Some women seem to have an amazing ability to preserve their youth, or they just age differently. Maybe for them, age is really just a number.

In their 40s, these actresses are absolutely stunning and still actively playing the lead roles in movies. (All photos are from IMDb gallery.)

1. Charlize Theron (42)

The beautiful blond from South Africa played many sweetheart roles in the movies, such as The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), Sweet November (2001). But she is not just a pretty face. In 2003, her performance in Monster earned her the best actress in a leading role.

Entering her 40s, Theron is much more fierce and commanding the female action roles in blockbusters, including Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); The Fate of the Furious (2017) and Atomic Blonde (2017).

2. Naomi Watts (49)

Born in UK and settled in Australia when she was 14 years old, Naomi Watts started her career on Australian TV. Her first big hit in Hollywood was The Ring (2002). The following year, she was nominated for the best actress for her role in 21 grams (2003). In 2005, she starred in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster King Kong.

Watts is very active on screen in her 40s, playing many different roles, such as The International (2009); J. Edger (2011); The Impossible (2012); Birdman (2014); Allegiant (2016); The Book of Henry (2017); and TV series Gypsy (2017).

3. Elizabeth Banks (43)

She was the secretary for the newspaper boss in Spider-Man (2002); she was Lucy in Catch Me If You Can (2002); and she was the second wife of Charles Howard in Seabiscuit (2003), until she became more noticed in The Next Three Days (2010); Man on a Ledge (2012); and The Hunger Games franchise.

Elizabeth Banks is still gorgeous in 40s, including her role in Walk of Shame (2014); Pitch Perfect 2 (2015). She is also the director of the latter.

4. Cate Blanchett (48)

When Blanchett played the elf queen in the Lord of Rings trilogy, she was in her early 30s. Ten years later when she played the same role again in the Hobbit trilogy, she didn’t look any different.

In her late 40s now, Blanchett is as beautiful as ever. Just look at her in Truth (2015) or Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

5. Kate Beckinsale (44)

The English beauty’s first major role in a Hollywood movie was the lead in Pearl Harbor (2001). In 2003, she started her most famous role as the vampire warrior in Underworld and is still leading the franchise. She looked like she hasn’t aged a day even in the latest installment of the series, Underworld: Blood Wars (2016).

6. Marion Cotillard (42)

The French actress is still gorgeous and taking on more roles in her 40s, both in France and Hollywood.

Last year, she starred in four movies: From the Land of the Moon; It’s Only the End of the World; Allied; Assassin’s Creed. And she is the center of the show in every one of them.

7. Li Bingbing (44)

Li Bingbing is a late bloomer. Though she started young in China, her international fame arrived when she was reaching 40. She starred in Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and then landed a role in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) when she turned 41.

Li Bingbing has taken her career on a bigger scale in her 40s. In 2018, she will star in three big-budget movies that will draw more international audience: Realm of the Tiger; Guardians of the Tomb; The Meg.