8 Best-Dressed Stars Over 50 at the 2024 Oscars

Jamie Lee Curtis, Rita Moreno and Regina King lit up the night at the 96th Academy Awards

Alison Maxwell and Nancy Kerr,

AARP

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Published March 10, 2024

a collage of stars and their fashion at the academy awards

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Sarah Morris/WireImage/Getty Images; John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images (2) Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images (2))

The red carpet is back and so are stars! Hollywood’s elite came to see and be seen Sunday at film’s biggest party of the year, the 96th Academy Awards. And it is no surprise that many of the boldest and brightest looks were served up by — you guessed it! — celebrities over 50.

AARP’s Alison Maxwell and Nancy Kerr showcase the night’s must-see ensembles:

Variety via Getty Images

Rita Moreno, 92

“This is me doing my best Chita Rivera tribute,” the acting legend told ABC News. (Rivera died in January at age 91.) Moreno, who won a best supporting actress Oscar in 1962 for West Side Story, recalled her big night: “I didn’t think I was going to win. I was sure Judy Garland was going to win for Judgment at Nuremberg, where she acted rather than sang,” she said. “And [when she won] I remember saying 'don’t run to the stage' to myself, it’s not dignified, and I was able to do that. But then I didn’t know what to say, I was not prepared, so I did one of the world’s shortest acceptance speeches ever!”

WWD via Getty Images

Jamie Lee Curtis, 65

They say the devil’s in the details, and sometimes that’s a good thing! Take Curtis’ stunning gold cuff with a diamond-encrusted replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace designed by Cathy Waterman. “What an inspiration she’s been for Cathy and it’s my great honor to wear her to the Oscars on my wrist,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. Curtis, in Dolce & Gabbana, won her first Oscar last year for her supporting work in Everything Everywhere All at Once and told AARP she’s embracing “the beautiful gift of aging.” “The things that are unimportant slip away. … Carpe diem — seize the day. And I am seizing the day daily, because I have no f------ time to waste.”

Getty Images

Jodie Foster, 61

Friends forever — that’s how Foster, a supporting actress nominee for Nyad, described her relationship with costar Annette Bening. In fact, she told ABC on the red carpet that their friendship is the “best thing” that came out of the film. Foster, who also won AARP’s Movies for Grownups award for best supporting actress, stunned in a bespoke Loewe gown in midnight blue.

Video: Jodie Foster Named MFG’s Best Supporting Actress

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Marlee Matlin, 58

Matlin channeled Oscars past in a lavender sequined Rodarte gown with a deep scoop neck — a hue similar to the lacy purple number she wore in 1987 while nabbing an Oscar for Children of a Lesser God. The CODA actress told E! Entertainment that the Academy has changed significantly since her historic win as the first deaf person to take an Oscar and the youngest best actress recipient. “I think there’s more collaboration, there’s more diversity, there’s just more visibility on the part of the people who have been underrepresented all these years,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful community coming together.”

Variety via Getty Images

Gabrielle Union, 51

Union sparkled in a Carolina Herrera mini dress over a matching column skirt. The Bring It On actress topped the strapless ensemble with a stunning Tiffany & Co. diamond and aquamarine necklace. Union was on the red carpet supporting her husband, NBA star turned executive producer Dwayne Wade, whose documentary The Barber of Little Rock was nominated in the best documentary short category. As an Academy voter, Union said, just seeing the film on the ballot brought her to tears. “It just filled me with so much pride,” she told ABC. “He's got great taste in films and projects … and in life.”

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Michelle Yeoh, 61

Being a grandmother looks good on Yeoh! The 2023 best actress winner for Everything Everywhere All at Once, who became a grandmother for the first time in January, rocked a silver, glittering Balenciaga gown paired with black opera gloves. “I’m completely relaxed. I’m not terrified this time,” she told ABC on the red carpet. As for her win last year: “I don’t remember anything. The only thing I remember is that when they called my name I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.”

John Shearer/WireImage/Getty ImagesWireImage

Jessica Lange, 74

Basic black was anything but basic on Lange. The esteemed actress turned heads in a beaded black gown with a sweetheart neckline, bell sleeves and pooling train styled by Negar Ali-Kline. A double Oscar winner herself — Lange scored gold statuettes for best actress in 1994 for Blue Sky and supporting actress in 1982 for Tootsie — Lange was one of the evening’s award presenters.

John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images

Regina King, 53

King joined fellow supporting actress winners from previous years (King won in 2018 for If Beale Street Could Talk) honoring this year’s supporting actress nominees. In a brilliant one-shoulder orange Atelier Versace gown with Pomellato jewelry, King paid tribute to Danielle Brooks for her role as Sofia in The Color Purple, noting that the actress played the same role on Broadway before her 2023 turn on the silver screen. “You have earned this full circle moment, my friend,” King said.

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Alison Maxwell is an executive editor of features at AARP. Prior to joining the organization, she spent 20 years at USA Today, most recently as managing editor of the Life section.

Nancy Kerr is a senior writer and editor of features content for AARP. Prior to joining the organization, she was the editor of special projects for USA Today; a senior editor for the USA Weekend magazine; an assistant managing editor of digital content at The Washington Post and the director of women’s programming at America Online.