients by creating a nude calendar.

I’ll See You in My Dreams (2015)

Blythe Danner stars as Carol, a widow who lives alone with her dog. After her dog dies, she decides to start dating – from the young pool guy to the charming wealthy older man with a yacht.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you watched any of these movies? Which one is your favorite? Do you have any other movies with strong leading women to suggest? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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When it comes to age-related issues, telomere length, and senescent cells play a major role. When telomeres become shorter, and senescent cells become more prevalent, the aging process accelerates.

Scientifically speaking, when cells age or become damaged, they die off in a process called apoptosis, which makes room for new and fresh cells. Sometimes, however, cellular damage begins to accumulate and the cells in your body enter a state known as senescence (also known as zombie cells).

Once the cells enter this state, they stop doing the things that most cells do such as cell division and repairing and supporting tissue. In time, these “zombie” cells wander our bodies, causing damage to nearby cells, contributing to things like high blood pressure, diabetes, and dementia, as well as contributing to age-related chronic diseases. 

Let’s have a look at some studies and how the information they reveal can help us fight off our body’s zombie cells.

Mice Study

Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. James Kirkland conducted a research study to understand the effect of senescent cells on physical aging. Scientists transplanted a small number of senescent fat cells into healthy young and middle-aged mice, and regular non-senescent fat cells into the control group, in order to measure the impact on the mice’s strength and endurance and physical health (Nature Medicine, 2018).

The results: 

One month after transplantation, the mice who received the senescent cells had physical impairments such as physical endurance and walking speed. The mice who received larger doses of the senescent cells showed the greatest impairment over time.

In fact, the mice transplanted with senescent cells were five times more likely to die in the following year, than those with healthy cells. Results suggested that the impairment was due to transplanted cells affecting cells that were previously healthy (Nature Medicine, 2018).

Senescent Cells

Senescent cells are like zombies due to the fact that they die but don’t disappear. In other words, these cells stop multiplying but don’t die off when they should. These cells remaining in the body and do nothing more than trigger inflammation and speed up the aging process. Cell senescence occurs naturally and increases as we age, but it can also increase from a variety of lifestyle factors such as:

• A high-starch and sugar diet, 
• Excess stress, 
• Exposure to toxic chemicals.
• And more…

How to Eliminate the Zombie Cells

Boost Your Immune System

A person’s immune system normally eliminates senescent cells. However, as the immune system deteriorates, the ability to do this job declines, leaving the body much more susceptible to damage and inflammation.

Senescent cells themselves also cause a weakened immune system, affect healthy cells, cause tissue damage, and accelerate aging in other organs and systems of the body. It is therefore imperative to maintain a healthy immune system, which can be accomplished by:

• Taking immune-boosting supplements such as vitamin C and quercetin
• Engaging in regular exercise (3x a week) without going overboard
• Eating organic, clean, non-processed foods

Try Periodic Fasting

Another way to combat these zombie cells is to engage in periodic fasting (also known as intermittent fasting) which helps to induce autophagy (the body’s process of removing damaged cells and proteins).

Fasting also deactivates mTOR, a protein required for autophagy, and activates SIRT1, a gene that prevents cells from turning into zombies in the first place.

Be sure to check in with a professional before attempting any caloric restriction. Periodic fasting works by essentially starving the senescent cells and can be done by the following:

• Consume fewer calories during mealtime
• Going one day without food
• Avoiding the urge to snack

An example of this could be eating your first meal at noon and finishing your last meal at 8 pm. 

Exercise

Exercise is one of the most important things a person can do to stay healthy. It helps to prevent heart disease, maintain a healthy weight, and also works to eliminate senescent cells. Research suggests that exercise can also stop the buildup of senescent cells and help the immune system fight molecular damage.

Resistance exercise, for example, causes slight tears in the muscle allowing the immune cells to respond to the site, and attack the zombie cells in the process. Those who exercise were also found to have longer telomeres than those who were inactive. The following are some ways you can fight zombie cells through exercise: 

• Vary your work by doing yoga, muscle training, and aerobic exercise.
• Get a personal training session to help individualize your exercise program.
• Vary the training with the workout session (intense, rest, light, heavy).
• Work out in moderation, and avoid going overboard.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you follow any scientific studies on aging? What news have you found interesting? Did you know about zombie cells and their influence on health and aging?

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