From ‘Striptease’ to ‘The Substance’: Demi Moore is finally receiving the acclaim she deserves
Being a woman in Hollywood doesn’t come without its challenges. Not only do men fill most of the industry’s highest-ranking positions, but the experiences of female actors tend to differ drastically in comparison to their male counterparts. From wage disparities and stereotyping to objectification, abuse and harassment, most women have a hard time navigating the film world easily.
For Demi Moore, success came fast during the 1980s, but her career subsequently took a turn as the 21st century rolled around, leading her to find sporadic acclaim as she worked between mainstream movies and indie projects. Yet, with her role in The Substance, one of the most talked-about films released in 2024, Moore revitalised her career in perhaps the most daring way possible. Her role feels like an act of vindication, not just for the years she herself has faced criticism from the press, but for the countless other female actors who have had to experience similar treatment.
When she emerged in the early 1980s, roles in movies like Blame It on Rio, St. Elmo’s Fire, and One Crazy Summer established Moore as one of Hollywood’s freshest new faces. She was often dubbed part of the ‘Brat Pack’, a group of young American actors who reflected a new period for film following the rapid development of mainstream cinema in the previous decade. Moore became well-known, but it was her leading part in 1990’s Ghost alongside Patrick Swayze which established her as an even bigger star in Hollywood.
The movie was a hit, and she thus began appearing in more popular films, like the legal drama A Few Good Men, the erotic Indecent Proposal, the romantic The Scarlet Letter and the beloved coming-of-age tale Now and Then. She was a quintessential Hollywood star, but as a woman in the spotlight, she had to suffer her fair share of criticism. Most prominently, Moore was at the centre of a media circus when people discovered that she was being paid $12.5m for Striptease, making her the highest-paid female actor of all time. There was outrage – even though countless male actors received salaries of the same size, or larger.
On an episode of The Interview podcast, Moore revealed, “I think the interesting piece is that when I became the highest-paid actress – why is it that, at that moment, the choice was to bring me down? I don’t take this personally. I think anyone who had been in the position that was the first to get that kind of equality of pay would probably have taken a hit. But because I did a film that was dealing with the world of stripping and the body, I was extremely shamed.”
Moore was also scrutinised for appearing naked on the covers of several magazines, including the Vanity Fair issue, which saw her cradling her nude pregnant belly.
While Moore continued to land big roles after Striptease, like If These Walls Could Talk, G.I. Jane, and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, none of these movies gave Moore the critical acclaim she deserved, and her star power soon began to fade. She stepped back from acting for a while, often appearing in smaller movies compared to her early days of blockbusters and acclaimed films. A large part of this was so that she could spend enough time with her children, but it’s undeniable that as a woman who was no longer in her 20s or 30s, finding good parts was a challenge.
Having been cast in many romantic and erotic titles during her prime, Moore was now forced to navigate Hollywood as a middle-aged female actor, which is a murky landscape that tends to see these women as outdated and no longer desirable leading stars. Yet, with The Substance, Moore was able to prove her talent once and for all with a bold performance as the ageing actor Elisabeth Sparkle, whose life descends into madness after she begins taking a mysterious drug that will allow a younger version of herself to emerge. Acting as a fierce commentary on beauty standards, patriarchy, and female ageing, especially in Hollywood, the film was the perfect vehicle for Moore to use for a ‘comeback’ performance.
Not only did she bare all, Moore gave a performance that was vulnerable, allowing her to stand face-to-face with themes she is all too familiar with. When we see a male producer discussing Elisabeth being too old for her job and demanding someone younger, it’s likely that Moore has witnessed this kind of rhetoric in real life, too. The movie goes to extremes to show how Hollywood demands so much of female stars, tearing them apart and questioning their worth as soon as they reach middle age and beyond, and Elisabeth couldn’t be more perfectly cast.
Moore won her first-ever award for the role at the Golden Globes, and she is now nominated for an Academy Award. She might have been in the business for years, but she’s proving that it’s never too late to try out roles that she might not have taken on before, truly allowing herself to demonstrate the breadth of her talents.
