“After I shaved my head when I did G.I. Jane, which was a very powerful experience on many levels, but I just started to let it grow,” she recalled.

She noted that the decision coincided with taking a break from acting to focus on her children, adding with a laugh, “And I think probably because I’m also lazy and don’t like to sit in the chair or have to go and get it done a lot.”

Moore went on to challenge beauty norms that discourage older women from keeping their hair long.

“[We often hear] that as women get older, they shouldn’t have long hair,” she said. “And for some reason, to me, I didn’t buy it. I didn’t believe it, and it didn’t make sense to me why that had to be the case.”

She talked about how many women going through menopause cut their hair short “in a very almost masculine way, just desexualizing themselves.”

For Moore, keeping her long hair became a quiet act of resistance. “Sometimes I think I’ve just willed it,” she mused.

How ‘The Substance’ Sparked The Actress’s Career Comeback

The striking shoot follows what many have called Moore’s “Moore-naissance”: a career resurgence fueled by her acclaimed performance in “The Substance.”

The film, which earned Moore international recognition, tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a once-famous TV aerobics instructor who is abruptly fired on her 50th birthday. Desperate to reclaim her youth and fame, she undergoes an experimental procedure known as “The Substance.”

After receiving the injections, Elisabeth collapses, only for her skin to split open, revealing her rejuvenated alter ego, Sue (played by Margaret Qualley). However, the transformation comes at a cost: the two versions of herself must alternate weeks between suspended animation and real life.”

The real conflict in “The Substance” begins when Elisabeth Sparkle’s younger, regenerated self refuses to return to suspended animation every seven days as required.

Moore’s powerful portrayal of Elisabeth Sparkle in “The Substance” earned her widespread recognition for her acting abilities, resulting in her first Golden Globe win. The role also earned the actress a Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild award, as well as a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2025 Oscars.

Demi Moore Reflects On Creative Rebirth After ‘The Substance’: ‘I Wouldn’t Trade Where I Am Today’

Although Moore ultimately lost the Academy Award to “Anora’s” Mikey Madison, she says the film reignited her creative spirit.

“With everything I’ve been through, which has been a lot, I wouldn’t trade where I am today,” she shared with Glamour.

The actress continued, “And the thing that I feel like I have today that I certainly didn’t have when I was younger was the freedom to know that I don’t have to have the answer and that life is not going to be completely stolen from me if I somehow don’t know.”

The Actress Admitted It Was A ‘Vulnerable Experience’ Shooting  A Nude Scene For ‘The Substance’

During a chat with Woman Magazine about her daring role in “The Substance,” Moore revealed that numerous conversations took place behind the scenes about the best way to bring her character to life, especially when it came to the delicate topic of nudity.

“It was a very vulnerable experience, and we had a lot of conversations around it, but it was taking you to the raw place that you needed to [go],” the actress said.

Moore continued, “On my end, I felt it wasn’t sexualized since so many of my scenes were about the experience of being with yourself, and often we are with ourselves nude, and it’s those moments of our own personal gaze and self-judgment.”

“I think the depth of the vulnerability and where it took me is, in a way, what was needed to help me tap into my own vulnerability,” she added.