When Forbes and Know Your Value launched our inaugural “50 Over 50” list four years ago, the goal was clear: to spotlight women who were shattering age-related expectations and making their biggest impact after turning 50. From business and politics to the arts and activism, these trailblazers were rewriting the rules on what success looks like later in life.
Now, years after their initial recognition, many of these women are proving that their most influential chapters are still being written. They’re launching new ventures, leading global change, mentoring the next generation—and doing it all with the same boldness and clarity that earned them a spot on the list in the first place.
This “Where Are They Now” look at some of our alumni reveals a powerful truth: age isn’t a limitation—it’s an asset. These women continue to inspire by showing that growth, reinvention, and impact has no ceiling. And for many, the real story is just beginning.
DOLLY PARTON
Singer, songwriter, and philanthropist Dolly Parton first earned a spot on our “50 Over 50” list in 2022. Now, three years later — and at 79 years old — she’s proving that her star power and cultural influence are stronger than ever.
In 2023, Parton shook up the music world with the release of her first full rock album, “Rockstar,” featuring legends like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Lizzo, Miley Cyrus, and more. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200—her highest-ever solo studio ranking. And earlier this year, she bridged generations by teaming up with 25-year-old pop star Sabrina Carpenter for a special duet version of Carpenter’s chart-topping hit, “Please Please Please.”
Offstage, Parton’s commitment to giving back has only deepened. Since making the “50 Over 50” list, she’s donated $4.5 million to launch the Nashville Public Library’s Begin Bright early literacy program and contributed $2 million to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
She’s also been busy in the kitchen—publishing a cookbook, “Good Lookin’ Cookin’,” with her sister in 2024 and launching a nationwide line of Southern-style frozen comfort meals in 2025. And up next? A Vegas residency in December and a show on Broadway inspired by her life and trailblazing career.
With a net worth of $450 million, Dolly Parton isn’t just one of America’s richest self-made women—she’s a living icon, redefining what it means to stay relevant, influential, and generous at any age.
ANNE FINUCANE
As vice chair of Bank of America—and one of the most powerful women in banking—Anne Finucane earned a spot on our inaugural “50 Over 50” list in 2021 for shaping the company’s strategic direction and driving its global impact. During her tenure, she led major initiatives in corporate and social responsibility, championing efforts around equality, sustainable energy, education, and health care.
While she has since stepped down from her role at Bank of America, the 73-year-old remains a formidable force in climate finance and sustainability. Now she is at two private companies, serving as chair of Rubicon Carbon and as senior Advisor to TPG Rise Climate Fund, guiding investments that aims to combat climate change. They are both roles with companies that are both ‘for profit’ and ‘for good.’
She continues to serve on the executive committee boards at CVS and Williams Sonoma, in addition to being the lead director on the Special Olympics Board. She is also on the board and executive committee at ONE, a global campaign and advocacy organization co-founded by Bono.
Finucane said she has learned that there is life after the so-called “big job” with money to be made and new opportunities to be explored.
“I’m all for retirement. I just didn’t feel like doing it,” Finucane told us. “…I’m not running the show, I’m sharing it, but it’s different than day-to-day management. And it’s been enormously invigorating. I’m a lifelong learner.”
She also said: “I think it important to keep one’s thinking fresh, to try to do as much as you can for the organizations you are associated with and also to eventually step away and let others step in . Change is important. New challenges also important.”
ANGELA WILLIAMS
When Angela Williams made the inaugural 50 Over 50 list in 2021, she was president and CEO of Easterseals, the country’s biggest nonprofit focused on disability advocacy. Just months after that list was published, Williams was named the president and CEO of United Way Worldwide, an even bigger nonprofit: United Way works to improve the health, education and economic security of people in 1,100 communities across nearly three dozen countries. (The organization was No. 4 on Forbes’ Top Charities list last year and recorded $2.5 billion in private donations.) She is the first Black woman to serve as president of either organization.
An ordained minister and lawyer by both training and practice (early in her career she worked as both, simultaneously), service has long been at the center of Williams’ professional focus. When she took over at United Way, the world was still reeling from the pandemic, but she’s used her platform to fight for better access to healthy food in underserved communities and improved maternal and child healthcare. In 2023, United Way partnered with Johnson and Johnson to advance health equity in communities of color.
“One of my favorite sayings is that no one can whistle a symphony,” Williams told Forbes in 2024. “It takes an orchestra to play it. Collaboration is a very important part of my leadership philosophy and it’s at the heart of United Way.”
Later this year, Williams will publish her book, “Navigating The Age of Chaos,” which advises leaders on how to accomplish their missions during turbulent times.
JOANNA STROBER
After developing “terrible” night sweats and insomnia in her late 40s, it took Joanna Strober almost a year to find a doctor who recognized her symptoms for what they were: the onset of menopause. That physician put her on an estradiol pill and progesterone, and within weeks, Strober was sleeping through the night again. This experience proved the lightbulb moment that planted the idea for Midi Health, a menopause-focued telehealth company that Strober cofounded in 2021.
Two years later, Strober landed on the ranks of the 50 Over 50: Innovation list, but it was 2024 that proved to be one of the most transformative years for Midi. In April of that year, Midi raised a $60 million Series B round of funding (led by Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective) that boosted its overall funding to $100 million and landed Midi on the Forbes list of America’s Next Billion Dollar Startups.
“First funding was hard,” Strober told ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath this spring. “Now the fundraising has changed because we’ve been able to show so much traction. We’re on a very fast growth trajectory. We’re probably the fastest-growing telehealth company ever.”
Today, Strober is focused on expanding Midi’s services beyond just menopause and looking more holistically about women’s longevity. In late May, the company launched AgeWell, an insurance-covered telehealth visit that assesses a panel of bloodwork, hormone levels and more in order to give patients a wider lens on how well they’re aging.
THERESIA GOUW
Venture capitalist Theresia Gouw is the epitome of the American dream: Born in Indonesia to parents of Chinese descent, Gouw immigrated to the U.S. when she was three years old. She went on to become the first female partner at Silicon Valley giant Accel—where a smart early investment in a company then called Facebook helped Gouw become America’s richest female venture capitalist.
In 2019, Gouw launched Acrew Capital, an early-stage venture firm with a multi-generational approach (her fellow partners hail from every living generation, because Gouw believes diverse age perspectives are a business and investing advantage). Today—three years after Gouw first appeared on the 50 Over 50 list—that firm has $1.7 billion in assets under management, and Gouw is America’s first female billionaire venture capitalist.
Gouw hasn’t yet commented publicly on her new status as a billionaire, but her cofounder (and a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum) Lauren Kolodny told Forbes this: “It’s important for young women and young Asian-American women to see someone like her achieve what she’s achieving.”
Maggie McGrath