Telling how old someone is just by their appearance is a tricky game, as not only the years spent under the sun but lifestyle choices, including diet, drinking habits, and physical activity, influence how gracefully a person ages.
In Hollywood, moreover, aging is often manipulated with both invasive cosmetic procedures and non-invasive enhancements.
Stars who engage in such practices tend to defy time entirely, while those who choose to steer clear of them look like they have flipped more calendars than they actually have.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that fans are often shocked to discover two stars who look decades apart share the same birth year. Below are 40 such examples.
#1 Timothee Chalamet & Thomas Doherty
Netizens perceive Doherty as slightly older than 30, citing his more pronounced facial features.
On a Reddit thread showing him in a pool with his wet hair slicked back, one user remarked that he “looks 37.”
Chalamet, meanwhile, is often described by platform users as looking like a teenager, with one saying, “I know 17-year-olds who look older than him.”
His youthful appearance is often attributed to his slender build and small face.
Image source: Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images, Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
#2 Andie Macdowell & Madonna
Andie MacDowell and Madonna are both in their late 60s, but the pop star is often said to look younger than the Four Weddings and a Funeral actress.
Reddit users argue it is because of her “determination to preserve her youth” through cosmetic procedures, while MacDowell embraces aging gracefully.
The actress has proudly showcased her gray hair since 2021, revealing in a Vogue interview that her kids said she “looked bada**” when she first stopped coloring her hair during lockdown.
Madonna, notably, has not admitted to getting any invasive aesthetic treatments.
Image source: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images, madonna
#3 Jennifer Aniston & Mariah Carey
Jennifer Aniston appears older with facial evolutions such as sagging cheeks becoming more visible in the past year. Reports suggest she may have scaled back on fillers and Botox in 2025 after facing criticism over a puffier look in 2024.
A January 2025 report from Radar Online claimed Aniston was planning to embrace a more “girl-next-door” look in the new year.
On the other hand, Carey’s rounder, fuller facial features are often seen as giving her a more blooming appearance.
Image source: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images, Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images
#4 Blake Lively & Nicola Coughlan
Lively appears more mature than the Bridgerton star due to her style, which often involves tailored suits for non–red carpet outings and makeup incorporating contoured cheeks and defined brows.
Coughlan’s plumper face and classic British blush-pink complexion, paired with her feminine manner of dressing, give her a youthful look.
Image source: Dave Benett/Getty Images, TheStewartofNY/WireImage
#5 Jennifer Lopez & Renée Zellweger
Jennifer Lopez and Renée Zellweger are both 56 years old, but the latter appears her age, with visible facial lines, especially creases on her forehead, while the former looks more youthful, with tighter, smoother skin and no visible wrinkles.
Lopez has credited a healthy diet and regular exercise for her slower aging, clarifying in a 2021 Instagram comment that she has never had “Botox, injectables, or surgery.”
Image source: jlo, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
#6 Alexandra Daddario & Lady Gaga
Alexandra Daddario is often appreciated for having quintessential Hollywood features like large blue eyes, high cheekbones, and smooth skin. Interestingly, these traits also align with qualities typically associated with youthfulness.
Although the same age as Daddario, Lady Gaga can look more mature thanks to her experimental makeup, striking hairstyles, and contouring that emphasize her jawline and cheekbones.
Image source: alexandradaddario, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
#7 David Harbour & Bradley Cooper
David Harbour played the rugged adoptive father to Millie Bobby Brown’s character in Stranger Things for years and recently carried that persona onto the red carpet for the final season, sporting a thick salt-and-pepper mustache that may have led some to perceive him as older than he is.
Cooper, on the other hand, always carries a polished Hollywood leading-man charm. With his carefully groomed mane, neat facial hair, and fit physique, he’s often seen as younger than 50.
Image source: Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images, Bryan Berlin
#8 Keanu Reeves & Guillermo Del Toro
Keanu Reeves appears more youthful than Guillermo del Toro at 61, which some Reddit users attribute to his commitment to staying physically fit. His long locks and abundant facial hair may also conceal signs of aging.
The Frankenstein filmmaker, meanwhile, has matured conventionally. His white beard, glasses framing his face, and fuller physique are all age-appropriate.
Image source: Neil Mockford/Getty Images, Kacy Bao
#9 Kirsten Dunst & Nicki Minaj
Kirsten Dunst openly rejects anti-aging trends, telling GQ in 2024 that she won’t “scr*w up” her face or “look like a fre*k.” At 43, this approach gives her a naturally seasoned appearance.
Nicki Minaj, on the other hand, embraces bold beauty trends, including eccentric nails and dramatic makeup, which create a more spirited aesthetic despite being the same age.
Image source: patidubroff/Instagram, Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images
#10 Rihanna & Emma Stone
Rihanna and Emma Stone, both 37, have very different personal styles that influence how far apart in age they appear.
Stone often comes across as youthful because of her feminine outfits, blush-toned makeup, and experimental hairstyles adopted for film roles.
Rihanna, on the other hand, leans into oversized cargo pants, jeans, and jackets, along with warm, bronzed makeup that accentuates her complexion, giving her a more wiser edge.
Image source: Unique Nicole/Getty Images , Gabriel Hutchinson Photography
#11 Andrew Garfield & Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill possesses an angular facial structure and a broader, muscular build. He is often styled with facial hair and cast in authoritative roles like Superman and Geralt, which can make him seem older.
Garfield has a more slender build and softer facial features and is frequently cast in roles with boyish energy, leading the public to view him as younger.
The actor was spotted last year on the set of his upcoming film Artificial, in which he stars as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, leading an X user to comment, “That’s insane. Garfield has hardly aged.”
Image source: Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images, Chris Hyde/Getty Images
#12 Stephen King & Arnold Schwarzenegger
Stephen King and Arnold Schwarzenegger are both in their late 70s in 2026.
King shows more pronounced signs of aging, with hollowed cheekbones and graying hair. Schwarzenegger, despite losing some of his signature ’70s muscle and gaining weight, still retains a lively radiance.
Image source: Tracey Biel/Getty Images, Tristar Media/Getty Images
#13 Alyssa Milano & Leslie Mann
Alyssa Milano recently confirmed she uses Botox to maintain a youthful appearance, telling Yahoo’s Unapologetic series, “We’re not fooling anybody. Someone can Google my age. It’s not like people don’t know how old I am.”
Leslie Mann, meanwhile, said in a 2018 NewBeauty cover story that she never felt pressure to preserve a fresh image in Hollywood because she was never positioned as the “hot girl.”
She noted that people were unlikely to say, “She was gorgeous when she was young, and now she’s not.”
These contrasting confessions help explain why two women born in the same year can appear as though they belong to different decades.
Image source: Bryan Berlin , Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty Images
#14 Eminem & The Rock
Eminem appears younger due to his lean physique. By contrast, Johnson has maintained his muscular build, even after largely stepping away from wrestling to focus on acting.
Johnson also looks older because of his voluntarily shaved head — a decision he made after observing that his hair looked like “a cross between an afro and hair from a Liama’s b*ll s*ck.”
Image source: eminem/Instagram, Harald Krichel
#15 Harry Melling & Taron Egerton
Taron Egerton has confidently embraced a buzz cut since 2018, after wrapping production on the Elton John biopic Rocketman.
The hairstyle accentuates the defined bone structure of his face and contributes to a more stoic look than Melling, who often sports his hair in untamed styles and maintains a reserved posture in public, giving him a more youthful appearance.
Image source: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
#16 Jim Parsons & Andrew Lincoln
Known for his rugged, survivalist roles in The Walking Dead and Cold Water, Lincoln appears more timeworn, thanks to his silver-streaked hair on and off screen.
Parsons, with his usually clean-shaven look, smoother facial features, and slimmer build, appears less mature than his actual age.
That said, the difference between the two seems less obvious when Parsons is pictured with facial hair.
Image source: PhilipRomanoPhoto, Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
#17 Mara Wilson & Ashley Greene
Mara Wilson became well known as a child actor in films like Miracle on 34th Street and Matilda, but stepped back from mainstream show business at 13 to focus on education and writing, doing only occasional voice work and creative projects in Hollywood.
This step back allowed her to embrace more natural, everyday styling, making her appear more age-authentic.
Ashley Greene continues to be active in filmmaking, requiring regular red carpet appearances and a refined image, including professional hair and makeup, which may make her appear younger.
Image source: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images , Super Festivals
#18 Olivia Colman & Elizabeth Banks
Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Banks present themselves quite differently, influencing how old they are perceived to be.
Banks often embraces sleek blowouts, trend-driven makeup, and figure-hugging dresses, giving her a more youthful edge.
Colman, on the other hand, tends to favor softer makeup and more understated fashion, embracing high-end British elegance with structured coats and long gowns that read as slightly more mature.
Image source: Karwai Tang/WireImage, Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
#19 Tom Holland & Jacob Batalon
Jacob Batalon, who plays Tom Holland’s Peter Parker’s best friend in Spider-Man movies, was diagnosed with alopecia in middle school, leading him to lose all his hair, something that makes him appear more weathered than Holland.
Holland’s modest self-proclaimed height of “five feet seven and a half” and clean-shaven appearance make him look like a “teenager,” according to some Redditors.
Batalon also dons glasses, which adds to his mature appearance.
Image source: Karwai Tang/WireImage, JC Olivera/Variety/Getty Images
#20 Kim Kardashian & Kristen Bell
Kim Kardashian and Kristen Bell are both 45 years old in 2026, but even a momentary glance at their visages would lead one to say the former looks younger than the latter.
No fine lines or wrinkles can be seen on the reality star’s face, which netizens credit to relentless use of fillers and Botox.
Meanwhile, the Nobody Wants This actress, while still looking radiant, embraces the natural creases of her face, such as smile lines and slight drooping around the eyes.
Image source: kimkardashian/Instagram, Kevin Paul
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