As a triumphant Demi Moore took to the winner's podium at this month's Golden Globes, glowing in her golden Giorgio Armani gown, few of the assembled Hollywood glitterati at the Beverly Hilton International Ballroom were in any doubt they were witnessing something special.
"I'm just in shock right now," the 62-year-old actress breathed to rapturous applause and cheers. "I've been doing this a long time, like, over 45 years, and this is the first time I've won anything as an actor.' The sweet satisfaction of her well-deserved win is a culmination of a comeback that no-one would have expected a decade ago.
Her re-entry into Hollywood has delighted her loved ones and fans alike. A clip of her daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30 together with her ex-husband Bruce Willis, cheering her success at the Golden Globes went viral, while, at the ceremony itself, her easy banter with The Substance co-star Margaret Qualley won her plaudits and she snapped pictures with Zendaya and Miley Cyrus.
Her fellow stars were rapturous in their support of an overwhelmed Demi; among them Andrew Garfield, who rushed to talk to her backstage, and Elle Fanning, who Demi hugged before greeting Timothee Chalamet.
Jennifer Aniston marked her achievement on Instagram with the caption 'Yes @demimoore' followed by a picture of a quote that called for 'WOMEN OVER 40, RISE UP', echoing Demi's impassioned acceptance speech.
Demi's Golden Globes celebration for her Best Actress award for The Substance is the culmination of several high-profile appearances that have catapulted her back into the spotlight – although she claims she never really left, just that her career wasn't "complete". "As Michelle Yeoh said, 'You were just on pause!'" she joked recently.
But over the past year, she has slowly, carefully re-emerged into the glare of the spotlight; glorious on the runway at the Schiaparelli show at Paris Fashion Week, effortlessly elegant as she mingled with the great and good of British society in Lady Bamford's box at Royal Ascot.
Accompanying her at her every turn is her faithful long-haired chihuahua Pilaf, who made headlines when she graced the inaugural cover of 'Dogue' (Vogue for dogs) in August; Demi even revealed Pilaf was 'moved' by Tom Holland's performance in Romeo and Juliet.
"Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me I was a popcorn actress, and, at that time, I made that mean this wasn't something I was allowed to have," Demi told the audience. "That I could do movies that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged, and I believed that."
This thought, she said, "corroded" her to the point, "where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it," but decided against early retirement when she received the script for The Substance.
She signed off with a powerful message. "Just know, you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick."
"Good luck to the next person who has to give a speech," said Kerry Washington, who'd presented the award, as Demi left the stage.
Speaking to HELLO! later that evening on 5 January, Demi continued her theme. "When we value ourselves and have enough self-love, then it will reflect out in the world."
She's now tipped as a frontrunner for Oscar success thanks to The Substance, in which she plays a woman who trades her body for a younger, more beautiful version of herself.
The irony of an actress playing someone who suffers from body issues due to intense scrutiny was not lost on Demi, who spent years punishing herself with starving and rigorous exercise regimes.
What drew her to the part was "the circumstances of a woman in the entertainment industry who's facing rejection and deep despair. Everything in her life that seemed meaningful is being ripped out," she has said. "What really struck me was the violence against oneself. It's not what's being done to you, it's what we do to ourselves."
And yet, the Ghost star has always broken the mould. Despite her status as a "popcorn" actress – as she was dismissed by one executive – she had enough clout to command pay parity with her male counterparts (earning her the nickname Gimme Moore) at the height of her fame and caused shockwaves by posing nude, when pregnant, on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991.
She had also ruffled feathers with her financial demands – including a $12.5 million fee for Striptease.
"She became a movie star in this time where women didn't naturally fit the system," said Gwyneth Paltrow, a friend of Demi's. "She was really the first person who fought for pay equality and got it, and really suffered a backlash from it. We all certainly benefitted from her."
So, what's the next chapter in this remarkable renaissance story? Relishing life as a grandmother will certainly be on the agenda; Demi is a doting 'Yaya' to Rumer's daughter Lou, born in April 2023. "I love it," she has said. "I am 'Yaya'. And she is the cutest."
Romance doesn't appear to be on the top of her agenda – last year she said she didn't need a relationship to complete her. "I think as we get to that place of greater independence in our later years I don't know if we seek to take on the responsibility of others."
For now, she will be focused on the Oscar campaign and weighing up her options: her next project, I Love Boosters, is a comedy in which she co-stars with Eiza Gonzalez and Will Poulter. And after that? She is expected to make appearances at the Met Gala in New York again – last year was her first appearance in five years and she was dressed by British-American designer Harris Reed – more front row trips to Fashion Week in London, Paris and Milan as well as another invite to Royal Ascot.
One thing is for sure, however. "I know that I want to continue to keep growing as a person," she said recently. "I want to keep learning. I want to keep challenging myself, pushing myself out of my comfort zone, which isn't something any of us love, but I always know that I am a better person for it when I get to the other side."
To read the full report, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.