Sharon Horgan has issued a blunt warning about what she believes is a troubling return to extremely thin beauty ideals on screen, saying she is worried about the images being consumed by her daughters. The actor and writer said the renewed focus on ultra-slim bodies risks undoing progress towards more realistic and diverse representations of women.
The Youth creator and star said there had been a brief period when television and film appeared to embrace a wider range of body shapes, sizes and ages, but she now fears that progress is being reversed. Most personally, she said she hates the idea of her daughters seeing increasingly skinny bodies presented as normal by the media.
Sharon Horgan Warns of a Beauty Backslide
Horgan said the entertainment industry had previously shown signs of moving towards greater body diversity and representation of older women.
'There was a short period of time when there was excitement about body positivity and representation of older people on screen and diversity of shapes and sizes,' she said.
But she believes those gains can prove fragile.
'It's so easy to just slip back, and I think it affects all of us,' Horgan added, pointing to the enormous beauty and ageing industries and the pressure placed on women to alter their appearance.
Her most striking concern was what younger women are seeing.
'The skinniest of bodies I've ever seen are showing up at the moment,' Horgan said. 'I find it really worrying, and I hate that my daughters are seeing it, and for it to be normalised by the media.'
The comments are particularly personal for Horgan, who has two daughters, Sadhbh and Amer, aged 22 and 18 respectively.
Why 'Youth' Makes the Issue Personal
Horgan's new HBO comedy provides an interesting counterpoint to the beauty standards she is criticising.
Youth, which premiered on HBO and HBO Max in September 2026, follows Alex, a 50-year-old divorcee navigating dating, menopause, motherhood, ageing parents and the increasingly complicated relationship she has with her changing body. The series was created by Horgan, who also stars and serves as an executive producer.
Rather than presenting a polished version of middle age, the series deliberately explores the physical and emotional realities of getting older.
Horgan has described the experience of being in her fifties as overwhelming, with family responsibilities, ageing parents, menopause and changes to her body arriving at the same time. That makes Alex's appearance part of the story rather than something the production needs to hide.
The show also tackles the pressures of social media. Horgan has said that both Alex and her son Ruari are exposed to damaging online messages about how they should look and behave, creating a parallel between the pressures facing women and young men.
Horgan Is Not Against Beauty Treatments
Interestingly, Horgan's criticism does not mean she rejects beauty treatments altogether.
She has joked about becoming more interested in skincare and treatments after turning 50, saying she will have treatments when necessary to look like a 'human woman' on television. However, she has also said that anything more drastic makes her uncomfortable.
That distinction is important to her wider argument. Her concern is not simply that women choose to change their appearance, but that women may increasingly feel there is no acceptable alternative.
In Youth, Alex is allowed to be sexual, funny, insecure and desirable without the story pretending she is still 30. That is precisely the sort of representation Horgan believes matters.
A Wider Conversation About Women on Screen
Horgan's comments arrive amid an ongoing conversation about how women are portrayed as they age, particularly across entertainment, fashion and social media.
Her own career has consistently focused on women who are allowed to be messy and complicated. From Pulling and Catastrophe to Motherland, Bad Sisters and now Youth, Horgan has repeatedly built stories around experiences that are rarely presented as glossy or uncomplicated.
With Youth, she has moved that approach into her fifties, confronting the idea that women become less interesting or desirable as they get older. Her warning about increasingly thin bodies sits at the heart of the series rather than being a separate celebrity soundbite.
For Horgan, the issue is ultimately about visibility: what women are shown, what younger viewers absorb and which bodies are allowed to exist on screen without being treated as something that needs fixing.
And as the entertainment industry continues to debate representation, her message is simple. Progress on body diversity can disappear surprisingly quickly, and she does not want her daughters growing up believing that only one type of body deserves to be seen.
