Kathy Bates, 76, says she was able to have a long acting career because she 'wasn't a beauty queen'

• Kathy Bates, 76, credits her long career to not looking like a beauty queen.
• Bates told Variety she has "friends who have been beauty queens who are no longer working because of ageism."

Kathy Bates, 76, says the secret to her long acting career is not looking like "a beauty queen."

In an interview with Variety published September 11, Bates reflected on her career and shared her thoughts on retirement.

"I always knew going into this business that it was going to take me a while because I wasn't a beauty queen," she told Variety. "I have to say I give an inner wink when I see friends who have been beauty queens who are no longer working because of ageism, and in my case, I've been able to continue working for many years because I don't look like that."

Bates made her film debut in the 1971 movie "Taking Off" and has been acting consistently ever since, per her IMDB page. When she was 42, she won an Oscar for best actress for her role as Annie Wilkes in 1990's "Misery."

"I don't think I would have gotten the role in 'Misery' if I had been a beauty queen," Bates continued.

The actor shared that she had contemplated retirement before landing the lead role in the CBS legal drama "Matlock" earlier this year. The show is set to premiere on September 22.

But now, Bates says she hopes to be able to do "several years" of "Matlock" before calling it quits.

"My friends say I'll probably be like Molière and die in my chair on the stage," Bates said, "because it really is a life force for me."

Bates isn't the only actor who has spoken up about ageism in Hollywood.

In an interview with Porter magazine in November, Anne Hathaway said she was told her career would "fall off a cliff" after she turned 35.

Kirsten Dunst told Marie Claire in March that she took a two-year break from acting because she was being typecasted and was only offered "sad mom" roles.

However, ageism against women isn't just a problem in Hollywood; it's prevalent in other workplaces, too.

Discrimination against older workers cost the US economy an estimated $850 billion in GDP in 2018, according to a 2020 report from the AARP — formerly the American Association of Retired Persons — and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

A representative for Bates did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside business hours.