And the Oscar goes to…
I couldn’t let the week go by without acknowledging Julianne Moore for all her wins, culminating this week in the 87th Annual Academy Awards ceremony where Julianne won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Still Alice.
Still Alice
A movie that tackles the devastating consequences of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. In the movie Julianne Moore plays Alice a successful professor and researcher who at the age of 52 develops the frightening symptoms of dementia. Adapted by the book of the same name by Harvard-trained neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova.
Still Alice is an important movie for our time, but of course, as diseases go, dementia is not a very sexy one and in fact, for many, one that strikes fear more than any other and with good reason. So frightening we want to turn away from its reality and believe this is just part of ‘old age’.
Dementia is set to hit epidemic proportions, with the cause of largely unknown.
Many theories abound, but very few have been completely substantiated with even less of a promise of a cure. This film that needs to be seen by many, it is an illness that everyone one of us needs to become m
ore aware of and the devastating nature not just for the sufferer but all involved in their life.
A movie I may never see.
I have stared down this disease with nerves of steel and courage I didn’t know I had.
I have much to say about the subject as it affected my own family so very personally. My mother died from the consequences of dementia at the age of 77. Her story, like many needs to be heard because until it is experienced first hand most are unaware of how this disease takes hold. For some, this is a disease of old age, but for many, it is not. It is for this reason that I am unable to watch Still Alice. But my family’s story, like many others, is an important one and it needs to be told. I will share it someday.
But not today.
Today it’s all about the talented Julianne Moore. The last time Julianne was nominated for an Oscar was back in 2002 for no less than two roles that year. Best supporting actress in The Hours and Best Actress in Far from Heaven.
Julianne is one of those wonderful actresses who truly inhabits the role. 76 movie credits to her name, Julianne is not one to shy away from challenging roles and has tackled a diverse range of characters, like the troubled 70’s porn star, Amber Waves in Boogie Nights, to the stifled and suppressed 50’s housewife, Cathy in Far from heaven, or the avant-garde and slightly surreal artist, Maude Lebowski in The Big Lebowski to the glamorous and wealthy party girl, Charley in A Single Man.
Award Season: The frocks.
How wonderful to have the opportunity to wear such gorgeous gowns. My personal favourite look for Julianne was the white gown worn to the Oscars and designed specifically for her by Channel.
From left to right, stunning in silver at The Golden Globes, glorious in red at The Baftas, classic beauty at The Oscars and striking in emerald at The Screen Actors Guild awards.
Yep, Julianne took out all the major awards in 2015 for the category of best actress for Still Alice.
Not since 1953 has a woman in her fifties won an Oscar!
With her Oscar win for Still Alice (2014), she was the first actress in 62 years to win the ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’, while being in her fifties. The last time was Shirley Booth for her role in the film noir classic, Come back, Little Sheba.
Julianne Moore turns 55 this year and from what we can see on the screen looks amazing, but with the finest of features and skin like alabaster, Julianne appears to have taken all the advice offered to redheads and stayed well away from the sun. Her diligence has paid off, as her skin looks beautiful.
Julianne’s skin revealed.
Julianne and I share a few commonalities. Born in 1960 and both of us given the name Julie Anne at birth. Unlike me, she later changed it to Julianne. Julianne turns 55 in December and credits her good skin to wearing sun protection since the age of 23 which is around the age I became an evangelist for wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day. So we have three things in common. But that’s where it kind of stops.
Gorgeous skin like Julianne’s starts with genetics but to keep it that way, good skincare would be so important and for Julianne, sun protection would extend to not just a well-formulated SPF30+ but very little direct exposure to the sun at all.
As one of the faces of L’oreal since 2013, Julianne is said to wear L’oreals Age Perfect Cell Renaissance range, in particular the facial oil. If you’ve got fine, translucent skin like Julianne’s then a facial oil would be an absolute must in your beauty regimen to combat any dryness in the skin and at the same time alleviating any possible dehydration. If you want to know more about my view on the importance of facial oils, I’ve written about it here in much more detail.
And now you?
I think, for now, I’m going to just read the book, maybe I’ll get to the movie sometime in the future, in the meantime what did YOU think? Have you seen the movie? I’d really love you to share your thoughts, you can shoot me an email here.
See you next time,
