Closeup of message stones on white background.

In the not so recent past female actors were considered over the hill as soon as their pure eggshell-smooth complexions showed the teensiest sign of age. Only the men could carry on with their careers because their wrinkles and cragginess made them look more mature and interesting.

I’m happy to say this is not the case anymore. In the last year I’ve seen four wonderful films that have starred aging actors — both men and women. I’ll briefly mention each, but not give away any plot spoilers in case you haven’t seen them yet.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to outsource their retirement to less expensive and exotic India. What they discover in this film is that life and love can begin again even in their old age. Notable actors in this film are Maggie Smith age 78 (also of Downton Abbey fame), Judy Dench age 78, and Tom Wilkinson age 65.

In Amour, the bond of a married couple in their eighties — both retired music teachers — is severely tested. Simply put the film is about life, death, and love. It is superbly acted by Jean-Louis Trintignant age 82 — who starred in the 1966 film A Man and A Woman and Emmanuelle Riva age 86 — the oldest ever to have Academy Award nomination for best actress. In my mind she deserved it.

Quartet takes place at a home for retired musicians, also in England, and stars Maggie Smith — she is ubiquitous, Michael Gambon age 72 and Billy Connolly age 70. That this film showcases real-life aging musicians and opera stars is terrific.

The Company You Keep, just recently released, has a parade of aging actors in starring and supporting roles. The film is centered on the former Weather Underground of the 1960s so we revisit that interesting story as well. Stars include Robert Redford age 76 (he also directs), Julie Christie age 71 and gorgeous, Susan Sarandon age 66 just gorgeous, Nick Nolte age 72, Richard Jenkins age 65, and Sam Elliott age 68 also still gorgeous.

In fact, older actors have been steeling the spotlight for the last couple of years. The San Francisco Chronicle said in a September 4, 2010 article: “Someone needs to file an age discrimination lawsuit in Hollywood — to force the studios to hire a few more young actors.”

So where am I going with this? I’m sure you can guess. We can all continue on in our careers or even change our careers as we age.

I fell in love with poetry and creative writing in grade school. I studied journalism in high school and college and wrote for the high school newspaper, but I only began to fulfill my dream to be a professional creative writer and journalist until recently.

A career in journalism for a woman in the early 1960s was almost unheard of. Instead I worked most of my professional life as a technical writer and editor and proposal manager, I sold real estate for ten years while my boys were growing up, I was the first development director at a local cancer support community, and before I came out of retirement and returned to work in aerospace for the last time between 2003 and 2010, I wrote grant proposals and managed capital campaigns for non profits. Instead of practicing creative writing during those years, I took creative detours into drawing and painting, sewing, quilting, and needlepoint.

Thankfully I finally got my writing juices flowing again when I retired for the last time, just before my seventieth birthday. It could be called synchronistic that a small press decided to publish my memoir two months later.

Now at age 72 I have a whole new writing career as a web journalist, a poet, and author. I write regularly for several websites and my own blog, and I’m writing my first novel. I feel so fortunate to have these opportunities at this stage in my life. I found out that working in a field I love, keeps me energized and healthy. It really is never too late.

Madeline is the author of Leaving the Hall Light On: A Mother’s Memoir of Living with Her Son’s Bipolar Disorder and Surviving His Suicide (Dream of Things) and Blue-Collar Women: Trailblazing Women Take on Men-Only Jobs (New Horizon Press). She co-edits The Great American Poetry Show anthology series and wrote the poetry for The Emerging Goddessphotography book. See more at http://www.MadelineSharples.com