# What celebrity surprised you when you first learned of their true age? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449 "2014-04-18T22:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/61 "2014-04-21T14:11:45Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > I saw Jamie Foxx doing stand up before _ **In Living Color** _ in LA. He was decent enough, but he looked like a teenager at the time. He was born in 1967, if it was before In Living Color, odds are he _was_ a teenager. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/62 "2014-04-21T14:18:51Z")
I was pretty surprised to find out how old Traci Lords was, back when it first became news. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/63 "2014-04-21T23:39:19Z")
I had a terrible celebrity crush on Claire Danes with “My So Called Life” came out. She was playing a high school kid, so I figured she was really in her 20s like most actors playing high schoolers. Turns out she was 13. So yeah. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/64 "2014-04-21T23:57:30Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I had a terrible celebrity crush on Claire Danes with “My So Called Life” came out. She was playing a high school kid, so I figured she was really in her 20s like most actors playing high schoolers. Turns out she was 13. So yeah. 15 years 4 months on the day that it first aired. I don’t know how early it filmed. But yeah, you can usually assume a 12-20 y.o. character is played by an actor at least 5 years older. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/65 "2014-04-22T01:34:12Z")
[Jian ghomeshi](https://www.google.com/search?complete=0&hl=en&q=Jian%20ghomeshi&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.65177938,d.aWw,pv.xjs.s.en_US.oi8x2-IrGEU.O&biw=1600&bih=753&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=o8ZVU-2MAc6GyAS3m4LwAQ) sure doesn’t look 46. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/66 "2014-04-22T01:46:57Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > He was born in 1967, if it was before In Living Color, odds are he _was_ a teenager. It was 1991 and he was 24. I know because (again) I’m 9 months older than he is. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/67 "2014-04-23T08:55:27Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > 15 years 4 months on the day that it first aired. I don’t know how early it filmed. But yeah, you can usually assume a 12-20 y.o. character is played by an actor at least 5 years older. Right, at least. Just the previous year (1993), one of the characters on _Beverly Hills 90210_ was supposed to still be in high school, but was played by an [actress](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Carteris) who was actually 32 at the time. Whereas Claire Danes just turned 35 a couple weeks ago, which seems so weird. It’s quite rare that I find myself surprised that “oh, so-and-so is still only \_\_\_\_\_?” rather than “wow, when did they get so old?” ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/68 "2014-04-23T13:55:39Z")
Going back in time a bit… In the Brit-Com “Waiting for God” Stephanie Cole was playing a rest-home resident who was probably in her late 60s to early 70s. In real life, she was 49 when the series started. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/69 "2014-04-23T18:35:53Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > It was 1991 and he was 24. > I know because (again) I’m 9 months older than he is. So it was after In Living Color started. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/70 "2014-04-23T19:08:40Z")
Sparky Anderson was only 76 when he died in 2010. I thought he was in his 70s when he was coaching the Tigers in the early 90s. And William Shatner doesn’t look like he’s any older than 65. He’s 83. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/71 "2014-04-23T19:41:04Z")
Claudia Black’s (Farscape, Stargate) age has pretty much always been a controversy. She’s listed as being 41 and has pretty much always looked about 10 years older than she’s billed as. It won’t surprise me if it comes out someday that she IS older than she’s claimed. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/72 "2014-04-23T20:28:48Z")
> [@Critical\_Mass](#): > > Sparky Anderson was only 76 when he died in 2010. I thought he was in his 70s when he was coaching the Tigers in the early 90s. Hell he looked in his 60s coaching Cincinnati back in the 1970s ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/73 "2014-04-23T21:17:40Z")
We were watching Antiques Roadshow the other day and I looked up the Keno brothers. They’re 57! I had no idea. Also, we caught a rerun of _F Troop_ and I looked up trivia on that. I learned that Melody “Wrangler Jane” Anderson was 15 when she auditioned for and began shooting the series, which is why they didn’t have any real kissing scenes between her and her love interest, Ken Berry, until late in the first season when she turned 16. Berry was, I think, 29 when the show premiered. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/74 "2014-04-23T22:47:11Z")
I was surprised to see that Lucille Ball was in her late 40’s at the end of filming _I Love Lucy_ (46 years old in 1957). During her 1960’s show she was in her 50’s - that’s old! (I’m also showing my age I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/75 "2014-04-23T22:58:12Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Jeff Goldblum is 62. I know he’s been around a while…but it just seems wrong, somehow. It does seem wrong. Goldblum and Denzel Washington made their film debuts in 1974’s _Death Wish._ Washington turns 60 this year. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/76 "2014-04-23T23:44:55Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I was surprised to see that Lucille Ball was in her late 40’s at the end of filming _I Love Lucy_ (46 years old in 1957). During her 1960’s show she was in her 50’s - that’s old! (I’m also showing my age I guess.) Hush, child. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/77 "2014-04-24T00:31:13Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > So it was after In Living Color started. Yes, but Jamie Foxx didn’t join In Living Color until the third season, so he wasn’t yet a cast member when **nevadaexile** saw him. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/78 "2014-04-24T01:01:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One recent example is Pharrell Williams. As a pop singer, you’d expect him to be young and he has a baby face. But he’s 41. Seconded. This really surprised me too. I thought, because he looked young and because he’s become more famous only recently, that he was my age at the very most (29) or even younger. But then I found out that he was 41 years old and has actually been in the music business for quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/79 "2014-04-24T11:41:20Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > We were watching Antiques Roadshow the other day and I looked up the Keno brothers. They’re 57! I had no idea. Any idea what they’re worth?😃 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/80 "2014-04-24T13:39:32Z")
Spencer from iCarly. [Take a look at the cast](http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/30300000/iCarly-cast-nickelodeon-stars-30321997-720-533.jpg). Around the time that picture was taken, the one on the left was 16, the three on the right were about 20. The tall one in the middle, Spencer, 35. I’m sure, to someone that’s just looking at the picture, that’s never seen the show before, you can guess that he’s older. But I’m willing to bet that most people that have watched the show wouldn’t have guessed that Carly’s older brother was 15 years older. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449.md?page=5)