Celebrities Turning 50 in 2008

James Joyner @ Gone Hollywood | Thursday, December 13, 2007

Some major celebrities are hitting the half century mark in 2008 and AARP Magazine is celebrating them a bit early.

AARP The Magazine’s January/February issue is all about the big 5-Oh. We believe that 2008 is the year that will forever change the image of 50. Look at our cover girl for the January/February issue of AARP The Magazine – Caroline Kennedy! Can you believe she’s 50?!

Actually, I can. Her dad was shot two years before I was born, after all.

You heard it here first: 2008 is the year that will forever change the image of 50. Consider the bumper crop of rock stars and sex symbols who will hit the half-century mark—including Sharon Stone, Madonna, Viggo Mortensen, Ellen DeGeneres, Prince, and Michelle Pfeiffer, just to name a few.

Does that mean 50 is the new 30? Not really. Most of us, at 50 and beyond, are happy with the lines we’ve earned and the lives we’ve led. Still, nobody can deny that being a quinquagenarian today is a whole new ball game. Fifty can mean starting a brand-new career or soaring to new heights in an old one (before Lord of the Rings, few would have recognized the accomplished indie actor Viggo Mortensen). It can mean having young children (Stone has three kids under age seven). Or it can mean the freedom and confidence to do whatever the heck you want—whether it’s to spend time with family, write children’s books, take to the stage in a corset, or, like Madonna, do all three.

So in honor of AARP’s 50th anniversary we hereby proclaim: “50 is the new 50.” And when the birthday party’s over, we guarantee you’ll never think of the Big 5-Oh the same way again.

Some others:

* Ellen DeGeneres (January 26) will be throwing a bash on her popular daytime talk show, Ellen, and including some of her signature original dance moves.

* Sharon Stone (March 10) avoids sticking to a regular exercise plan and loves dark chocolate, but stays youthful and full of life by staying active fighting against HIV/AIDS.

* Michelle Pfeiffer (April 29) came back from her career hiatus to appear in three films last year. The mother of two teenagers also just quit smoking and started using sunscreen to protect herself.

* Prince (June 7) is still a prolific one-man band (high heels and pompadour included) perpetually cranking out CDs. The star also launched a new fragrance recently, 3121.

* Madonna (August 16), mother of three young kids, will release a new CD this year and mulling a “Madonna at 50” tour next summer. “Madonna’s 50th Birthday Countdown Clock” can be downloaded from the web and applied to your computer’s desktop.

* Viggo Mortensen (October 20) just recently became a movie star with his performances in Lord of the Rings and Eastern Promises. The Danish American is also a poet, photographer, painter and fluent in four languages.