Research indicates that female movie stars' earnings typically peak at age 34 and decline rapidly thereafter, whereas male stars' earning power often continues to grow into their early 50s.

Even when mature women are cast, their portrayals frequently adhere to specific, often limiting, tropes:

Actresses often disappear from screens between ages 35 and 40, only to "reappear" around age 50 in supporting roles as mothers or grandmothers.