Happy days for fifties chicks

Women in their fifties are happier and more confident than their younger counterparts, new figures show.

And those in the public eye who are most admired by other women are also well into middle age, including actresses Dame Helen Mirren and Joanna Lumley, both 58, and Felicity Kendal, 57.

Younger stars including Britney Spears, 22, Sadie Frost, 36, and Geri Halliwell, 32, were much less admired in a YouGov survey of more than 1,000 British women of different ages and backgrounds.

Overall, 73 per cent of women claimed to be confident. Eighty per cent of over-55s said they were confident, and only 20 per cent were insecure. However, only 62 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds were self-assured, and 38 per cent said they were insecure. Mirren was the most respected woman in the public eye, with 47 per cent admiring her confidence; Lumley was second with 40 per cent, TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, 44, was third with 35 per cent and Kendal was in fourth place with 27 per cent.

But Frost registered only three per cent approval with Spears on four per cent. Experts believe the findings are explained by life pressures between the ages of 18 and 24 including exams, body insecurity and the stress of dating. Confidence and assertiveness tutor Jeremy Milnes said: "Women in their fifties have seen what life can throw at you and know how to deal with it. They are comfortable in their skin and know who they are and what they can achieve.

"People like Helen Mirren are role models who have been through a lot, but remain human and approachable as opposed to the brash bling-bling of Britney."