Liz Hayes at 50

For some, turning 50 is a sobering milestone, but respected 60 Minutes journalist Liz Hayes tells The Australian Women’s Weekly she’s unfazed by it—and comfortable with who she is.

Liz Hayes is so much at ease in front of the television camera you might say she was born to it. And, in many ways, you would be right. The highly respected 60 Minutes presenter came into the world in 1956, the same year that television was introduced into Australia. In a perfect example of synchronicity, both Liz and the medium that brought her fame are celebrating a milestone this year: turning 50.

In an industry dominated by youth and good looks, fear of 50 might be an understandable sentiment, especially for a woman. This seems to be the nominal age when women on screen pass their use-by date. In the few interviews she has given over the years, Liz has often reflected on being 50, as if it is some kind of pinnacle—or barrier. “The true test is if they’ll allow me to be 50 on 60 Minutes,” she joked when she was 41. “I really did think that by 40, for God’s sake, everything would be all right,” she said once. “But it wasn’t. Now I think, let’s aim for the 50s!” And another time, she reflected, “I would hate to be 50 and look back and say, ‘I wish I had done that’.”

Having reached the milestone, Liz now seems genuinely unfazed by it. “Traditionally, we’ve always thought 50 is over the hill; 50 is when it’s all over, Red Rover,” she says with her characteristic dry humour, “but, of course, now that I am 50, it means anything but. My age has never been a big deal to me.”

Read the whole story, only in the August 2006 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.