James Blunt said , " If you look at my Wikipedia Sir Frederick Handley Page , it will say that I ’m 47 — I ’m in reality 49 . That ’s because I changed the entree . "
Age can be a big deal in Hollywood — especially for women. For example, whenMaggie Gyllenhaalwas 37, she was told she was “too old” to play the love interest to a 55-year-old man. So, it’s honestly not surprising that some performers lie about their age. Other times, however, they’re accused of lying about their age solely because they don’t fit someone else’s mental picture of what someone that old should look like.
Here are 11 times celebs were accused of or caught lying about their ages:
1.In 2020, a journalist who was researching ifTana Mongeaugot a PPP loantweetedabout finding the influencer’s age listed as 30 on LexisNexis, a legal website. Quickly putting a stop to speculation, Tanatweeteda photo of her drivers license, proving herself to be 22.
Shetweeted , " imagine me taking my i d out of my wallet rn and take a picture of it and hunter run ' what are you doing ' and i go ' block up a dirt before it set out . ' "
That’s not the first time Tana addressed speculation about her age. Back in 2016, she mocked rumors that she was actually 40 in her “Roast Yourself Challenge” YouTube video.
2.In 2023,James Blunttold theGuardian, “If you look at my Wikipedia page, it will say that I’m 47 — I’m actually 49. That’s because I changed the entry.”
For the record book , the old age on hisWikipediais now correct , list him as 50 as of 2024 .
3.In a since-removed 2015 article, the Australian magazine Women’s Dayreportedthat then-29-year-oldRebel Wilsonwas actually 36-year-old Melanie Bownds, citing an alleged former classmate and old yearbook pictures as evidence. Rebel initially denied the reports in a lighthearted tweet, but she later sued the magazine’s publisher, Bauer Media, for defamation.
Initally , Rebeltweeted , " OMG I ’m actually a 100 year honest-to-goodness mermaid formerly known as ' millilitre Chalice' … .thanks shady Australian closet for your magniloquent poppy syndrome x. "
Then , in 2017 , Rebel ’s defamation suitwentto trial . The journalist behind the original piece claim Rebel lied during an audience , which the player denied . Rebel also said that the resulting articles hurt her career by making her out to be a liar , which at long last cost her two Dreamworks animation roles .
After three weeks in court , a Supreme Court jury ultimatelyruledin Rebel ’s favor and award her $ 3.66 million , which she pledge to invest in the Australian motion picture industry and give to brotherly love .
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OnHome Delivery , she said , " If I was guilty of something , I mean , I do n’t really have any skeletons in my closet , which is why it ’s quite hard for people to write unfit poppycock about me . You know , I do n’t have a drug dependance or a secret nipper . But I recall when I did go to America , I kind of just stopped saying my age … But 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 may hide how old you were . So for the press to do a story that I was deliberately consist or whatever , no . I was just being a noblewoman and not telling my age when I move to America . That ’s not really a crime . Also , most actress do that . "
4.From 2000–2019,Laverne Coxlied about her age. In 2022, she toldThe Ellen Show, “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.'”
After a few eld , though , she did n’t want to lie about being 22 any longer .
She continued , " ' Over 21 ' became my age . And so I was ' Over 21 ' from like 2002 to 2019 . "
However, when IMDB “figured out” her real age, Laverne “was having such anxiety” and worried it would make her seem like she “wasn’t hirable” or “dateable.”
However , she speak with her therapist about these feelings . When she was speaking at an event in 2019 , she suppose her actual age out loud for the first time .
She toldThe Ellen Show , " I thought the sky was snuff it to settle , but it was like nothing . And it was a reminder that in our heads , we might have shame about something … and no one really cares . "
5.WhenLaurence Fishburneauditioned forApocalypse Now, heclaimedhe was 16, but he was actually 14. The gig was up when producer Fred Roos recognized him from a previous project. However, a secretary’s opinion that he could pass for 18 helped him get the role.
In 2013 , Laurence toldGeorge Stroumboulopoulos Tonight , " A young woman who was work in the business office , a secretary , set about up and walk through . And as she was walk , Francis [ Ford Coppola , the music director ] finally spoke up , and he just looked at her and said , ' Excuse me , you believe this kid could be 18 ? ' And whoever this new woman was , she turned around , calculate at me , and go , ' Yeah . ' "
6.Beyoncé has been subjected torumorsthat she’s lying about her age throughout her career. In 2015, her dad, Matthew Knowles, inadvertently added fuel to the fire, telling Power 105.1’sBreakfast Club, “[Destiny’s Child] had competitiveness, L.A Reid had a rival girl group at the time, and I’ll bet you don’t know who the lead singer was. It was Pink! And she was the exact same age as Beyoncé.” At the time, Pink was 36, and Beyoncé was reportedly 34.
However , in the same interview , hesaid , " I mean [ Destiny ’s Child ] have so much because they bulge so early in life . This operate back to eight years old , and now we ’re talking 34 . "
It ’s probable that he meant Pink and his daughter are roughly the same age , and he probably did n’t make out Pink ’s exact years .
7.During her time in B*Witched, Sinéad O’Carrollreportedly"had to lie about [her] age" because she was 24, while the other group members were 17.
OnThe Six O’Clock Showin 2020 , shereportedlysaid , " Our management wanted me to lie about my eld , so I had to discard so many things that I did with my life in interviews . "
Her real birthing year wasreportedlyrevealed by Showbiz Ireland in the former ' 00s .
8.In 2014, Lana Del Rey toldRolling Stonethat she’d just turned 29, contradicting reports that she’d recently celebrated her 28th birthday. She also denied that the misreports were her fault.
She said , " People have said unlike age . "
9.In a 2016 interview with Constance Wu,Vulturebrought up conflicting reports that she was either 26 or 34. Constance replied, “I think originally on Wikipedia it listed my age incorrectly. There’s a lot of ageism in the industry, so when people would talk about it, I wouldn’t correct them.”
" I just would n’t say anything about it . But then after a while I was just like , Fuck it , " she said .
She also confirmed she was 34 at the time .
10.Suicide member Alan Vegareportedlylet the public believe he was a decade younger than his actual age until he released theAlan Vega 70th Birthday Limited Edition EP Seriesin 2008.
11.And finally, in 2001, Nadine Coyle — who’d later rise to fame as a member of Girls Aloud — competed onIrish Popstars. Competitors had to be at least 18, but since she was only 16, she lied about her age. However, she accidentally spilled her own secret during an interview.
A producer discovered that she’d put 1983 as her birth year on her paperwork and confronted her about the contradiction. Nadine tried to backtrack then acted like she didn’t know where her passport was.
Off television camera , she come clean about her real eld . She had to provide the show , despite her bandmates ' protests .
Here’s the full clip:
