Some of the most legendary names in Hollywood, including Shirley Jones, Willie Nelson, Rita Moreno, and Carol Burnett have reached their 90th year (and beyond) — having achieved incredible career achievements, humanitarian goals and other milestones throughout their lives. Many of them continue to perform well into their 90s.
Read on to learn more about the incredible nonagenarian actors, musicians and even astronauts who have celebrated this remarkable birthday — with photos from the start of their careers and what they’re up to now.
of 28
Shirley MacLaine
Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine — known for her iconic roles in The Apartment (1960), Terms of Endearment (1983) and Steel Magnolias (1989) — joined the 90-year club on April 24, 2024. Having worked in Hollywood since the 1950s, MacLaine credits her longevity to dancing.
“I started my dance training at age three and stopped at about 67. It taught me discipline, loving music, working with people and dealing with pain,” MacLaine told PEOPLE in 2024 before sharing that she’s grateful she “can keep working.”
of 28
Shirley Jones
Oscar winner Jones — beloved for her roles in Oklahoma! (1955), Elmer Gantry (1960), The Music Man (1962) and on The Partridge Family — turned 90 on March 31, 2024. She celebrated with a party surrounded by her family.
Son Shaun Cassidy shared a photo of Jones on Instagram (posing with him and his brothers, Patrick and Ryan) wearing a “90 and Fabulous” sash and “90” tiara with the caption: “Happy birthday to Miss Pittsburgh!,” which is a nod to her early pageant days.
In a note on his official website, Cassidy elaborated further about what made his mom so special.
“In one week, on Easter Sunday, this small-town girl from Western Pennsylvania, who grew up to become a movie star but who never acted like one, will celebrate her 90th birthday,” he wrote. “In a journey full of dramatic highs and lows, mom has always been an optimist and a lover of life. Simple things mean the most to her: family, friends, nature, animals, laughter, sing-a-longs at the piano, a dry martini. Not necessarily in that order.”
of 28
Yoko Ono
Grammy Award-winning musician Yoko Ono celebrated her 91st birthday on February 18, 2024. Her official Instagram shared a photo of Ono standing next to a tree to mark the occasion, with the caption inviting followers to leave birthday wishes in the comments or on her site, Wish Tree for Yoko.
At the Oscars, Sean Lennon — the only child of Ono and late Beatles member John Lennon — took a moment during his acceptance speech for Best Animated Short Film to acknowledge her and this milestone.
“I just wanna quickly say, my mother turned 91 this February,” he said. “And today is Mother’s Day in the U.K., so could everyone please say, Happy Mother’s Day, Yoko?”
of 28
Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren — Alfred Hitchcock’s muse and star of 1963’s The Birds) — has had an interesting life with a strong legacy in Hollywood: Fellow actress Melanie Griffith is her daughter, and Dakota Johnson is her granddaughter.
On Jan. 19, 2024, Hedren celebrated her 94th birthday surrounded by family.
“It may not be exciting to the rest of the world, but as a mother and grandmother, it’s the perfect way to celebrate,” Hedren told PEOPLE in 2024.
of 28
Carol Burnett
The comedy icon turned 90 on April 26, 2023.
“I can’t wrap my head around it. I still feel like I’m about 11, but I’m amazed. It sure went fast,” she told PEOPLE at the time.
Known for the Emmy Award-winning program The Carol Burnett Show and her role as Miss Hannigan in 1982’s Annie and many other TV appearances, the actress hopes to leave a legacy of laughter.
“I made people laugh, made them feel good when they might have been down,” she said. “In my fan mail, many say it was the only time the family would get together to watch and laugh. And that sometimes they were lonesome and were cheered up by our show. That’s a good feeling.”
of 28
Joan Collins
Joan Collins, who turned 90 on May 23, 2023, is the epitome of indomitable — from growing up in London during World War II to being the most glamorous woman in the room at the Emmys well into her 90th year. Five husbands, three children and one indelible role later (as Alexis Carrington Colby on Dynasty), Collins has proven there is nothing like a Dame (she was named one in 2015)!
In a 2023 interview with Louis Theroux, she told him, via The Standard, that her youthful outlook (and 32-years-younger husband) were essential to her well-being.
“First of all, I don’t even feel my age. I don’t even talk about it. I don’t think about it,” Collins said. “I have some friends around my age, and, um, I don’t find them interesting. Everybody’s gotten older except me.”
of 28
William Daniels
William Daniels — who starred on the drama St. Elsewhere and voiced the iconic KITT automobile on the action series Knight Rider — is perhaps best known as Boy Meets World‘s beloved Mr. Feeny. He’s also known for his longtime marriage to fellow actor Bonnie Bartlett. The pair celebrated their 73rd anniversary on June 30, 2024.
Daniels, who turned 97 on March 31, 2024, told PEOPLE of his appreciation for his career and loved ones as he turned another year older.
“I am so lucky to have had such wonderful material to work with over the years, which has created my career,” he said. “I am also grateful for having such a special, wonderful family.”
of 28
Robert Wagner
Actor Robert Wagner worked in film for nearly 20 years before hitting it big in the late ’60s and ’70s with TV roles on It Takes a Thief, Switch and Hart to Hart. Later in his career, he played Number Two in the Austin Powers film franchise and had recurring roles on Two and a Half Men and NCIS.
Wagner turned 94 on Feb. 13, 2024, celebrating this milestone with his former Hart to Hart costar, Stefanie Powers (who dubbed him “94 and still going strong!”).
of 28
Rita Moreno
“All through the years, I’ve noticed that many people don’t realize what a joy it is and what a gift it is to be able to work in an arena that you really love,” Barbara Eden told PEOPLE when she turned 92 on Aug. 23, 2023. “So many people have to work in jobs they hate, and they have to do it just for sustenance, but aren’t we lucky when we can study for something, enjoy it, and know that other people enjoy it? I think that’s a gift that life gives us, if we are willing to work for it.”
In addition to maintaining an active social life, Eden has credited regular workouts (she still has a trainer, according to Page Six) for her longevity.
“Sometimes one is forced to slow down, but I’ll do what I do until I can’t,” the I Dream of Jeannie star previously told PEOPLE in 2021.
of 28
Quincy Jones
One of the most legendary music producers of all time, who worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones is responsible for iconic contributions, including “We Are the World,” E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) score and “Billie Jean.”
He celebrated his 90th birthday on March 14, 2023; his daughter (one of his seven children) Rashida Jones posted in his honor on Instagram: “This man is 90 today!!! 90 pics on his 90th birthday! No one has lived more life, survived more challenges, contributed more culturally, loved with every piece of his heart than ‘le Q.’ ”
of 28
Michael Caine
Michael Caine turned 90 on March 14, 2023, and celebrated with a star-studded birthday party, which included celebrities like Tom Cruise in attendance at the London bash. Following The Great Escaper film premiere in October, Caine announced his retirement, saying he’d gotten to do everything he wanted to: “I might as well leave with all this — what have I got to do to beat this?”
With two Oscars, a happy family life with wife Shakira Caine and many enduring roles to his name, it’s hard to argue with that assessment!
In 2024, a few months after marking his 91st birthday, Caine revealed in August that he was releasing a nonfiction book in March 2025, featuring stories about the lessons he’s learned throughout his life and career.
“I’m always asked questions — by fans, by other actors and friends, by my grandchildren. They want to know how I’ve lasted so long — how I handle fame – why I chose to do some of my films — which films and actors I like best and so forth,” Caine said in a statement shared with PEOPLE before adding, “I hope they’ll find Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life helps them to be optimistic — and shows that anyone can blow the bloody doors off.”
of 28
Willie Nelson
The country icon celebrates his birthday two days a year on April 29 and 30.
“I was born before midnight on the 29th, but it didn’t get registered in the county courthouse until the next day, the 30th,” Nelson explained on his SiriusXM radio show in 2018. “So it went out officially as the 30th. I just do both days.”
For his 90th birthday in 2023, he threw an epic, two-day concert with nearly 36,000 fans, with musical tributes from friends ranging from Snoop Dogg to Miranda Lambert.
“I never thought I’d get here,” Nelson told PEOPLE ahead of the event, crediting performing to his longevity.
He added, “I get a lot of fun out of playing for an audience. There’s a great energy exchange there. It’s what keeps me going.”
of 28
William Shatner
William Shatner celebrated entering his 90s on March 22, 2021, by joking on X (formerly Twitter): “Well! I must say that the reaction to a 90th birthday is overwhelming. Don’t you people have better things to do?”
In October 2021, the Star Trek actor with the iconic voice made history when he traveled on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space shuttle, becoming the oldest living person to go into space.
Upon turning 93 in 2024, Shatner shared his secret to staying “energetic” at his age.
“Just staying engaged in life, to stay curious. But the luck has a lot to do with it in your health,” Shatner told PEOPLE. “Your life’s energy, the soul energy of your body, is a product of health. If you’re sick, you can’t be energetic. You’re dying. So my luck has been, I’ve been healthy all my life.”
of 28
Robert Duvall
“I don’t know if I love any of it,” actor Robert Duvall joked to PEOPLE about being in his 90s, a milestone he reached on Jan. 5, 2021.
The Oscar winner — known for roles in 1972’s The Godfather and 1979’s Apocalypse Now — has continued to work in Hollywood, attributing his longevity to his marriage to fourth wife Luciana Pedraza.
“She takes care of me, and I have good friends and try to work out and keep in some kind of shape,” Duvall told PEOPLE.
of 28
Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman, who starred in The French Connection, Hoosiers and The Royal Tenenbaums, retired from acting in 2004.
“I miss the actual acting part of it, as it’s what I did for almost 60 years, and I really loved that. But the business for me is very stressful,” the two-time Oscar winner told Reuters in 2008. “It had gotten to a point where I just didn’t feel like I wanted to do it anymore.”
Hackman later channeled his creative energy into writing (his fifth book, Pursuit, came out in 2013) — but his fans are as ardent as ever, coming out en masse online to celebrate his 90th birthday on Jan. 30, 2020.
of 28
Dick Van Dyke
A beloved actor and comedian, Dick Van Dyke charmed audiences for decades on The Dick Van Dyke Show and in films like Mary Poppins (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Night at the Museum (2006).
In his cameo in the 2018 film Mary Poppins Returns, Van Dyke showed that he hasn’t aged a day since he starred in the original. (This was also evident in a flash mob thrown for his 90th on Dec. 13, 2015.)
Days after his 98th birthday in 2023, CBS aired the two-hour special Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic on Dec. 21 in his honor.
“I started with CBS under contract in 1955 with the CBS morning show, then The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis Murder,” Van Dyke said in a statement. “I’ve been with the CBS family for almost 70 years, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
He added, “I’m incredibly honored that CBS will be throwing a 98th birthday special for me. Can’t wait to be part of the show!”
So what’s Van Dyke’s secret to such a long and joyful life?
“Having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me,” he joked of Arlene Silver, whom he married in 2012.
of 28
Clint Eastwood
Prolific actor and director Clint Eastwood turned 94 on May 31, 2024.
In 2023, actor Chris Messina talked about working with the Oscar winner on the upcoming Eastwood-directed film Juror No. 2.
“He was awesome. I really loved him,” Messina said. “Ninety-three years old and completely with it, great notes, up on his feet behind the camera. He’s a badass.”
Eastwood has continued to direct and occasionally star in films, including The Mule (2018), Richard Jewell (2019) and Cry Macho (2021).
of 28
Kim Novak
Like Hedren, Kim Novak (who turned 91 in 2024) was one of the “Hitchcock blondes,” known for her role in 1958’s Vertigo. She left Hollywood behind more than half a century ago to pursue an art career, but her performances in the films of the 1950s continue to be some of the most talked-about in history.
“What’s wonderful is sometimes movies get less appreciated later and people get less appreciated,” she told PEOPLE in 2023. “But with me, it’s worked the opposite. I’m so grateful because I’ve become more respected as an actress … I think that the style is more appreciated, and so my life has grown richer the longer I’ve been around on this earth.”
Previously, she told PEOPLE in 2021, “I don’t keep track of the time. If I did, I’d be an old lady, and I’m not an old lady. I’m still riding my horse. I stay as healthy as I can.”
of 28
Eva Marie Saint
Actress Eva Marie Saint is the oldest living winner of an Academy Award and the star of acclaimed films such as On the Waterfront (1954) and North by Northwest (1959).
On July 4, 2024, she celebrated her 100th birthday with four generations of family members.
“I’m looking forward to spending my 100th birthday in Los Angeles with my dear, dear family. Four generations of family members will be gathering together from Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Barbara and San Francisco,” Saint told PEOPLE. “I certainly don’t feel 100 years old. I continue to take walks out in the fresh air, like watching baseball — especially the Los Angeles Dodgers, and enjoy time with my family and friends. A good life.”
of 28
Mel Brooks
Iconic funnyman and EGOT recipient Mel Brooks — who has had blockbuster success on TV, films and Broadway — has shown absolutely no signs of slowing down since his 90th birthday in 2016. In fact, he released a memoir, All About Me!, in 2021 before writing and executive producing the sequel series A History of the World, Part II for Hulu and receiving an Honorary Academy Award in 2024.
of 28
Ellen Burstyn
Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn, star of 2000’s Requiem for a Dream, said she’s been “busier than ever” since turning 90 on Dec. 7, 2022.
During a chat with her Law & Order: Organized Crime costar Christopher Meloni in 2023, she joked that her packed calendar was possible because “everybody else who could play those parts has already died, so I’m the only actress still standing who can play the great-grandmother or something (via Interview Magazine).”
Burstyn (who reprised her career-making Exorcist role nearly 50 years after the 1973 original) added, “I try to have the first words out of my mouth be, ‘Thank you.’ Thank you that I’m alive. Thank you that I’m safe. Thank you that I’m healthy. Thank you that I’m 90 and still going.”
of 28
David Attenborough
A comrade of Queen Elizabeth II, beloved British TV host and natural historian David Attenborough won an Emmy Award for narrating the 2017 documentary series Blue Planet II. He has remained incredibly popular.
In 2020, Attenborough (who turned 98 on May 8, 2024) broke the record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers, surpassing previous record holder Jennifer Aniston. He achieved the feat in just four hours and 44 minutes — only to leave Instagram months later. Attenborough also returned to narrate Planet Earth III in 2023.
of 28
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy is the founder of Motown Records, the music label responsible for launching the careers of the Supremes, Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder, among many others. Turning 94 on Nov. 28, 2023, Gordy has kept busy: In the early 2010s, he oversaw a musical about his life and successes that premiered on Broadway in 2013.
A decade later, Gordy was honored alongside longtime collaborator Smokey Robinson as 2023 MusiCares Persons of the Year honorees.
of 28
June Squibb
June Squibb received an Oscar nomination at age 84 for her role in Nebraska (2013) and hasn’t slowed down since appearing in Palm Springs (2020), Godmothered (2020) and on episodes of Life & Beth and Little America.
At 94, the actress landed her first-ever lead role in Thelma in 2024 — the same year she appeared in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead and voiced Nostalgia in Inside Out 2.
“I never questioned myself when I was younger, and I was very independent as a child,” Squibb told PEOPLE in 2024. “I think I probably wouldn’t still be here today working like I am if it weren’t for some of that.”
of 28
Joel Grey
Joel Grey — Oscar and Tony Award-winning Cabaret star — told PEOPLE on April 11, 2022, that he was celebrating his 90th birthday “with good friends.”
Even after he entered his 10th decade, Grey has remained a busy actor, including making a cameo in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tick, Tick… Boom!. He also appeared on three episodes of the 2022 FX thriller The Old Man, starring Jeff Bridges, and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Tonys.
When asked if he ever imagined becoming such a prolific actor as a young boy growing up in Cleveland, he told PEOPLE, “No! I didn’t. I’ve never thought about it, actually, and I never thought [about] this number that I’d be associated with: 9-0.”
In April 2024, the actor celebrated his 92nd birthday surrounded by family, his former Cabaret castmates and the cast of the Cabaret revival. “Tonight is an extraordinarily special night for us because we are in the presence of an extraordinary human being without whom none of us would be here,” Eddie Redmayne — who plays the role of Emcee, which Grey originated — said during a speech honoring Grey. “Your performance in this part changed my life, and it was one of the things that made me want to be an actor.”
of 28
Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert, whose career in entertainment has spanned nearly 70 years (and even included two albums), has been the voice you’ve heard introducing Alex Trebek on every episode of Jeopardy! from the host’s first turn in 1984 to Trebek’s death from stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2020. Gilbert is still doing so today, with the famous announcer turning 96 on July 13, 2024.
of 28
Buzz Aldrin
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin became the second human to set foot on the moon in July 1969 when his Apollo 11 mission landed on the lunar surface. He has since earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom, written books and continued to promote space exploration.
On his 93rd birthday in Jan. 20, 2023, Aldrin tied the knot with his fourth wife, Dr. Anca Faur, which was also the day he was honored at the Living Legends of Aviation 20th annual awards gala.
“It was what astronomers call a grand conjunction,” Aldrin said. “All the stars were now aligned to marry.”
Source: People
Eternal Pen online magazine publishes interesting content every day in the celebrity section of the entertainment category. Follow us to read the latest news.
