18 Stars Celebrating Their 50th Birthday in 2022, Though You Wouldn’t Believe it by Looking at Them
Time flies so fast that it’s hard to believe that many of our favorite films were released 20 or 30 years ago. And the young actors who starred in them are no longer as young as we remember them to be. Some of them are even celebrating their 50th birthday this year. The same can be said of the musicians whose music we spent hours listening to on CD players. So here’s a list of celebrities, in addition to Eminem, Marlon Wayans and Cameron Diaz, who are celebrating their 50th year on Earth in 2022.
1. Eric Dane
Eric Dane is best known for playing Jason Dean in Charmed and Dr Mark Sloane in the television series Grey’s Anatomy. He has since been in many films, including Marley & Me, Valentine’s Day and Burlesque. Eric Dane is currently playing Cal Jacobs in the HBO series Euphoria.
2. Josh Duhamel
Josh Duhamel is best known for his starring roles in When in Rome, Life as We Know It, Safe Haven and Transformers. September 2022 saw the release of a film titled Bandit starring Duhamel, which is based on a true story. The film received positive reviews from critics, who called it the best work of Duhamel’s career.
3. Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet began her career with small roles on television and made her film debut in Animal Room (1995). Wider recognition was brought to her in the role of Jill St. Claire in The Whole Nine Yards (2000), where her partners on set were Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. In the same year, she was voted by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.
4. Nick Frost
Nick Frost is a British actor, writer, comedian, artist, producer, and writer. He is best known to audiences for his work on Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul, and The World’s End, all of which he worked on with Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Incidentally, Nick Frost has been friends with Simon Pegg for many years.
5. Vanessa Paradis
French actress, singer, and model Vanessa Paradis is nearly 50 years old. She first became famous at the age of 14 with the song ’Joe le taxi’. And at 20, Paradis already had her first international tour in France, England and Canada with the Natural High Tour. Vanessa made her film debut in 1989 in the lead female role in White Wedding. Paradis also collaborated with Chanel, promoting the perfume Coco. The actress has been seen on set alongside such stars as Gérard Depardieu, Jean Reno, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Alain Delon.
6. Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross is an actress, TV presenter, model, writer, and producer best known for her roles in the sitcoms Girlfriends (2000-2008) and Black-ish (2014-2022). Her role in the latter earned Tracey a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and five Emmy nominations in the same category.
7. Julie Benz
Julie Benz is best known for her roles in the TV series Dexter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Other projects Julie Benz has starred in include George of the Jungle 2, Rambo, Saw V, and Transcendence.
8. Rhea Seehorn
Rhea Seehorn is best known for her role as Kim Wexler on Better Call Saul (2015-2022), for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy.
9. Mike Dirnt
Mike Dirnt is the bassist and backing vocalist for Green Day. Dirnt is his stage name. It was originally a nickname given to him by friends from primary school, as he constantly played “air bass/guitar,” making a “dirnt, dirnt, dirnt” sound as he pretended to strum.
10. Toni Collette
Australian actress and singer Toni Collette received major international acclaim for her role as the mother of a boy who could see ghosts in the mystery thriller The Sixth Sense. For this role, the actress received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. And 2009 saw the release of the series United States of Tara, in which she played 8 roles (her character suffers from a personality disorder). She received an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work.
11. Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox is best known for her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black. The role earned her a nomination for an Emmy award in 2014.
12. Eli Roth
Eli Roth is best known as a producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known to the general public in 2009 after the release of Inglourious Basterds, in which he played one of the leading roles, Sergeant Donny Donowitz, nicknamed “The Bear Jew.” Interestingly, Roth began making films at the age of 8 after watching Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979).
13. Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr., better known as Busta Rhymes, is a popular rap artist, producer, and actor. He has received 12 Grammy nominations for his work, making him one of the most nominated artists without a win. Incidentally, Busta Rhymes started rapping at the age of 12. MTV called him “one of hip-hop’s greatest visual artists.”
Some of his most famous songs include “I Know What You Want,” performed with Mariah Carey, as well as “Don’t Cha,” on which Busta collaborated with The Pussycat Dolls.
14. Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle has starred in many successful films. Her most memorable include supporting roles in such major films as Home Alone 4, The Artist, Big Fish, Soul Plane, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.
15. Dane Cook
Dane Jeffrey Cook is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He has released six comedy albums. Cook is also involved in many TV shows. Apart from his career as a comedian, Cook has also appeared in films. The most famous of them are London, Good Luck Chuck, Mr. Brooks, My Best Friend’s Girl, Dan in Real Life, and Employee of the Month.
16. Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller is best known for his role as Michael Scofield in Prison Break (2005) and as Captain Cold in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. The actor also starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and in 2010 he played Chris Redfield, the lead character’s brother in Resident Evil: Afterlife.
17. Claire Forlani
In 1996, Forlani starred in the blockbuster The Rock, which brought her to the movie studios’ attention. But Forlani’s real fame came with the film Meet Joe Black, starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. She also played in such films as Medallion, Ripley Under Ground, Flashbacks of a Fool, and Black Beauty.
18. Sung Kang
The actor is best known for playing Han Liu in the Fast and Furious franchise (starting with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). Sung Kang first portrayed this character in Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). Kang also played John Mak in the TV series Power, as well as appearing in Live Free or Die Hard, War, and Bullet to the Head.
Whose 50th birthday comes as a surprise to you?