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She's spent £226k on plastic surgery but 'I still can't get a Hollywood part', says Demi
Updated 20:23pm on 13 Sep 2007She once spent more than £220,000 on a head-to-toe surgical makeover to make herself look younger.
But four years later - and having failed to secure the string of big-money parts she had presumably hoped to win - Demi Moore has decided to speak out against ageism in Hollywood.
The 44-year-old told a magazine: "It's been a challenging few years, being the age I am. Almost to the point where I felt like, well, they don't know what to do with me. I am not 20. Not 30.
"There aren't that many good roles for women over 40. A lot of them don't have much substance, other than being someone's mother or wife."
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Miss Moore's comments are particularly unexpected given her own somewhat bullish attitude to holding back the years.
After a string of flops in the 1990s, she took a career break, during which time she met her current husband, 29-year-old Ashton Kutcher.
Miss Moore then returned to the screen in 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, emerging from the sea in a skimpy bikini which showed off the results of a cosmetic surgery spending spree.
As well as breast implants, collagen injections and liposuction on her hips, thighs and stomach, she had a £5,000 procedure to lift the sagging skin on her knees.
She also employed an army of advisers - including a nutritionist, personal trainer, yoga teacher and kick-boxing coach.
But since then she has appeared in just two films, Bobby and Half Light, with two more scheduled for release this autumn.
In the same time, her ex-husband and the father of her three children, 52-year-old Bruce Willis, has appeared in 13 films, including the action thriller Live Free Or Die Hard.
Miss Moore, who once commanded an estimated $12million a film, told Red magazine she wanted to overturn the belief that juicy roles should not be given to older actresses.
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Pre and post surgery: Demi looks as young as ever after plastic surgery, but has found it hard to get the acting roles
"If we are told we are not valuable once we hit 30, it is a problem," she said. "We all have more to give.
"We can't just wait for something to happen. We have to say, 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more'."
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Demi with her 29-year-old husband, Ashton Kutcher
Miss Moore is latest in a string of older actress to complain of ageism in Hollywood.
Sharon Stone, 49, once said: "When I went to the Oscars, it was like, 'Oh, there's been an archeological dig and look what we've found, a 40-year-old'."
British actress Charlotte Rampling also condemned the treatment of actresses of a certain age.
The 61-year- old said: "The system in Europe is nothing like in Hollywood. It is not so barbaric in terms of the ageing process."
Reader views (18)
Its Hollywood. What do you expect. You took the money and ran - good for you. But don't complain about it. Welcome to tinsel town.
- Jason, Europe, 14/09/2007 14:38
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I'm sure there is ageism in Hollywood but making yourself look 20 at the age of 40 is not the way to combat it. Demi can't get roles as a 40 year old because she doesn't look like one - and she can't get roles as a 20 year old because everyone knows she isn't! Jodie Foster has a great career being 40, looking 40 and playing 40 year olds. She's not still wearing hot pants and trying to be a teenager, or playing 25 year old rookies.
- Jb, London, 14/09/2007 13:43
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It's not ageing only, there are a few other things for example Lindy Lohan is having some trouble in finding a role these day as well!
- Tino Costa, Camberwell London, 14/09/2007 04:12
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Mary is right on the mark. If Demi Moore had any particular talent except looking good maybe she could get more jobs. But, she was never noted for her craft as an actress, merely for her ability to appear young and dewy in carefully selected parts. Now, she has had herself carved into a simulacrum of her younger years, but nobody is interested because there are fresher-faced actresses out there just as pretty who CAN act. Also, other performers of "a certain age" still are with us and working because of their skills: I need only cite Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Jane Alexander.
- Perry Michael, Baltimore, USA, 14/09/2007 02:18
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Plastic surgery doesn't get you acting jobs, good acting does.
- Donna, Castro Valley, California, 14/09/2007 02:06
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She's beautiful but she can't really act and that's why she doesn't get the roles.
- Rd, Glamorgan, UK, 13/09/2007 22:24
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Handsome is as handsome does.
- Kathleen, Connecticut, USA, 13/09/2007 18:40
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I still think she is cool and like they say the older the wine the better it is, I look at my fiancee and she still looks the same as the day I first met and fell in love. The sad thing is that after all the money wasted she is now speaking out against ageism, a publiicty stunt which will be old news as from tomorrow.
Her looks some people will never have and can only dream of the fortune that she has, so girl get over it and move on.
- Ian Goodman, Chelmsford, UK, 13/09/2007 18:03
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Less surgery and more acting lessons. Today's so called 'actors' seem less concerned with acting on stage, TV and in film and more so about the paycheck, shopping and stylist. Ageing hasn't stopped Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Brenda Blythen, they work all the time.
- Mary, Dallas, TX, 13/09/2007 17:03
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She's a terrible actress, her inability to get parts has nothing to do with her age. Just watch Bobby, anyone could play a raging drunk, she manages to overact the part and ruins what could have been a solid break for her.
- Kenna, Waco,Texas USA, 13/09/2007 13:10
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She's not a good enough actress to be given 'mature' roles. Besides, what would she know about 'substance' after appearing in Charlie's Angels, Striptease etc... absolute drivel.
- Jamest, London, 13/09/2007 13:07
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Demi does look amazing but if she didn't spend £220K on her body she could possibly have to take a role as a mother. What's wrong with that anyway, she's a mum right? She's afraid of getting old, I'd be more afraid of her acting - very bad and I think she should quit while she's ahead.
- Moo, London, UK, 13/09/2007 12:40
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Agree with the others - she clearly used to get roles based on her looks and youth rather than acting ability and now she's older is crabbing about ageism. She should have spent all the money on acting lessons!
Judi Dench seems to get pretty meaty roles, Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton. Oddly they are brilliant actresses and haven't spent a quarter of a million pounds on facelifts!
- Henrietta, London, 13/09/2007 12:09
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Demi looks amazing, and is married to a much younger, good looking man - I envy her. Sienna Miller can't act - is not all that and she gets films. I do believe it is to do with ageism. Why, at the age of 40, should you have to do roles that consist of being a mother or a wife? These days there are a lot of single, attractive, successful 40-yr-old women who are not married and do not have children.
- Jk, Kent, 13/09/2007 11:56
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She is as fit as a butcher's dog but perhaps she's too demanding - or can't act.
- Squiz, Islington, 13/09/2007 11:16
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Maybe she's not getting work because she's still chasing the sex symbol roles at 44? Lord knows the woman can't act. And I don't hear the likes of Julianne Moore or Helen Mirren complaining.
- Suki, Poole, Dorset, 13/09/2007 09:27
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Maybe Demi should consider the fact that it is not ageism, maybe she is not a very good actress!
- Joanna Carling, London, England, 13/09/2007 09:17
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Maybe people don't think she's a good enough actress. Nicole Kidman is 40 and she's still going strong.
- Suzanne, Surrey, 13/09/2007 08:19
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