Cate Blanchett lifts lid on Hollywood's ageism and sexism problem

Cate Blanchett. Pic/AFP

Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett, who has been in the industry for almost three decades, has talked about "ageism and sexism" that comes with Hollywood.
She also went on to explain how the industry has evolved for women of a certain age since she began acting. "The shelf life of actresses when I first came on the scene was about five years. I think that 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," said Blanchett on the current state of women in Hollywood.

Since her Oscar-nominated breakout performance as Queen Elizabeth I in 1998's Elizabeth, Blanchett has surpassed 100 on-screen credits, in addition to producing several projects, including Carol (2015), Mrs America (2020), Tár (2022), Rumours (2024) and the series Disclaimer (2024).

Blanchett is currently pulling double-duty as star and producer of the Zellner brothers' upcoming alien invasion comedy, Alpha Gang, which also stars Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough and Channing Tatum.

The actor recently shared that Hollywood's award nights should go back to being not televised. During an appearance on Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang's Las Culturistas podcast, the trio discussed the invasive nature of social media and phones.

Blanchett said, "There are so few spaces that you can go now, where you are private. That's what I loved about the late '80s, going to all of the dance parties in Sydney for Mardi Gras. People were just there. They were so present, together, collectively having a great time. It was non-aggressive. No one was being recorded. No one cared what anyone did."

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