By Wonderwall.com Editors
6:15am PST, Feb 13, 2024
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A slew of famous 1944 babies are set to blow out 80 candles in 2024. Join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at the stars making their 80th trip around the sun this year…
Three-time Emmy winner Stockard Channing, who also has a Tony Award (and a Harvard degree) under her belt, blows out 80 candles on Feb. 13.
Stockard, who's best known for playing sarcastic tough girl Rizzo in 1978's "Grease," has a decades-spanning acting career that's included major roles on "The West Wing" and "The Good Wife" as well as theatrical roles on and off Broadway.
Keep reading to see which other stars are turning 80 this year…
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Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page, whose pioneering guitar riffs, compositions and skills as a producer helped make the group one of the bestselling music artists of all time, turned 80 on Jan. 9.
The massively influential British rocker enters his new decade as an O.B.E. — he was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 — and a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. Jimmy got his start as a session guitarist in London in the early '60s, contributing to recordings by The Who, the Rolling Stones, Petula Clark and many other artists.
He went on to join the Yardbirds in 1966 before forming Led Zeppelin two years later alongside singer Robert Plant, keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. Though he rarely performs in public, Rolling Stone named Jimmy to the No. 3 spot on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list in 2023, ranking him behind Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix.
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Famed journalist Carl Bernstein celebrates his 80th birthday on Valentine's Day.
In 1973, the investigative reporter and author, along with The Washington Post colleague Bob Woodward, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their Watergate scandal coverage that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
MORE: Stars born in 1984
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"Gilmore Girls" alum Kelly Bishop rings in her 80th year on Feb. 28.
Before landing the role of Emily Gilmore on the long-running WB dramady, Kelly notably played Frances "Baby" Houseman's mom, Marjorie, in "Dirty Dancing." The prolific TV star currently plays Mrs. Ivey on "The Watchful Eye."
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The legendary Diana Ross kicks off her 80th trip around the sun on March 26.
A Detroit native, Diana famously got her start as the lead singer in Motown's The Supremes before moving on to forge a wildly successful solo career singing R&B, disco and pop. She's also appeared in a handful of films over the years including "The Wiz."
Asked to what she credits her longevity in the music biz, the mother of five told the Los Angeles Times in 2017, "The love and joy of performing. The harmony of life. The love of family." Her kids include actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Ashlee Simpson's husband, Evan Ross.
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"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…," a filmmaker named George Lucas started piecing together the story of a "space opera" that would become "Stars Wars." George was fresh off his 47th birthday when the movie hit theaters in 1977, sparking a long-running franchise and helping him become one of the wealthiest movie business professionals in the world. (The billionaire agreed in 2010 to donate at least half of his wealth to charity as part of Bill Gates' and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge.)
The writer, director, producer and philanthropist celebrates his 80th birthday on May 14, 2024.
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The Who's Roger Daltrey joins his fellow classic rocker Jimmy Page in the 80s club on March 1.
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After a troubled childhood involving drug use and abuse, Danny Trejo got sober and began working as an actor, initially picking up gigs as an extra and other small parts. Credits in the 1995 Western "Desperado" and 1996's "From Dusk Till Dawn" followed, as did appearances in "Spy Kids" and "Anchorman" (and the revelation that director Robert Rodriguez was a second cousin).
Danny officially becomes an octogenarian on May 16.
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Singer Gladys Knight of Gladys Knight & the Pips fame turns 80 on May 28.
Long hailed as the "Empress of Soul," the Atlanta native has recorded hits like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," "Neither One of Us" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" and earned accolades including seven Grammys, the National Medal of Arts and a Kennedy Center Honor.
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Michelle Phillips, who co-wrote major hits like "California Dreamin'" for her folk-rock act, The Mamas & the Papas, turns 80 on June 4.
Michelle co-founded the vocal group with her then-husband, John Phillips, in 1965. By 1970, both the marriage and the band had split up, leaving Michelle free to pursue a career in acting, which led to appearances in '70s films like "The Last Movie" and "Dillinger" and TV shows including "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and "Knot's Landing."
The star is now last surviving member of The Mamas & the Papas. She's also a mom and a grandmother: Her daughter, Wilson Phillips singer Chynna Phillips, shares three kids with actor William Baldwin.
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Oscar-nominated actor Gary Busey, who nearly died in a motorcycle crash in 1988, kicks off his 80th year on June 29.
Recalling how the accident changed his life in an interview with The Guardian in 2020, the "Point Break" star said he died while undergoing brain surgery for a subdural haematoma he sustained as a result of the crash.
"I went off the bike without a helmet, hit my head into a [curb], split my skull, passed away after brain surgery and went to the other side — the spiritual realm where I got information. And I came back, and these messages, these definitions, came to me first class," he said at the time.
In addition to recent stints on reality shows like "Celebrity Rehab" and "Dancing With the Stars," the actor's fake reality show-slash-comedy, "Gary Busey: Pet Judge," began streaming on Amazon Prime in 2020.
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"Arrested Development" turned 20 on Nov. 5, 2023, and on July 8, 2024, one of its stars turns 80. That would be Jeffrey Tambor, who hilariously played the imprisoned Bluth family patriarch, George (as well as George's twin, Oscar). Jeffrey went on to win two Emmys for his work as Maura Pfefferman on "Transparent."
He was fired in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied, and inappropriate behavior, which he apologized for, citing longstanding anger issues. At the time, The Hollywood Reporter called the allegations "one of the most complex cases of the #MeToo era."
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"1883" star Sam Elliott — who finally got the Academy recognition many said he long deserved when he scored an Oscar nod for his work in 2018's "A Star Is Born" — enters his ninth decade on Aug. 9 when he turns 80.
Renowned for his character actor skills in Westerns, Sam's also turned in memorable performances in "Tombstone," "Gettysburg," "The Big Lebowski" and more.
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The ever-stunning Jacqueline Bisset, who made her first splash in Hollywood in 1967's "Two for the Road," welcomes the big 8-0 on Sept. 13. Asked about enduring beauty and whether she'd consider plastic surgery in 2014, Jacqueline said she doesn't think surgery makes anyone "look younger."
Chatting with the hosts of "Today" and Jane Seymour, the British actress explained, "You've got to get used to yourself, you have to face yourself. On a deep, deep level you have to face yourself and say that people love me, the inside of me … it took me my life [to get there]."
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"Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels celebrates his 80th birthday on Nov. 17, but don't expect him to step away from his long-running sketch-comedy show anytime soon. In a 2022 interview, Lorne assured The New York Times he had "no plans to retire."
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Birthday boy Danny DeVito has a way of endearing audiences to the string of awful characters he's played through the years, from bellowing cab dispatcher Louie on "Taxi" to Dennis and Dee's hilariously sketchy dad Frank on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Danny marks his milestone 80th on Nov. 17.
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In recent years, Philadelphia's "Godmother of Soul," Patti LaBelle, has continued working in music while branching out to launch her "Good Life" food brand. With an album reportedly in the works for a 2024 release and no plans to retire from either career, it's hard to believe the singer turns 80 on May 24.
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The Kinks' Ray Davies almost didn't make it to 80 — after he was shot on the street in New Orleans in 2004 while chasing down the person who'd mugged him after a leisurely dinner out. Luckily for rock fans around the world, he survived and is set to usher in his 80s on June 21.
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Michael Douglas — whose famous dad, Kirk Douglas, lived to be 103 — begins his 80th trip around the sun on Sept. 25.
The "Kominsky Method" star has had positive things to say about the prospect of growing older. "The upside of aging is that you choose how you spend your time much more carefully," he told the Mirror in 2019. "Rather than just going with the flow, you wake up in the morning and you think about what you are going to do that week."
Michael shares a birthday with his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, though the two are 25 years apart in age. She turns 55 on Sept. 25.
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One of Hollywood's go-to big-screen villains, John Glover, will also turn 80 in 2024. The longtime voice of The Riddler blows out his candles on Aug. 7.
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"Ray" director Taylor Hackford sets out on his octogenarian journey on his 80th birthday, Dec. 31. His famous wife, actress Helen Mirren, is a few months behind him; she won't turn 80 until July 26, 2025.
