Menopause is not a bad word. In fact, it’s a word we should be screaming from the rooftops. Menopause is a time that we should be celebrating! For International Women’s Day, we are celebrating the women who are changing how we see menopause.
1. Emma Thompson
In 2014 while accepting the best actress award for Saving Mr. Banks, Emma Thompson mentioned menopause.
“It’s such a cold night. You know, it’s the first time I’ve been actively grateful for the menopause.”
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
2. Kim Cattrall
Kim Cattrall has been outspoken about menopause and empowering women that menopause is not ‘shameful’ but a completely natural part of life. “I want to reach out to women to encourage them to educate themselves about this time in their lives.”
“I feel empowered talking about menopause because I’m going through it and have been going through it for six years. I’m very fortunate to have a platform to speak to women about it because of SATC — it was such a dream job. And [Samantha was] also a dream character to play who went through all kinds of changes and challenges related to getting older and being single and being upfront and honest about it.… Millions of women are going through it; it’s part of nature.”
Photo: John Lamparski/WireImage
3. Michelle Obama
In August 2020, Michelle Obama opened up about menopause.
“When you think of all that a woman’s body has to do over the course of her lifetime, going from being prepared to give birth, to actually giving birth, and then having that whole reproductive system shut down in menopause, the changes, the highs and lows and the hormonal shifts, there is power in that.”
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4. Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson has been open about going through early menopause for years.
“Perimenopause and menopause should be treated as the rites of passage that they are,” she continued. “If not celebrated, then at least accepted and acknowledged and honored.”
Photo: Charlotte Hadden
5. Oprah Winfrey
“So many women I’ve talked to see menopause as an ending. But I’ve discovered this is your moment to reinvent yourself after years of focusing on the needs of everyone else. It’s your opportunity to get clear about what matters to you and then to pursue that with all of your energy, time and talent.”
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6. Salma Hayek
“There’s no expiration dates for women. That has to go,” she said. “Because you can kick ass at any age. You can hold your own at any age, you can dream at any age, you can be romantic at age. We have the right to be loved for who we are at the place that we are. We’re not just here to make babies, we’re not just here to baby the man. We’re not just here to service everything and everyone around us and then when the kids go away … it’s almost like expiration date for you as a woman. It’s a misunderstanding that has been going around for centuries.”
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
7. Gwyneth Paltrow
“Menopause gets a really bad rap and needs a bit of rebranding. I remember when my mother went through menopause and it was such a big deal, and I think there was grief around it for her and all these emotions. I don’t think we have in our society a great example of an aspirational menopausal woman.”
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
8. Angelina Jolie
In 2015, Jolie disclosed that she underwent elective surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes because of her high risk of ovarian cancer, causing her to immediately go into early menopause.
“I actually love being in menopause.”
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
9. Cheryl Hines
Cheryl Hines wants women to be more open about menopause and painful sex.
“I know a lot of women, a lot of friends, who are experiencing painful sex after menopause, and I want them to be empowered to be able to talk about it with their friends and their health care providers,” she says. “I’m glad I can get that conversation started and let everyone know that there’s no stigma to it.”
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
10. Stacy London
Stacy London wants to change the conversation around menopause and how we view it.
“Just because you can no longer bear children doesn’t mean your usefulness is gone.”
Photo: Stacy London