Cate Blanchett Says Women Had a 5-Year “Shelf Life” When She Began Hollywood Career

Cate Blanchett is opening up about how ageism and sexism have changed in Hollywood since she began her acting career.

While recently chatting with Business Insider, the two-time Oscar-winning actress said, “The shelf life of actresses when I first came on the scene was about five years.”

Blanchett, 55, made her onscreen debut in the ’90s before building an extensive acting resume that includes dozens of projects, as well as two Oscar wins for best supporting actress for The Aviator and best leading actress for Blue Jasmine.

Now, the Black Bag star thinks “female producers have more agency. There’s more females in the writing room, and the more diverse the industry is at base level, when things are developed, the more exciting it is for audiences.”

While Blanchett also noted that “there’s ageism and sexism in every industry,” she explained that it’s different in Hollywood because “we’re a very public-facing industry.”

The actress joins a long list of women who have been outspoken about ageism and sexism in Hollywood over the years, including Glenn Close, Niecy Nash, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kirsten Dunst, to name a few.

Dunst, who starred in Alex Garland’s Civil War, admitted last year that she took a two-year break from acting after only being offered “the sad mom” roles. She added at the time, “There’s definitely less good roles for women my age.”

Earlier this month, Blanchett also made headlines when she suggested on the Las Culturistas With Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang podcast that awards shows such as the Oscars should “go back to the day when it wasn’t televised.”

“Bring that back and just have a great party where people can just let go,” she added. “I mean the industry is so scattered and at such a point…which I think potentially could be exciting or could really be depressing, but it’s at a pivot point, and so we need to gather together and celebrate what it is that we do, without it having to have any public-facing.”