Over the recent years in the film industry, we have seen multiple actors break through and become icons. A few people that have become household names include Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, and more. However, an icon from the past decades was dealt different cards. Demi Moore, actress and director, has always been one of the most popular names in the industry. But, it is only now that she is recognized for her passion and dedication as an actress. Why is that?
As some may just be learning about Moore recently for her work in The Substance, they are meeting the woman that took years to cultivate. Since she was only a child, Moore was put through distressing situations, whether that be her mother attempting suicide in front of her or her being sexually abused. However, something incredibly striking about young Moore was the strength and courage she had to start a new life for herself.
Moore began her journey through her adulthood when she was supposed to be choosing her prom dress with her best friends. In her teenage years, she dropped out of high school. When discussing her traumatic past to ABC, Moore describes walking into the film industry with a mindset of “I don’t have anything to lose.”
“I was just figuring it out like by the seat of my pants,” comments Moore during the ABC interview. “The school of ‘fake it till you make it.’”
After getting her big break at 19 in General Hospital, Moore began to indulge in habits that once took over her childhood. In her book, Inside Out, she begins to explain the beginning of her addiction with alcohol and cocaine. She describes it as not being able to have “…an off switch. I don’t have a thing that says ‘This is enough.’”
As the years pass and the times change, so does Hollywood. No matter the struggles Moore was enduring, she made it a point that she would make it as an actress. And that she did. Through iconic movies like Ghost and G.I. Jane, Moore became the highest paid actress in Hollywood with a salary of 12.5 million dollars.
Even with the success of her past, Moore was never deemed as valuable as she truly was. Moore was sexualized and overlooked for all her years she diligently worked. Specifically for her role in Striptease where she played a stripper, she was shamed as a woman for that choice although it remains one of her most popular roles for her work.
Once she entered her 40’s, Moore slipped back into the dark world she was consumed in 10 years prior. She entered her dark world with her battle against addiction. Instead of attempting to uplift and support Moore through such a difficult time, society turned their back on her. What they didn’t know was that she was going to come back and prove the ones who deemed her only a “porn star actress” extremely wrong.
In 2024, Moore came back to act in The Substance, which focuses on a woman’s internalized violence from female beauty standards and ageism. This movie was extremely dear to not only Moore’s hearts, but so many around the world.
Moore’s character, Elisabeth Sparkle, deals with the horrible standards that are put against older women in the entertainment industry. Throughout the movie, she uses a substance to receive an enhanced version of herself to maintain her title. However, this later backfires.
As award season progresses, Moore has been nominated for various awards for her striking performance. However, the night of the Golden Globes is where history would be reversed. A night where Moore would finally be able to be on the TV’s across the nation and say, “I have proved you all wrong.”
At 62 years old, Demi Moore won her first-ever acting award for “Female Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.” The Golden Globe being held in her hand represented the woman and actress in her that she worked for decades to receive.
Here at Charter, opinions regarding this long anticipated award strike a feeling of confusion, yet excitement.
Junior Xavier Reid-Morgan explains, “I think how far Demi Moore has come in the last 30 years in the industry is really insane because for somebody who’s a veteran in Hollywood. Her just now getting her first award at the Golden Globes is really shocking to me because that’s like Meryl Streep not winning any award until she’s like 80 years old.”
For Moore, she has opened doors for women around the world to remind them that it is never too late. You will always have the chance to turn your life around and get what is yours. Demi Moore will continue to not only stay one of the most influential women in the film industry, but a fighter.
