14 DAY TRIAL // As defined by the Urban Dictionary, a cougar is a “35+ year old female who is on the ‘hunt’ for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male.” With this definition in mind, it’s not really that difficult to see why Hollywood A-lister Demi Moore would be very much opposed to the idea that she too is a cougar, telling W Magazine she would rather be called a “puma,” if references to animals are a must.
Moore is 47 and she’s been happily married to much younger husband Ashton Kutcher for four years, and they have been together for six. Because there’s a 15-year age gap that separates them, ever since the two started coming out together as a couple in 2003, she’s been tagged as the poster girl for cross-generational relationships, a thing that still baffles the gorgeous actress. The same goes for the cougar moniker that got stuck to her.
“I’m certainly not the first person to be in a relationship with a younger man, but somehow I was plucked out as a bit of a poster girl. I don’t know why that is. But I just kind of step back sometimes and say, ‘There is some reason, and what is it that I have to share in a positive way?… I’d prefer to be called a Puma.’” Moore says for W in reference to being often called a cougar.
And, while age plays no part in her marriage to former model Kutcher, the same does not apply to her acting career, which has taken quite a hit in ageism-struck Hollywood. If anything, in her personal life, the fact that she is older than Ashton has only helped her appreciate their relationship more. Professionally speaking, though, age is a barrier for the actress, she admits.
“The frustrating part is that the type of roles I’d be interested in are not really coming to me. I hate to say it’s a function of my age [47] – but yes, I think in some ways it is. The majority of [female] roles are geared between 25 and 35.” Moore explains for the aforementioned publication.