"If Anyone Asks How Old I Am, Tell Them It’s None Of Their Business": 13 Celebs Who Lied About Being WAY Younger (Or Older) Than They Actually Were
by Carley Suthers · BuzzFeedLying about your age is nothing new in Hollywood (or really anywhere, for that matter). As we all know, age discrimination is still rampant, especially in careers such as acting, when success relies on an actor's looks and sex appeal. This is the reason why many celebs have lied about their ages by claiming to be younger (or sometimes OLDER) than they actually are...
From being deemed too inexperienced to "not hireable," many reasons — both personal and professional — will often convince a celeb that keeping their real age hidden is a wise move. Without further ado, here are 13 actors who have had to lie about being either older or younger than they truly were:
1. Pretended to be older: Sandra Bullock
In 1992, Bullock admitted to journalist Barbara Walters that she had lied about her age to secure her first lead film role in the romantic comedy Love Potion #9.
The Miss Congeniality star revealed that the film's producers had agreed that they wanted a 29-year-old actor to play the female lead, Dr. Diane Farrow. However, the movie (which wasn't released until 1992) was filmed in 1990, and Bullock — who was born in 1964 — was just a few years shy of the producer's desired age. So, she decided to tell a little white lie during her audition and got the role, which became her first leading role. However, Bullock's big break didn't occur until the following year when she played Lenina Huxley in the action movie Demolition Man.
But this wasn't the only time the Academy Award winner lied about her age. She later told Detour magazine, "After a while, you really have no idea how old you are because you've lied so many times. I always said I would never lie, but one time when I didn't, it worked against me. So I figure you just keep them guessing."
2. Pretended to be younger: Laverne Cox
In a February 2022 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cox opened up about the reason behind her decision to remain elusive about her age for over two decades. "I was 28 years old, and I was dating a guy that was 21, and he broke up with me because he said I was too old. And I was like, 'Oh, if I'm too old, I'll just be 22.'"
The Orange is the New Black actor revealed that for the next two years, she claimed that she was only 22 years old, but eventually, she "didn't feel comfortable" lying about her age long-term and decided to only refer to herself as "over 21."
"So I was 'over 21' from 2002 to like 2019, And then IMDb figured out my real age, and then, so it started appearing places, and it was freaking me out. I was having such anxiety," she admitted.
Cox then revealed that she began addressing her age-related anxiety with a therapist: "I started unpacking these stories about being older. The stories were that I wasn't hireable, I wasn't dateable, I wasn't effable over a certain age — apparently, the age was like 27 [or] 28 — and then I worked through all that."
The now-52-year-old recalled her startling realization after revealing her true age during a 2019 speaking engagement: "I thought the sky was going to fall, and then people were just like … it was like nothing. It was a reminder that, in our heads, we might have shame about something, and it's terrible and awful, and no one really cares. It's all in our heads. So I am proudly 49, about to turn 50, and I'm so excited and happy to be able to own that."
However, when DeGeneres said, "It's horrible to have secrets," Cox noted, "To be real, I am a Black actress over 40 in Hollywood, so lying about my age is not completely insane."
3. Pretended to be older: Mila Kunis
Kunis opened up about her age-related "fib" during a 2016 interview on The Howard Stern Show. When asked if she truly was only 14 years old when she auditioned for That '70s Show, the then-32-year-old revealed, "I was in ninth grade."
Stern then asked if she lied to get the role. Kunis admitted, "I fibbed a little...so I auditioned for [That '70s Show], and the character's supposed to be 14, but in all television, they want you to be legally emancipated so you can work longer hours. They're like, 'Are you 18?' I must have been like, 'Yeah, sure.'"
"If you watch the pilot, I am clearly a child." She further confirmed and elaborated that her now-husband, Ashton Kutcher — who was 19 when the show premiered — was her first real kiss.
When Stern asked if the relationship ever turned romantic during their time on set, Kunis shook her head, "No, because remember, I'm 14, he's 19...He had to kiss me. I don't [know] who it's weirder for, the 19-year-old kids or the 14-year-old. My nerves, oh God..." The couple did not begin a romantic relationship until 2012 when they reconnected at an awards show.
However, in a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, Kunis revealed that the show's creators, Bonnie and Terry Tyler, became aware of her true age before filming began. "By the time I went to what was then a producer’s network call…you have to sign a contract before you get the job and in my contract I had to put an asterisk for ‘studio teacher,'” she continued. “They were like, ‘What do you mean?’ And I was like, ‘Oh P.S., I’m 14.’ But at that point if you talk to the creators, they were like, ‘We loved you at that point so what did we care?'”
4. Pretended to be older: Gillian Anderson
In a 2024 Wired "Autocomplete" interview, Anderson opened up about why she lied about her age to land the role of Agent Dana Scully on the '90s TV classic The X-Files.
The first question for the autocomplete searches was, "What age was Gillian Anderson in The X-Files?" The now-56-year-old revealed, "Well when I was first cast, I was 24 years old. I lied. I told 'em I was 27 because I didn't think they would hire me if I was 24."
"Not least because the character that I played — Dana Scully — was already a doctor and an FBI agent," she elaborated. "Yeah, you can't be those things when you're 24."
Previously, when asked about her age-related lie in an interview with NPR, Anderson claimed that she felt her youthfulness and inexperience bled into her onscreen portrayal of Dana Scully: "I had no experience whatsoever. I had only ever done a couple of plays and scenes in college. If [Scully] comes across as being a little bit cocky and at the same time green, it's all real. It's me trying to pretend like I know that I am the person that I say I am."
5. Pretended to be younger: Loretta Lynn
In 2012, the Associated Press unearthed documents proving Lynn was actually three years older than she had claimed since her autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter — which was adapted into the Academy Award-winning film starring Sissy Spacek — released in 1976.
One of the major shock points in the Kentucky native's book was that she married her husband, Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn (who was 21), at the age of 13 and had four of their six children by the time she reached legal adulthood. In 1945, when Lynn was actually 13 years old, marriage was illegal for individuals under the age of 14 in her home state. However, 15 verging on 16 was, as the AP noted, "not unusual in Kentucky at that time."
When asked for comment, the "If That Ain't Country" singer's spokesperson, Nancy Russell, stated that Lynn had instructed her to tell them, "If anyone asks how old I am, tell them it’s none of their business!"
Herman Webb — the country icon's younger brother — declined to state his sister's age but suggested that a "mix-up" could have occurred when she moved to Nashville to begin her music career.
Lynn's autobiography collaborator, George Vecsey, revealed that he had never verified her age while writing the New York Times bestseller. "It’s her book, and I never saw a birth certificate, marriage license. It’s what they told me. I couldn’t say that she was the one who told me first. Between her manager [David Skepner], who has passed, and her husband, who has now passed, it was at least three different people telling me that," he claimed.
In her autobiography, Lynn addressed rumors surrounding her age: "When I was born, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the president for several years. That’s the closest I’m gonna come to telling my age in this book, so don’t go looking for it. I’m trying to make a living singing songs. I don’t need nobody out there saying, ‘She don’t look bad considering she’s such-and-such years old.'"
6. Pretended to be older: Whoopi Goldberg
In a 1986 interview with the Washington Post, Goldberg revealed that when she first began her career in Hollywood, she decided to add six years to her true age to be considered for more acting roles.
During the interview, the Sister Act star revealed some secrets she kept about her true identity when she began giggling about her driver's license info, which listed her birth name as Caryn Johnson and her true age as 30 instead of 35, which was how she was listed in most publications.
"I had to lie about my age to get some jobs," she claimed.
7. Pretended to be younger: Carla Gugino
In a 2018 interview with People, Gugino admitted that she only lied about her age once in her nearly four decades of acting to secure a role. The role in question was her first-ever movie appearance as Chica Barnwell in the 1989 comedy Troop Beverly Hills.
The now 53-year-old stated, "Troop Beverly Hills was very key for me. It was the first job that allowed me to make enough money that I was going to be able to support myself and continue acting." Until that time, the actor had only booked small roles in the most popular television shows of the day, such as The Wonder Years, Who's the Boss, and ALF.
Laughingly, she recalled, "It was the only role that I ever lied about my age to get! It was before IMDb existed. I was 16 and I said I was 14 to get the job. After I got the job and when we were deep into filming, I said to the director [Jeff Kanew] one day, ‘Just so you know, I am actually 16, but I told you I was 14 to get the job.’ He said, ‘Had I known you were 16, I wouldn’t have hired you!’ So my lying was sadly confirmed as the right choice in that moment."
8. Pretended to be older: Laurence Fishburne
In a 2014 interview on the CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, when asked if he lied to acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola about his age to play the role of 17-year-old Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller in the war-horror classic Apocalypse Now, Fishburne admitted that he may have fibbed a little during his audition.
"I told them I was 16 when I had my interview...I was 14." However, the now-63-year-old stated that he believes both Coppola and the producers immediately realized he wasn't the age he claimed to be. "I think they knew, I don't think I was fooling anybody, you know."
"What happened was I was there with them, talking to Fred Roos, who was the producer who remembered me, something I did when I was really young...A young woman who was working in the office as a secretary got up and walked through, and as she was walking, Francis finally spoke up and he just looked at her and said, 'Excuse me, do you think this kid [referring to 14-year-old Fishburne] could be 18?' And whoever this young woman was, she turned around and looked at me and went, 'Yeah, I guess so.' And that's really how I got over on that set."
However, things worked themselves out because by the time the film — which took over two years to complete — was released in 1979, Fishburne was the same age as his character.
9. Pretended to be younger: Gabrielle Carteris
Carteris first opened up on Access Hollywood Live in 2011 about lying to snag the role of teenager Andrea Zuckerman on Beverly Hills, 90210, when she was 29 years old: "They didn’t know I lied."
The former SAG-AFTRA president admitted that she spoke to a lawyer to confirm whether or not she would be in legal trouble for not disclosing her exact age. Her lawyer then discovered a loophole that allowed her some free rein, revealing that Carteris would be legally okay if she claimed to be "over 21."
In 2019, she revealed to People that her life decisions — as someone in their 30s — were reflected in some of the more mature scripts written for Andrea. "Before I got pregnant with my first child, I went to Aaron [Spelling] and said, ‘My husband, Charlie, and I would like to start a family, and I’d like for you to write it in that Andrea gets pregnant because I don’t want to hide my pregnancy. I want my baby to know I was proud and share it with the world,'” she recalled. “Aaron was so shocked, but he said, ‘Yes, we’ll do it.’ So Andrea was full-blown pregnant."
Naturally, however, this bold decision faced some backlash from the press. Carteris recalled, "Somebody wrote an article about, ‘How dare Andrea get pregnant? It’s high school, she’s supposed to be a smart girl.' I responded back in an editorial, ‘You know, smart people make mistakes. Smart people make decisions about the choices they make in their lives, and this is real life.'"
10. Pretended to be older: Hilary Duff
In a 2015 interview with Time Magazine, Duff revealed that she had lied about her age in her teens...but not for auditions.
When asked if she had ever fibbed regarding her age, the Lizzie McGuire star revealed, "Of course! All the time. I used to lie about my age to get into clubs and stuff." She continued, "I think they would all know how old I was anyway. I was pretty well-known by the time I was trying to get into clubs, and they would just let me in anyway."
The now 37-year-old also revealed that her older sister — Haylie — was the one who taught her the tricks of the "age-deception" trade. "I had an older sister too, so she learned the ropes for me, and then I got to just sneak in. Super naughty! Naughty, naughty. A fake ID would never work for me because they’d be like, 'We know who you are.' I think I had my sister’s old ID."
However, when asked if the old ID ever worked, Duff responded, "I can’t even remember having to use it. Who knows?"
11. Pretended to be younger: Rebel Wilson
In 2015, Wilson became embroiled in a scandal after an Australian tabloid leaked that the Pitch Perfect star had allegedly lied about both her real name and age.
The article, which used one of Wilson's former classmates as a source, revealed the actor's real name was Melanie Elizabeth Bownds and that she was six years older than she had previously claimed.
Wilson fired back in a tweet, "OMG I’m actually a 100 year old mermaid formerly known as 'CC Chalice'….thanks shady Australian press for your tall poppy syndrome x."
However, she then took a more serious course of action and sued Bauer Media, the publisher of Woman's Day and Women's Weekly, for defamation, citing that she had lost out on movie roles due to the scandal. In 2017, Wilson was awarded over $4 million in damages.
In 2016, during an interview on Australia's Home Delivery, the now-44-year-old stated that her move to the United States was behind her decision to hide her age from the public. "When I did go to America, I kind of just stopped saying my age...The reality is when you work in America, you have to show your passport and your visa for every single job, so it’s not like you can hide how old you were. So for the press to do a story that I was deliberately lying or whatever, no. I was just being a lady and not telling my age when I moved to America. That’s not really a crime. Also, most actresses do that," Wilson explained.
After the trial was over, she tweeted that she intended to use the settlement money for charities in her native Australia: "I’m looking forward to helping out some great Australian charities and supporting the Oz film industry with the damages I’ve received. Also looking forward to getting back to my career and entertaining everyone!"
12. Pretended to be older: Nadine Coyle
In 2001, Coyle's age was discovered while appearing on the Irish singing competition Popstars, which created quite an internet scandal.
Competitors had to be 18 years old to appear on the show. At the time, the Irish singer was only 16. However, no one had discovered her deception until she accidentally admitted her true age in her introduction, stating, "I’m Nadine Coyle. I’m from Lark Hill in Derry. Date of birth 15th of the six, 1985, making me a Gemini, and…what date of birth did I say?"
This little slip-up led to a search for the now-39-year-old's passport to prove her "real" date of birth. However, after her passport was found, it was discovered that her true birthdate was indeed June 15, 1985 — which rendered her ineligible for the competition.
Producer Linda Martin sat down with the teen and explained, "You’ll break my heart if I have to lose you, and that's stupid me saying ‘if I have to lose you,’ but that's the way I feel now." Martin then asked, "If you were trying to make out that you're 18, would you tell me at this stage?"
Off-camera, Coyle admitted her true age and was sent home. The following year, she appeared in another iteration of the Popstar franchise called Popstars: The Rivals. During this time, she joined four other women — Nicola Harding, Sarah Harding, Cheryl Cole, and Kimberley Walsh — to form the pop group Girls Aloud.
Although the group disbanded in 2013, the remaining four members (Sarah Harding passed away from breast cancer in 2021) reunited in 2024 for a tour — which became the biggest UK arena tour of the year.
13. Pretended to be younger: Doris Day
Although it is true that Doris Day lied about her age...it wasn't intentional.
While celebrating her so-called "93rd" birthday, Day — who had long believed she was born in 1924 — discovered that her true age was two years off after the Associated Press obtained a copy of her birth certificate, revealing that the Pillow Talk star's true birthdate was April 3, 1922.
Day's spokesperson Charley Cullen Walters claimed that many believe the actor's age discrepancy was due to a paperwork error early in her career rather than any vanity on her part. "There has long been speculation and rumors about Doris’ age and we get this question a lot, looks like we finally have the answer. The story I have heard the most is that at one point Doris was up for a role when quite young and her age may have been miswritten on the audition form. We don’t know if that’s correct, but if so it could’ve simply stuck for all these years."
The actor herself told the AP, "I’ve always said that age is just a number and I have never paid much attention to birthdays, but it’s great to finally know how old I really am!"