Staying Fit
Photo Collage: MOA Staff; (Source: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)
April 3: Jane Goodall, 90
It was way back in 1960 that Jane Goodall first headed to Tanzania to begin her groundbreaking study of chimpanzees, and she first came to international prominence in 1965 with the Orson Welles–narrated documentary Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees. After receiving a Ph.D. in ethology from Cambridge University, she held professorships and published books on subjects like the ethics of keeping great apes in captivity. Later named a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, Goodall appeared in the Emmy-winning documentary Jane, and this month she’ll be celebrated with public birthday events in Toronto and Vancouver.
April 4: Craig T. Nelson, 80
An Emmy winner for his role as the titular Coach Hayden Fox on Coach, Craig T. Nelson would go on to voice the superhero Mr. Incredible in Pixar’s Incredibles franchise and then star as the patriarch Zeek Braverman on the tear-jerking TV adaptation of Parenthood. In recent years, he’s emerged as the go-to love interest for actresses of a certain age: He romanced Jane Fonda on Grace and Frankie, Mary Steenburgen in Book Club, and Annie Potts on CBS’s Young Sheldon.
April 7: Jackie Chan, 70
Photo Collage: MOA Staff; (Source: J Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)
The martial arts legend started his career as a child actor in the 1960s, and he soon became beloved in his native Hong Kong for his seamless blending of slapstick comedy and acrobatic athleticism. In the 1990s, he broke out in the United States with international projects like Drunken Master II and Rumble in the Bronx before leading his own American buddy-cop franchise, Rush Hour, with Chris Tucker. In 2016, Chan took home an honorary Oscar for his contributions to the film industry. Next up, he’s set to return to the world of the Karate Kid — after starring in the 2010 reboot — in a new sequel opposite Ralph Macchio.
April 7: Russell Crowe, 60
Following a breakthrough role in the Australian drama Romper Stomper, the New Zealand–born actor and rock musician crossed the Pacific to star in such Hollywood films as L.A. Confidential. He quickly emerged as a critical and commercial force, earning three consecutive best actor Oscar nominations for The Insider, Gladiator (for which he took home the trophy) and A Beautiful Mind. His record includes a historical epic (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), a Western (3:10 to Yuma) and a musical (Les Misérables). He even joined both the D.C. and Marvel Cinematic Universes — as Superman’s dad (Jor-El) and Thor’s dad (Zeus), and he’s set to make it a trifecta when he plays the titular comic book villain’s father in this summer’s Marvel film, Kraven the Hunter.
April 9: Dennis Quaid, 70
Photo Collage: MOA Staff; (Source: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)
The Houston-born actor has enjoyed a diverse career on the big screen in films like Breaking Away, The Right Stuff and The Big Easy, though it was his turn as a closeted 1950s husband in the 2002 drama Far From Heaven that earned him a slew of acting awards. He later surprised audiences with an Emmy-nominated performance as Bill Clinton in The Special Relationship. Quaid also moonlights as a singer, and last year, he released his debut gospel record, Fallen: A Gospel Record for Sinners. On the other end of the spectrum, his next big project will see him leaning hard into the sinning: He’s set to star as a real-life serial killer in the Paramount+ series Happy Face.
April 10: Anne Lamott, 70
Beloved as much for her nonfiction writing as for her novels, Anne Lamott earned a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1985, and she became a household name for books like the New York Times bestseller Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. She’s a woman of seeming contradictions in a world of black and white, writing often about her devout Christian faith while also proudly professing her progressive feminist beliefs. This month, she releases her 20th book, Somehow: Thoughts on Love, in which she explores all the different forms of love, including love for a partner you meet late in life or a child who might disappoint.
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