The worst kept secret in
American entertainment - be it film, stage or
television : be a woman, be an actor and turn
40 years old, and your career is effectively over. You're done.
The
American actress Hilary Swank a few years back played the lead in a film called 'Amelia', a biopic about Amelia Earhart. Earhart, for those of you who
may not recall, was a famous early 20th century
American female aviator who, at the age of 40, mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again. Ever. Which, when you think about it, is right up Hollywood's alley because if you're an actress and you're in Tinseltown and you turn 40, you disappear, too. Never seen again. Never. Ever. The mysteriously vanishing 40-year old actress.