The film Nights in Rodanthe comes out today. There’s a better chance of us going gerbil-shopping with Richard Gere than buying a ticket to see this tearjerker, but it is notable for one reason: super-sexy 43-year-old actress Diane Lane. We’d be happy to stay in that Lane any time.

But delectable Diane isn’t the only quadragenarian actress who fills our Twinkie. We came up with a definitive ranking of hot actresses over 40, keeping in mind the following criteria for each actress: (1) Must have a viable career in 2008. Sorry, Stacey Dash. (2) No one with obvious *cough* Nicole Kidman *cough* plastic surgery. (3) Photos must have be taken after actress turned 40, and must be red-carpet/candid shots, not glamour pics. Even Oprah can be airbrushed to hot.

Without further ado, click here to start the 40+ countdown…