In an interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly, 54-year-old Rhonda tells Bryce Corbett that ageing in the showbiz world has its challenges.
“When you hit a certain age in this industry, you are immediately pigeon-holed,” Rhonda tells The Weekly. “And television can be especially cruel in that sense. I have lost track of the number of times I have gone for a role for which I would have been perfect, but I’ve been told I’m too old.
“And it takes a toll. I mean, I can look in a mirror and know that for my age, I’m in pretty good shape. Yet all I see is the work that needs to be done, the maintenance that needs doing, the slide that needs somehow to be stopeed. And yet all I want to do is grow old gracefully.”
The successful entertainer, who they call Legs 11, recently performed at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
There’s a moment towards the end of the show when she pulls off her wig and sits atop a grand piano stroking her famous pins.
“The women I’ve celebrated tonight have all stayed in the spotlight on their own terms and like these gals, I’m not ready to snap my Barbie legs off yet,” she says.
“But you have to fight for it as you get older. You have to fight becoming invisible. I mean, it helps being a giant. But getting older as a woman isn’t about losing your looks. It’s about losing the way people look at you.”
