Female stars are “changing the algorithm one pic at a time” as they strike back against unrealistic and youth-obsessed representations of beauty by sharing images of themselves ageing naturally.

The latest Antipodeans to embrace the trend are Packed to the Rafters star and Millionaire Hot Seat host Rebecca Gibney and Home and Away’s Debra Lawrance.

“Scrolling thru social media all I see is bad news, AI rubbish or perfect photoshopped lives,” Gibney, 61, wrote on Instagram.

She said she breathed “a sigh of relief” when she came across images of 68-year-old Australian actor Rachel Ward, who became a target for trolls after posting a selfie video updating the public about her family’s regenerative beef farm in rural NSW.

“It’s just so lovely to see real faces and real lives so I thought I might add my unfiltered sun damaged face and my funny old cowl lick fringe and fine over processed hair to the mix,” Gibney wrote alongside two of her own selfies.

“As actors we are always colouring, changing, adapting ­– trying to keep up – to stay relevant in an ever-changing world – but one of the greatest things about ageing is you finally stop trying to please and appeal to others and you recognise that the only person whose opinion matters, is your own.”

Gibney shared two photos of her ‘unfiltered’ face on social media. Photos: Instagram

Gibney’s post, in which she pledged to “stop looking in the mirror and searching for what’s wrong with myself”, has attracted more than 1000 comments praising her authenticity and natural beauty.

It also prompted Lawrance – who is known for her role as Pippa in Home and Away but has starred in TV shows such as Scrublands and Five Bedrooms, as well as in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Australia and the UK – to share a photo of her own 69-year-old face “au naturel”.

“Changing the algorithm one pic at a time. Let’s do this ladies,” she wrote.

 

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A post shared by Debra Lawrance (@debralawranceofficial)

Ward, meanwhile, was not cowed by the critics who trolled her Instagram post and has since shared a reel urging people not to fear ageing. She describes her 60s as “a wonderful period of life”.

“I am more fulfilled than ever and I have no regrets leaving my beauty behind … later years are to be exulted and welcomed.”

Speaking to Kate Langbroek this week on the Mama Mia podcast No Filter, The Thorn Birds star said she didn’t treat the criticisms as a personal attack. She believes women often fear ageing because they become “very invisible” when they get older.

“I don’t think it was really about me,” said Ward, who is married to fellow actor Bryan Brown.

“I think I was a catalyst for a conversation people were wanting to have.”

Among those who have joined the conversation are Hollywood heavyweights such as Avatar star Zoe Saldana, The Help actor Viola Davis, and Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker, who all commented in support of Ward amid the original brouhaha.

“She is sincerely beautiful,” wrote Parker. “For real. No qualifiers. Just a beauty. I’m sure inside and out. Xxx.”

Parker has spoken previously about the unfair expectations and double standards affecting women when it comes to ageing. She is among other Hollywood stars, including Andie MacDowell and Jamie Lee Curtis, who have embraced their grey hair.

Speaking recently on The Drew Barrymore show, Four Weddings and a Funeral star MacDowell, 67, said: “I have three little grandchildren and I’m gonna be a grandmother for them and I’m going to look like what I’m supposed to look because I love myself and I don’t have to look young.”

 

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A post shared by Drew Barrymore (@drewbarrymore)

Barrymore, meanwhile, shared a reel showing close-ups of her natural face on Instagram in December. “Ageing is a privilege that I will never take for granted,” the 51-year-old Charlie’s Angels star wrote on the post, which has amassed nearly 74 million views and 80,000 comments.

Other stars embracing a more realistic vision of beauty include Pamela Anderson, who has spoken openly about ditching Botox and regularly shares make-up-free selfies on social media, and Terminator’s Linda Hamilton.

“I do not spend a moment trying to look younger on any level, ever,” Hamilton said in a recent interview.

“I have just completely surrendered to the fact that this is the face that I’ve earned.”

Perhaps the most outspoken Hollywood advocate for ageing naturally is Freaky Friday’s Jamie Lee Curtis, who stars alongside Aussie Nicole Kidman in the crime thriller Scarpetta.

Curtis posed for a Guardian photoshoot last year wearing large red wax lips in what she described as “my statement against plastic surgery”, which she claims has disfigured generations of people, predominantly women.

“And it is aided and abetted by AI, because now the filter face is what people want.”

Curtis has also spoken out against the term “anti-ageing”: “I am pro-ageing. I want to age with intelligence, and grace, and dignity, and verve, and energy.”

@npr Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) takes inspiration from Elvis Costello’s “Deep, Dark Truthful Mirror,” and says no one can run from the reality of aging for too long. Jamie never wanted to be an actor. She tells Rachel, despite having famous show business parents, she originally thought she’d become a police officer. Jamie talks about how she unexpectedly wound up in Hollywood, her fight against unhealthy beauty standards in the industry, and why she thinks of her children’s books as “her best thing.” Jamie Lee Curtis is currently in “Ella McCay.” Watch the full interview at the link in bio. #NPR ♬ original sound – npr

Amid all the debate about ageing naturally versus filters and fillers, those who aren’t in the public eye appear to be taking heart from the famous role models who are trying to turn the tide.

“Thank you for being one of the increasing number of public women standing proud in your true beauty – it encourages others to follow suit and that can only be good for us all,” @thehabitatguru wrote on Gibney’s Instagram post.

And, as one fan quipped on Ward’s Instagram: “In a world full of Kardashians, be a Rachel Ward.”