Here's an aughts trend we can get used to: Real, grown women, behaving like real grown women and getting credit for it.

London's The Daily Mail this week looks back at all the women over 40, 50 and 60 who have made headlines in the past decade. Women with wit, wisdom and style of their own.

They love Michelle Pfeiffer telling the world. "f you think hitting 40 is liberating, wait until you hit 50." They love U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her high approval ratings.

Their story doesn't mention Michelle Obama, but we think she is certainly on the A-list for women rocking it over the age of 40. And did we think in 1999 that the evening news anchors at two of the three original major networks would be women?

Then there's Meryl Streep, playing strong, fabulous and complicated women: The imperious fashion editor Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada"; the sensual, indefatigable Julia Child in "Julie & Julia"; the, frankly, smoking hot Jane Adler in "It's Complicated."

Even so, our colleagues at PoliticsDaily point out that there are a lot of good actresses over 40 -- where are they? "Are Streep and Diane Keaton the only American actresses over 50? Seriously, good as they are, others might like a chance to muck around in those gorgeous Meyers and Ephron kitchens once in a while." says editor Melinda Henneberger.

And what about fashion for women who were way beyond mini-skirt? Generally, we women over 40 (that's me!) have more cool choices than ever that flatter our bodies and are not our grandmothers' matchy-matchy suits. But most of the imagery surrounding fashion is still about the girls. Witness even Eileen Fisher's business decision to feature models who look younger.

So yes, the '00s were good to women. But I'm looking forward to the next decade being even better.