BETWEEN US
Robert Love EDITOR IN CHIEF
In Praise of Strong Women
Here’s to Michelle Yeoh, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts—and to all older women who keep going, no matter what
I KNOW SOMETHING about strong women. My wife, Nichol, had a brilliant 24-year career at the New York City Ballet. Many nights I watched from the seats as she rocked the house, bringing 2,500 people to their feet in a shouted chorus of Brava! But I was also granted morning-after access to the crippling pain following each performance, and the grit it took for her to get back to the barre. I witnessed the discipline and sacrifice behind all that grace and elegance onstage.
Nichol’s mom, Gloria, was also a woman of uncommon strength. She prevailed through terrible illness in the family, bouts of unemployment, years of caregiving for her husband, Nichol’s father, after he was grievously injured in a car crash after working his night shift at the post office. And Gloria carried on for more than 20 years after her husband’s untimely death. When faced with adversity, this strong woman aways said, the trick is to “mentally adjust.”
This is a philosophy I admire. As a student of the Stoic philosophers of Greece and Rome, I learned that we humans cannot control what happens to us, only our responses to what happens. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the most famous Stoic, put it this way: “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” Or as my mother-in-law said many times, “You’ve got to mentally adjust.”
In this issue, we are writing about three women of strength and grace who have mentally adjusted to the challenges and obstacles that Hollywood throws at older actresses—and they have prevailed. Michelle Yeoh, our cover subject, has had an amazing film career that blossomed as she has matured—from a fierce martial arts fighter going toe-to-toe with Jackie Chan into an Oscar-winning leading lady. Glenn Close, our career achievement winner in Movies for Grownups this year, has one of the longest and most varied careers in film. “Fierce” is a word I would associate with Glenn and her dedication. Finally, Naomi Watts, who turned in a tour de force performance in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans as Babe Paley, Truman Capote’s favorite Swan, is now an author as well as a Hollywood survivor. She has just written a new book on menopause: Dare I Say It. I say brava to all three.
And brava, as well, to all the strong women over 50 reading this, the ones who—over and over—mentally adjust to whatever life throws their way. You show the rest of us every day what it means to live with both grit and grace.
