Look Who's Turning 70 in 2019
Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Meryl Streep and Lionel Richie are among the celebs celebrating big ones
by Gatwiri Muthara , AARP, December 26, 2018
- |
- Photos
-
- 1 of
PHOTO BY: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Steve Perry, Jan. 22
“Don’t Stop Believin’” in this former Journey front man who walked away from the band twice to embark on what turned out to be a successful solo career. With hits like “Oh, Sherrie” and “Foolish Heart” under his belt, Perry disappeared from the music scene for 20 years, only to reappear in 2018 with a new album, Traces.
-
- 2 of
PHOTO BY: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Jessica Lange, April 20
In the 40-odd years since her film debut in 1976’s King Kong, Jessica Lange has won a heap of awards for her acting, including two Oscars, one Tony
and three Emmys. She’s recently wowed audiences with her roles on the FX anthology series American Horror Story and is set to star in the Netflix series The Politician. -
- 3 of
PHOTO BY: Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Images
Billy Joel, May 9
The “Piano Man” once penned the kind of catchy tunes that get stuck in your head — sometimes whether you want them to or not (“Uptown Girl” springs to mind). He hasn’t recorded an album since 1993 but continues to perform to sold-out crowds, including at New York's Madison Square Garden, where he’s had a five-year residency.
-
- 4 of
PHOTO BY: Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Hank Williams Jr., May 26
Following in his famous father’s footstep, Hank Williams Jr. made his first public appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in 1960 — then went on to become one of the greatest country artists of all time with hits such as “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” “Eleven Roses” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight.”
-
- 5 of
PHOTO BY: Carla Speight/Getty Images
Lionel Richie, June 20
The singer is known for super-sweet 1980s ballads such as “Hello,” “Truly” and “Endless Love,” but also had us grooving with livelier stuff like “All Night Long,” Dancing on the Ceiling” and “Brick House.” Still a prolific songwriter, Richie is now a judge on American Idol.
-
- 6 of
PHOTO BY: NIKLAS HALLEN/Getty Images
Meryl Streep, June 22
Is there any role that Meryl Streep can’t play? Judging by her three Academy Awards, eight Golden Globes and gobs of other accolades: probably not. Turning 70 surely won’t stop her from continuing to tackle new roles, as she’s done recently in films such as The Post and Netflix’s Big Little Lies. And Streep has plenty in the pipeline for 2019, when she’ll play Aunt March in a new movie version of Little Women directed by Lady Bird’s Greta Gerwig.
-
- 7 of
ADVERTISEMENT
-
- 8 of
PHOTO BY: Timothy Norris/Getty Images
Rick Springfield, Aug. 23
This Australian rocker had a smash hit in the ’80s with the Grammy award-winning single “Jessie’s Girl” — while fans swooned over him as Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime soap General Hospital. Lately Springfield has been touring with his intimate “Stripped Down” show, featuring many of his familiar tunes and storytelling.
-
- 9 of
PHOTO BY: VALERY HACHE/Getty Images
Richard Gere, Aug. 31
Starring in classics such as American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman and Pretty Woman, Richard Gere has been knocking us off our feet with his charm, looks and memorable roles for more than 40 years — including his Golden Globe-winning performance as Billy Flynn in the 2002 movie musical Chicago. The enduring heartthrob was married for the third time, to Alejandra Silva, in April 2018.
-
- 10 of
PHOTO BY: Adam Berry/Getty Images
Gloria Gaynor, Sept. 7
Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, is probably one of the most beloved songs of 20th-century popular music (and definitely a staple at karaoke songfests), but the Queen of Disco scored other hits — like her disco remake of the Jackson Five’s “Never Can Say Goodbye.” She often performs her classics and gospel songs in Europe and the U.S.
-
- 11 of
PHOTO BY: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Bruce Springsteen, Sept. 23
What can you say about the Boss? He’s the working person’s poet (hello, Nobel Prize committee), offering anthems for the down-and-out and everyone else who loves great rock ’n’ roll. The kid from Jersey who first rented a guitar at age 7 and later went on to rock the world, Springsteen recently wrapped up his autobiographical one-man show, Springsteen on Broadway, which you can now catch on Netflix.
-
- 12 of
PHOTO BY: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Bonnie Raitt, Nov. 8
Raitt’s been making blues-infused rock music since the ’70s, but it wasn’t until the late ’80s and early ’90s, when she was in her 40s, that she found real mainstream success. A guitarist, singer and songwriter (and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee), she’s swimming in Grammys — 10 of them — thanks to her 1989 album Nick of Time and hits like “Something to Talk About” and “Luck of the Draw.”
-
- 13 of
PHOTO BY: Jason LaVeris/Getty Images
Jeff Bridges, Dec. 4
Bridges – son of Lloyd, brother of Beau — will be forever linked in some fans’ minds with Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, his appealing slacker in The Big Lebowski (1998). But he’s had so many other great roles, including in 1971’s The Last Picture Show and 1984’s Starman (as an alien), and he won an Oscar for his performance as country singer Bad Blake in 2009’s Crazy Heart. More recent kudos: Bridges is
winner of the 2019 Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement, bestowed during the Golden Globe Award ceremonies. The Dudeabides . -
- 14 of
PHOTO BY: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Sissy Spacek, Dec. 25
Her first taste of mainstream success came in 1976 with her performance in the Stephen King horror flick Carrie, which earned her an Academy Award nomination, though her most iconic (and Oscar-winning) role may be as Loretta Lynn in 1980’s Coal Miner’s Daughter. Critics loved her role in 2018’s The Old Man and the Gun,
costarring Robert Redford, and she is wonderful as a woman doubting her sanity in another creepy Stephen King creation, the Hulu series Castle Rock, renewed for a second season.
