The 2015 Emmys – All About Women

It was all about women – and mostly midlife women – at the Emmys.

From the nominees to the winners, midlife women took the lead, and they were women, to be sure, not girls. There was Frances McDormand (Actress, TV Movie or Miniseries – Olive Kitteridge), Allison Janney (Supporting Actress, Comedy – Mom), Jane Anderson (writer, Olive Kitteridge) and Jill Soloway (Director, Transparent). And that’s just the beginning. Julia Louis-Dreyfus won for Best Actress in a comedy – an unprecedented 6^th Emmy Award for acting – for Veep.

Most important of all, Viola Davis was the first African American woman to win for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

“You brought us over the line,” she said, quoting Harriet Tubman. And Regina King, winner for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries, crossed the line with her. In the audience Kerry Washington and Taraji P. Henson cheered her win in tears.

Also:

• Of all the Best Actress in a Comedy nominees, only one was under forty.
• Olive Kitteridge, which won 6 awards, is the story of an elderly woman looking back on her life.
• Jeffrey Tambor, Best Actor in a Comedy winner (Transparent), portrays a transsexual 60-something woman.

Women took center stage at the mostly satisfying awards show. Though the entertainment was mediocre at best and the host Andy Samberg was way out of his league, watching Jon Hamm finally receive an Emmy for his masterful performance as the iconic Don Draper in Mad Men was worth the 3 hour wait. Peter Dinklage won a second Emmy for his role on Game of Thrones, and the show also won for Best Writing and Best Drama Series. Winter is coming, and I can’t wait!

Speaking of midlife, AARP was heavily advertising during the show. As was Lane Bryant, campaigning for #plusisequal. This show was not about the young, beautiful and perfect – it was about the middle-aged, quirky, odd and most of all smart women we all know those of us at midlife are. We have the stories to tell, the lives to share.

Those midlife women looked great , too. Sarah Paulson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Queen Latifah, Edie Falco – these women and so many other 40+ women at the Emmys knocked it out of the park with their fashion, their poise, and their grace.

Midlife women of all colors swept the Emmys. It was a good night.