Macaulay Culkin and Ryan Gosling were born in the same year?
There are three basic types of entries on this list: (1) a person who died or peaked young compared with a person who did not (2) people who were parts of (seemingly) completely different historical eras and (3) child stars who have grown up, just not our collective consciousness.
I chose all 11 of these pairs based on one thing: Whether you could tell someone about any of them and get the response, “No way!” or “Nuh uh!” or “Whoa, far out, man.” (Depending on whether you tell them, apparently, to Mike Myers, a kid on a playground, or Tommy Chong.)
Here are 11 sets of celebrities and historical figures who were, incredibly, born in the same year as each other. Prepare to feel old. And young. And confused.
1 | James Cromwell and John Lennon, 1940
John Lennon’s murder preserved him forever at 40, so it’s really hard to picture him the same age as James Cromwell — who’s been playing “old man” roles for at least 10, 15 years now. I can’t believe he’s only 73, actually. It seems like he’s been 73 for almost two decades. Meanwhile, Sean Lennon is almost 40.
2 | Mark Zuckerberg and Avril Lavigne, 1984
Revelation I reached while putting this together: Complicated was a hit 11 years ago. That’s jarring. It’s also possible that Mark Zuckerberg was listening to Avril Lavigne while he was inventing The Facebook. If not Complicated, then perhaps Sk8tr Boi?
3 | Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr., 1929
This one is so unbelievable I assume people won’t even be willing to take my word for it. Consult your World Book encyclopedias; it’s true. They’re both such prominent figures in such different monumental moments in history, it’s crazy they were born about five months apart. Also born in 1929: Barbara Walters.
4 | Kurt Cobain and David Guetta, 1967
I picked these two because it feels like there have been like 1,700 musical fads and eras between the time Kurt Cobain was huge and the time David Guetta became a thing. Also, David Guetta is way older than I would’ve guessed. It’s kind of a miracle his career took the trajectory it did and, like, 15 years ago he didn’t decide to just pack it in and become a wedding and bar mitzvah DJ.
5 | Macaulay Culkin and Ryan Gosling, 1980
Sure, we all see the photos of Macaulay Culkin today and we all know he’s an adult now — but it’s virtually impossible to believe he is one. It’s more like Kevin McCallister masquerading as an awkward adult male. Ryan Gosling, on the other hand, was also somewhat a child star, but didn’t become RYAN GOSLING until he was older and handsome and doing movies where he has between 10 and 12 lines of dialogue in two hours.
6 | Aaron Burr and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756
It doesn’t seem right, but Mozart was doing his thing while the American Revolution was happening across the world. The eras really don’t seem like they match up. I wish there’d been a better representative of early America from 1756 than Aaron Burr, but if we’re slappin’ people with dueling gloves, then so be it.
7 | Jennifer Lawrence and Jonathan Lipnicki, 1990
I’m proud to have a website where it makes perfect sense to jump from talking about Aaron Burr and Mozart directly into talking about Jennifer Lawrence and the kid from Like Mike. That’s right, let’s change the narrative on Jonathan Lipnicki.
8 | Megan Fox and the Olsen Twins, 1986
Megan Fox has already come and gone as America’s top sex symbol. That journey seems to age her — I really couldn’t believe she was the same age as Michelle Tanner and Michelle Tanner. I mean, I know they’ve grown up and turned into fashionable hobos, but it’s still unexpected.
9 | Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe, 1926
Marilyn Monroe would be an 87-year-old woman today. Not only was she born in the same year as the Queen, she was also born the same year as Hugh Hefner, Andy Griffith, Miles Davis, Mel Brooks, Fidel Castro, Tony Bennett, Leslie Nielsen, and Ann B. Davis as Alice.
10 | Kate Upton and Selena Gomez, 1992
They’re both 21, but Kate Upton seems like a woman and Selena Gomez still seems like a little kid. It really makes me dread when Selena Gomez(‘s management) decides it’s time to go through her Christina Aguilera/Miley Cyrus public “I’m super duper sexual” phase.
11 | Woody Allen and Elvis Presley, 1935
They’re currently spotted in public approximately the same amount.