Best Actresses Over 60

by Helen Earnshaw | 4 December 2012

There has long since been a suggestion that one you are past a certain age in Hollywood then the great roles start to dry up.

But there are some fantastic actresses of a certain age that are having some fantastic success in later years from Oscar wins to blockbuster hits.

We take a look at some of the best actresses over sixty and the success that they have been enjoying in recent years.

- Charlotte Rampling (66)

Charlotte Rampling is back on the big screen this week as she leads the cast in I, Anna.

The movie marks the big screen directorial debut of her son Barnaby Southcombe and is based on the novel of the same name by Elsa Lewin.

In the last few years Rampling has been part of some critically acclaimed movies such as The Duchess, Never Let Me Go and Melancholia.

For Melancholia she picked up a Bodil Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as an AACTA nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role of The Eye of the Storm.

And there are plenty of projects on the horizon for Rampling as she has completed work on The Seam Night Train To Lisbon and Nymphomaniac and is currently filming Spiritismes

- Judi Dench (77)

It has been a fantastic year for Judi Dench as she has gone from biopic movie to comedy to big budget blockbuster - delivering great performances at every turn.

She kicked off the year playing Annie Hoover in Clint Eastwood's bio-pic J Edgar alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

She turned to a more comedic role with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - a movie that enjoyed critical acclaim and box office success around the world.

And as if that was not enough she reprised the role of M in Skyfall - her third movie with Daniel Craig playing 007.

It was a much bigger role for Dench this time around and the movie is the biggest grossing Bond movie so far and could well find itself in Oscar contention.

As for Dench she is currently filming Philomena - in which she will play the lead role of Philomena Lee.

- Maggie Smith (77)

Maggie Smith has mixed her film work with TV roles in the last few years - and enjoyed major success in doing so.

She has picked up a whole host of awards and nominations both sides of the pond for her role as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the much loved Downton Abbey.

She has also lent her voice to animation projects such as Gnomeo & Juliet and starred in blockbusters such as Harry Potter - where she took on the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall.

2012 has been another good year for her as Downton Abbey returned to the small screen but she also showed that she has lost none of her comic greatness when she joined the all star cast of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Her humour and great one-liners really stole the show and the movie really showed that there is an audience that want to see our older actors on the big screen.

January will see her return in Quartet, Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut, and it is a movie that is not to be missed.

- Helen Mirren (67)

Helen Mirren has always been diverse in her role choices and that really has continued as she has got older - and it is great to see some of these roles being offered to her.

She has played dramatic roles such as The Queen, for which she won an Oscar, The Last Station and Brighton Rock but she has tackled comedy and action.

She really did kick some as in RED with Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman and she is set to reprise the role of Victoria next year.

And she also shown her comic side with Arthur and lent her voice to animation film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.

Mirren will also be playing Alma Reville in the new year when Hitchcock hits the big screen.