At 74, Judith Light Says She’s Not Getting Older But ‘Gaining Wisdom’ As She Reclaims Her ‘Crone Years’

Feb 20, 2023

Judith Light is an award-winning American actress who has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in film, television, and theater. Born on Feb. 9, 1949, in Trenton, New Jersey, she grew up in a middle-class Jewish family and attended St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey. After graduating from high school, she attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where she earned a degree in drama.

After completing her studies, Light moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. She began performing in off-Broadway productions and landed her first television role on the soap opera "One Life to Live" in 1977. She played the character of Karen Wolek, a prostitute who was on trial for murder. Her performance in this role was widely praised, and she won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on the show.

In the 1980s, Light transitioned to prime-time television and appeared on several popular shows, including "St. Elsewhere" and "Who's the Boss?" In the latter, she played the role of Angela Bower, a successful advertising executive who hires Tony Danza's character as her live-in housekeeper. The show was a huge hit and ran for eight seasons, making Light a household name and earning her two more Emmy Awards.

In addition to her television work, Light has also had a successful career in film and theater. She has appeared in several films and numerous productions both on and off-Broadway. She has been nominated for several Tony Awards and won the award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2012 for her performance in "Other Desert Cities."

In recent years, Light appeared in several television series, including "Julia," "Transparent" and "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story," for which she won an Emmy Award in 2018.

Despite her success, Light remains humble and dedicated to her craft. She is known for her professionalism and her commitment to her roles, and she has inspired many actors with her dedication and talent. She has also been extremely vocal about issues surrounding ageism and women, not just in the entertainment industry but in society. She told Today in 2017:

"It's not just Hollywood. It's in our culture. It's baked into our culture. And the more women that stand up ... They're saying, 'We're here and give us the work. And give us the stories.'"

She said society's obsession with youth is not a particularly constructive one and told Allure, "We need to speak about (aging) so that we honor our experiences in life, we honor who we are in any given moment in time. Wishing you could go back in the past is, I think, a waste of time. Time to figure out what's going to happen in the future is also a waste of time. Remember, there are two choices: You get older or you don't, and I'll take the second, thank you very much."

She added:

"And it's not that we get older. It's that we actually mature. We actually honor where we have come from, and how we have moved through life."

Light said it was important for women to use their voices to stand up and be counted, not just for themselves, but to pave the way for others.

"The more women who are speaking about it and talking about themselves as mature instead of hiding it or trying to closet it, in some way we're making a path forward for the women who are younger in the business," she told ABC.

Now 74, Light's experiences have given her a profound view of the world and her place in it. She opened up to Salon Talks about "the best years of my life" and said:

"Something that really means a tremendous amount to me is one's ownership of the years, the experiences, the aging. I don't hold it as aging. I hold it as gaining wisdom. If I'm the same as I was yesterday, then I'm not really learning anything. It's not just the best time of my life, it's this moment, so it better be the best." 

Light added she has learned that being mindful and living in the moment were some of the best ways to live an appreciative life.

"It's a moment. If you're in this moment, and I know it sounds like, 'Oh my God, we've heard it a million times, just be in the now. Be in the now.' It's like right now, there's nothing else except you and me and all of my fabulous friends here. This is it. This is all we have. … And so that's the way I feel now in my life more than ever. And I would say that that's probably what makes it best, that I'm more in the moment, as much as I can be." 

Practicing mindfulness and embracing her growing maturity has allowed Light to be open about her feelings and opinions, but has also led to positive feedback from the community, "The Menu" actress continued telling Salon Talks:

"These are the crone years. These are the wise years. These are the gathering of the experiences through time. The way that people relate to me around the way I choose to live or the choices that I make, the response has been really generous and gracious."

Do you agree with Judith Light's thoughts on aging? What pearls of wisdom have you learned through the years? Let us know, and don't forget to pass this along to friends and family living their best "crone" years as well!