Oscars: Older stars fight back in Best Supporting Actress category

Veteran actress Meryl Streep once said America did not reward people her age in day-to-day life or for their performance on screen.

Yet, the 68-year-old is up for another Oscars’ nomination this year in the Best Actress category for her role in The Post.

Her remark cannot be further from the truth with Hollywood proving to be for the young and old with all five nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category above the age of 45.

Mary J. Blige - Mudbound

Age: 47

Blige plays Florence Jackson, who is the matriarch of a sharecropping family whose loved ones are targets of racism following her son’s return from fighting in World War II.

Allison Janney – I, Tonya

Age: 58

I, Tonya, featuring Australian actress Margot Robbie as the lead, stars Janney as LaVona Golden – an abusive mother who pushes her daughter, Tonya Harding, to become a world-class figure skater even while she destroys Tonya’s self-esteem.

Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread

Age: 61

Manville portrays Cyril Woodcock, who is a woman striving to keep her fixated brother’s personal life running as smoothly as she does his dressmaking business.

Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird

Age: 62

Playing Marion McPherson, Metcalf depicts a devoted, outspoken mother attempting to establish self-reliance in her equally headstrong teenage daughter.

Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water

Age: 45

Spencer is Zelda Fuller - a janitor who helps her best friend plan and execute a hazardous scheme at the government lab where they work.

The winners will be crowned at the 90^th Academy Awards at Los Angeles on Monday (AEDT).