Advances in medicine and the fact that at least part of the population takes better care of itself than it used to (less smoking, more visits to the gym, etc.) have had an unmistakable effect on our collective longevity. Average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. in 1921 was 60 years. In 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, it was 76.1 years – and that was actually a decline, presumably not permanent, from a high of 78.8 years in 2019, thanks largely to COVID-19. (You’re apt to live longer in some places than others, though. These are the states with the longest life expectancy according to the CDC.)
The good news about growing older – besides the fact that, as the joke goes, you no longer have to worry about dying young – is that the longer you last, the better the odds are that you’ll last even longer. According to the CDC, Americans who reach the age of 65 today will live an average of 18.4 more years – until they’re 83 (and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are now almost 55 million Americans over 65, twice what there were 50 years ago).
Of course, everybody ages differently. “Eighty,” it has been said, “is the new 60,” and “Age is just a number.” But there are plenty of 80-year-olds who look and act and feel 80, if not older – and the tragedy of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 300,000 people in this country, many of them in their 40s or 50s.
On the other hand, most likely due to some combination of good genes, good habits, and sheer good luck, an increasing number of people of advanced years remain not only healthy but active in highly public and often highly influential roles.
Consider controversial media mogul Rupert Murdoch (92), Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett (91), Pope Francis (87). And of course the major American political figure generally considered to be the leader of the free world is 80.
Or consider the entertainment industry: Betty White hosted “Saturday Night Live” at 88; B.B. King toured until he was 89; Tony Bennett may have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, but he continued recording and performing live for another five years, making his last public appearance, with his sometime collaborator Lady Gaga, at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan in celebration of his 95th birthday. (And here’s a list of 25 famous actors who lived to be over 100.)
Any number of well-known actors, directors, musicians, and television personalities are still going strong into their ninth decade. To determine the most famous celebrities who are 80 and older, 24/7 Tempo drew information on birthdates from OpusData, a service of The Numbers, an online movie database owned by Nash Information Services, then ranked octogenarians and nonagenarians based on average daily Wikipedia pageviews between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2022.
41. Kris Kristofferson
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,594 per day
> Birthdate: June 22, 1936
> Age: 87 years
40. Brian Wilson
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,644 per day
> Birthdate: June 20, 1942
> Age: 81 years
39. Shirley MacLaine
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,722 per day
> Birthdate: April 24, 1934
> Age: 89 years
38. John Williams
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,770 per day
> Birthdate: Feb. 8, 1932
> Age: 91 years
37. Donald Sutherland
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,933 per day
> Birthdate: July 17, 1935
> Age: 88 years
36. Paul Simon
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,934 per day
> Birthdate: Oct. 13, 1941
> Age: 81 years
35. Quincy Jones
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,966 per day
> Birthdate: March 14, 1933
> Age: 90 years
34. Mel Brooks
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,066 per day
> Birthdate: June 28, 1926
> Age: 97 years
33. Gene Hackman
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,135 per day
> Birthdate: Jan. 30, 1930
> Age: 93 years
32. Martha Stewart
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,168 per day
> Birthdate: Aug. 3, 1941
> Age: 82 years
31. Ridley Scott
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,318 per day
> Birthdate: Nov. 30, 1937
> Age: 85 years
30. Robert Duvall
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,352 per day
> Birthdate: Jan. 5, 1931
> Age: 92 years
29. Christopher Walken
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,557 per day
> Birthdate: March 31, 1943
> Age: 80 years
28. Chuck Norris
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,760 per day
> Birthdate: March 10, 1940
> Age: 83 years
27. Joe Pesci
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,798 per day
> Birthdate: Feb. 9, 1943
> Age: 80 years
26. Jon Voight
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,918 per day
> Birthdate: Dec. 29, 1938
> Age: 84 years
25. Ian McKellen
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,002 per day
> Birthdate: May 25, 1939
> Age: 84 years
24. Robert Redford
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,046 per day
> Birthdate: Aug. 18, 1936
> Age: 86 years
23. James Earl Jones
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,056 per day
> Birthdate: Jan. 17, 1931
> Age: 92 years
22. Patrick Stewart
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,129 per day
> Birthdate: July 13, 1940
> Age: 83 years
21. Judi Dench
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,183 per day
> Birthdate: Dec. 9, 1934
> Age: 88 years
20. Michael Caine
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,333 per day
> Birthdate: March 14, 1933
> Age: 90 years
19. Willie Nelson
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,406 per day
> Birthdate: April 29, 1933
> Age: 90 years
18. Martin Sheen
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,419 per day
> Birthdate: Aug. 3, 1940
> Age: 83 years
17. Anthony Hopkins
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,581 per day
> Birthdate: Dec. 31, 1937
> Age: 85 years
16. Maggie Smith
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,015 per day
> Birthdate: Dec. 28, 1934
> Age: 88 years
15. Mick Jagger
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,193 per day
> Birthdate: July 26, 1943
> Age: 80 years
14. Ringo Starr
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,197 per day
> Birthdate: July 7, 1940
> Age: 83 years
13. Martin Scorsese
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,233 per day
> Birthdate: Nov. 17, 1942
> Age: 80 years
12. Morgan Freeman
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,590 per day
> Birthdate: June 1, 1937
> Age: 86 years
11. Barbra Streisand
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,592 per day
> Birthdate: April 24, 1942
> Age: 81 years
10. Dick Van Dyke
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,649 per day
> Birthdate: Dec. 13, 1925
> Age: 97 years
9. Julie Andrews
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,768 per day
> Birthdate: Oct. 1, 1935
> Age: 87 years
8. Jane Fonda
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 8,265 per day
> Birthdate: Dec. 21, 1937
> Age: 85 years
7. Bob Dylan
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 8,416 per day
> Birthdate: May 24, 1941
> Age: 82 years
6. Jack Nicholson
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 9,093 per day
> Birthdate: April 22, 1937
> Age: 86 years
5. Al Pacino
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 10,182 per day
> Birthdate: April 25, 1940
> Age: 83 years
4. Robert De Niro
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 10,233 per day
> Birthdate: Aug. 17, 1943
> Age: 80 years
3. Harrison Ford
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 11,124 per day
> Birthdate: July 13, 1942
> Age: 81 years
2. Paul McCartney
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 12,476 per day
> Birthdate: June 18, 1942
> Age: 81 years
1. Clint Eastwood
> Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 16,367 per day
> Birthdate: May 31, 1930
> Age: 93 years