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It may be difficult to fathom, but these seemingly ageless stars have already celebrated the big 4-0.
Whether it’s because they look like they haven’t aged a day in the past 20 years or because we so heavily associate them with a character they played in their youth, it’s difficult to accept that some celebrities have aged right along with us. But it’s true. The stars of your favorite teen movies are busy parents with big families. The pop icons you grew up with could be going through a mid-life crisis by now. Read on for 40 celebrities you won’t believe are in their 40s.
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Birthday: Dec. 2, 1981
According to People, pop icon and former teen idol Britney Spears marked her 40th birthday with a beach vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with her now-husband Sam Asghari. The trip also probably served as a celebration of the end of her conservatorship, which she had been fighting for years.
Birthday: Sept. 26, 1981
“The incomparable @serenawilliams – grateful for every minute I get with my amazing wife & Olympia’s mama,” tennis legend Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian wrote in an Instagram post for her 40th.
Birthday: June 13, 1981
When Marvel star Chris Evans turned 40, he got Instagram-roasted by his fellow franchise Chrises (Hemsworth and Pratt).
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Birthday: Aug. 24, 1981
Actor Chad Michael Murray referenced his two biggest teen heartthrob characters in his birthday Instagram post. “You wanna feel old?” he wrote on a throwback photo of himself in his trailer. “Lucas Scott [from One Tree Hill] and Austin Ames [from A Cinderella Story] turn 40 today!!!”
Birthday: May 5, 1981
Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel had big news to share on her big 4-0. She announced she was pregnant with her second child, Keaton Joseph, who was born in August.
Birthday: Jan. 28, 1981
Elijah Wood first came to fame as a child actor in movies including The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Good Son, but he cemented himself in the hearts of J.R.R. Tolkien fans forever when he starred as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings franchise.
Birthday: Aug. 4, 1981
Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle turned her 40th birthday into a service event, launching the initiative 40×40, which encouraged people all over the world to pledge 40 minutes of mentorship.
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Birthday: Nov. 12, 1982
Anne Hathaway told the Wall Street Journal Magazine ahead of her 40th that she was planning a joint vacation celebration with a group of her old friends from Vassar College.
Birthday: April 15, 1982
Seth Rogen didn’t say much publicly about his own 40th birthday, but the year prior, he noted on Twitter that McLovin, the famous alias of one of the characters in his movie Superbad, had just “turned” the same age.
Birthday: Dec. 8, 1982
Rapper and mom Nicki Minaj turned 40 in 2022, the same year she released her first greatest hits album, Queen Radio: Volume 1.
Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock
Birthday: March 11, 1982
The same year she turned 40, former child star Thora Birch made her directorial debut with Lifetime’s The Gabby Petito Story.
Birthday: Aug. 26, 1980
On his birthday in 2020, Home Alone actor Macaulay Culkin tweeted a message that rocked his followers who’ve been watching him since he was a child star: “Hey guys, wanna feel old? I’m 40. You’re welcome.”
Birthday: Sept. 30, 1982
Culkin’s younger brother, Succession star Kieran Culkin, joined his older sibling in the 40 club a couple of years later.
Birthday: Jan. 17, 1980
New Girl star Zooey Deschanel looked back to the past on her 40th, hosting an epic ’80s-themed soiree.
Birthday: Jan. 16, 1980
As if he hadn’t already racked up enough honors in his lifetime, Lin-Manuel Miranda was surprised on his 40th birthday with the news that Huntington, West Virginia had officially proclaimed it Lin-Manuel Miranda Day.
Birthday: Jan. 30, 1980
At 43, Wilmer Valderrama reprised the role that made him famous back in his 20s: Fez, from That ’70s Show, in the sequel series That ’90s Show.
Birthday: Aug. 18, 1978
Saturday Night Live alum and Lonely Island member Andy Samberg may seem like a perpetual youth, but he’s actually a dad well into his mid-40s.
Birthday: Nov. 17, 1978
Famous for playing the meanest of high school mean girls, actor Rachel McAdams turned 40 in 2018.
Birthday: Feb. 27, 1980
The world met Chelsea Clinton when she was a teenager, so it may still be hard to wrap your head around the fact that, today, she’s a writer and mom of three in her 40s.
Birthday: July 18, 1980
The Good Place star may be a parent now, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to kick back anymore. In fact, she told Jimmy Kimmel that she took hallucinogenic mushrooms for the first time on her 40th.
Birthday: Aug. 26, 1980
Star Trek and Wonder Woman star Chris Pine turned 40 in 2020, but if there was a celebration, the famously private actor kept it to himself.
Birthday: April 26, 1980
Apparently, Magic Mike star Channing Tatum is such a stand-up guy, that even his exes are eager to wish him a happy birthday. “Happy 40th birthday to this special man right here,” his former girlfriend Jessie J wrote in her Instagram tribute, per E! News. “I am so grateful you were born, and even more grateful that we met.”
Birthday: July 10, 1980
Pop star and fashion mogul Jessica Simpson admitted in a Sirius XM interview that she was “freaking out” about turning 40. The 2020 release of her well-received memoir, Open Book, likely softened the blow.
Birthday: Sept. 4, 1981
Beyoncé’s fans were more than ready to celebrate their queen’s birthday, showering her in tributes and kind words. The star responded with a letter of gratitude posted to her website that read, “I’m so thankful for every inspiring human who took the time to send me all the beautiful messages. I cried tears of joy and was covered in chilly bumps.”
Birthday: Feb. 17, 1981
Paris Hilton combined two happy occasions by announcing on her 40th that she was engaged to boyfriend Carter Reum. They got married later that year and welcomed their first child in 2023.
Loredana Sangiuliano/Shutterstock
Birthday: June 9, 1981
Natalie Portman has been in the business since she was just a kid herself. Now in her 40s, she’s got two of her own—plus an Oscar.
Birthday: Feb. 17, 1981
Another star on this list who got his start as a child actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt turned 40 in 1981, the same year he starred in the Apple TV+ show Mr. Corman.
Birthday: Feb. 10, 1981
Disney fans all over may know her best as 15-year-old Mirabel, the character she voices in the animated hit Encanto, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz also hit 40 in 2021.
Birthday: May 15, 1981
Jamie Lynn-Sigler hit the big time playing Tony Soprano’s teenage daughter Meadow in The Sopranos. Now, the actor is in her 40s and has two children of her own.
Birthday: April 19, 1981
Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen is still a part of the franchise over 20 years after he made his debut as Anakin Skywalker at age 21.
Birthday: April 28, 1981
“It’s so weird, ’cause when you’re little, you’re like, ‘That age just feels aggressive,'” actor Jessica Alba said on The Tonight Show of turning 40. “You’re just like, ‘That’s a grown-[expletive] person.'”
Birthday: July 18, 1982
International star Priyanka Chopra celebrated her milestone birthday alongside husband Nick Jonas and dozens of friends and family members in Mexico.
Birthday: Jan. 6, 1982
Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne hit his 40th birthday in 2022, a year that also saw him star in the third Fantastic Beasts movie and the Netflix true crime thriller The Good Nurse.
DFree/Shutterstock
Birthday: Jan. 24, 1982
After breaking out in the original cast of Hamilton, Daveed Diggs moved onto more success on the stage, the small screen, and the big one.
Birthday: April 30, 1982
Beloved especially by fans who grew up with her teen movies, Kirsten Dunst scored her first Oscar nomination (for The Power of the Dog) the same year she turned 40.
Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock
Birthday: Aug. 30, 1982
His wife Brooklyn Decker included a healthy roast of tennis star Andy Roddick in her 40th birthday tribute to him. Noting that he’s not on Instagram to see the throwback photos she shared of him, the model/actor wrote (via People), “Be sure to send him birthday wishes on Twitter where all the other 40 somethings hang out. Time is moving at the speed of light. That’s good living, my friends.”
Birthday: Feb. 12, 1980
“I am 40 today,” Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci wrote on Instagram in 2020 alongside a recent photo of herself. “How are we doing on that cure for death?”
Birthday: Jan. 19, 1982
“I remember thinking that 40 was such an ‘official’ age when I was younger,” Full House star Jodie Sweetin wrote on Instagram on her 2022 birthday (via People). “Now? I realize 40 is just STARTING to feel like an adult. It’s old enough to have learned from lots of mistakes, but young enough to still go for the adventure. It’s finally feeling great in my own skin.”
Birthday: June 12, 1981
Model Adriana Lima rocked 40, walking the runway at Alexander Wang’s show with her pregnant belly on display.
Birthday: Nov. 29, 1982
Actor Gemma Chan joined the ranks of stars in their 40s in the same year she appeared in the sci-fi drama Don’t Worry Darling.
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