25 Older Adults Who Inspired Us in 2025

They set world records, won major awards, earned advanced degrees, pioneered new science and proved that the best chapters can come after 50

Eric Spitznagel,

AARP

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Published December 30, 2025

collage of older adults who inspired us this past year

(From left) Natalie Grabow, Idris Elba, Barbara “Babs” Costello and Hiroyuki Sanada are among 25 older adults who gave us something to celebrate in 2025.

AARP (Aristide Economopoulos/Redux; Franco Origlia/Getty Images; Brenton Ho/Variety via Getty Images; Alberto Rogriguez/Variety via Getty Images)

In a year built for doomscrolling, something quietly delightful kept happening: People over 50 refused to act their age.

All through 2025, the news was full of plot twists nobody saw coming. An actress in her 60s hijacked awards season. A military vet in his 70s finally walked across a stage to collect a Ph.D. he’d been chasing for more than a decade. Athletes in their 80s and 90s continued to break records that were previously thought to be untouchable. Taken as a whole, these moments seem like something more significant: The world is finally (slowly, imperfectly) getting better at aging.

Dick Van Dyke made it to 100

Dick Van Dyke turned 100 on December 13, releasing his new memoir, 100 Rules for Living to 100, and celebrating with nationwide theater screenings and documentary tributes.

Demi Moore rewrote the rules for 62

Moore won best actress at AARP’s 2025 Movies for Grownups Awards for The Substance, capping a major comeback that also included wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.

Percival Everett’s late-career sweep with ‘James’

In 2025, author Percival Everett won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for James, his reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which shifts the story to Jim’s perspective and interrogates freedom and racial power in America. The Pulitzer crowned a remarkable run: James also won the 2024 National Book Award for fiction and the 2024 Kirkus Prize for fiction.

AARP Movies for Grownups Awards proved their Oscar prediction power

AARP’s 2025 Movies for Grownups Awards predicted 52-year-old Adrien Brody’s best-actor win for The Brutalist months before the Oscars. Over the past decade, the MFG Awards have successfully predicted 15 major Oscar wins, with their strongest track record in the best-actor category, calling five of the last 10 Academy Award winners. The awards also highlighted a banner year for older performers: Nearly half of recent acting Emmys went to actors 50-plus, and there were four times as many 50-plus Oscar acting nominees as there were 30 years ago.

Angela Bassett topped AARP’s Most Fabulous Women Over 50 list at 67

In December 2025, AARP’s Movies for Grownups named Angela Bassett No. 1 on our inaugural list of 25 Most Fabulous Women Over 50, recognizing her four-decade career redefining strength and longevity in Hollywood. The 9-1-1 star and two-time Oscar nominee told us she refuses to let age limit her: “Half the time I forget how old I am. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep embracing life, and know that the best is yet to come.”

Kathy Bates became the oldest Emmy drama-actress nominee after nearly quitting

Weeks before reading the Matlock script, Kathy Bates called her agent to discuss retirement, frustrated by projects that weren’t reaching audiences. Instead, her performance as attorney Madeline “Matty” Matlock made Emmy history in July 2025, when she became the oldest person ever nominated for outstanding lead actress in a drama series at 77, breaking Angela Lansbury’s record set at 70 in 1996.

Actor Idris Elba’s cultural pull hasn’t peaked; it’s widened.

AARP (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

Sir Idris Elba topped AARP’s list of the hottest actors over 50

Idris Elba, 52, claimed the top spot on AARP’s annual Hottest Actors Over 50 list, a reminder that charisma doesn’t age out. Elba has spent the past decade defying easy categories, moving fluidly between prestige drama, blockbuster action and music, all while refusing to be boxed in by age or genre. The ranking captured a broader truth: Elba’s cultural pull hasn’t peaked, it’s widened, as shown by his recent knighthood in Britain.

Ann Wilson’s post-cancer comeback put Heart back in fighting shape

In 2024, Heart singer Ann Wilson, 74, revealed she’d had surgery to remove a cancerous growth and that doctors urged preventive chemotherapy, forcing the band to postpone its shows. A year later, Heart restarted its tour with Wilson back at the mic, later telling fans she was cancer-free. She even performed while managing a separate elbow injury that sometimes required a wheelchair, choosing stability so that her voice could carry the night.

June Squibb kept her late-life momentum rolling at 95

After making headlines last year with her first leading role, in Thelma, June Squibb followed it with another standout year in 2025. At 95, she starred in Eleanor the Great, directed by Scarlett Johansson, which premiered to a warm reception at Cannes. Squibb worked full days, powered through illness and delivered a performance centered on memory, grief and connection.

Philip Rivers turned coaching teenagers into an unlikely NFL encore

After nearly five years away from the NFL, Philip Rivers, 44, made a surprise 2025 comeback with the Indianapolis Colts, stepping in after injuries decimated the team’s roster. The twist: Rivers has spent his retirement coaching high school football in Alabama, building a winning program and learning how to lead without ego. That experience showed on his return — steady, prepared, unafraid of the moment. It was proof that second acts can sharpen, not soften, our competitive edge.

Actor Hiroyuki Sanada inspires with his continuing success.

AARP (Alberto Rogriguez/Variety via Getty Images)

Hiroyuki Sanada had a late-career breakthrough at 63

Shōgun star Hiroyuki Sanada accepted best TV series at the Movies for Grownups Awards, telling the cheering crowd: “I started this new job when I was 60. It kept me feeling young!”

José Andrés received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at 55

In January 2025, President Joe Biden awarded chef and humanitarian José Andrés the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, recognizing his culinary innovations and his relief work through World Central Kitchen. Since founding WCK in 2010, Andrés has led efforts to provide more than 500 million meals globally in disaster zones, from Haiti to Ukraine and Gaza. He was also named one of U.S. News’ Best Leaders of 2025 for his humanitarian impact.

Tim Curry made a memorable encore

In 2025, Tim Curry, 79, stepped back into the spotlight on his own terms, releasing his memoir, Vagabond, in October and looking straight at the life-altering stroke he suffered in 2012. He also made two pop-culture victory laps: 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and 40 years of Clue.

The National Senior Games kept getting bigger

The 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa, drew more than 12,500 athletes age 50 to 100+ from all 50 states and 12 countries, marking the second-largest Senior Games in history. And they didn’t just show up, they rewrote the record book: Competitors set 159 new event records, including 95-year-old Ethel Lehmann, who notched seven in track and field alone.

A 77-year-old became the first to sweep all seven Marathon Majors in any age group

Ohio runner Jeannie Rice made history in September 2025 by becoming the first person of any age or gender to win their age group at all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors: in Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Sydney. She holds world records for every distance from 1500 meters to marathon in the 75-to-79 age group. Scientists who studied Rice in 2024 discovered she has the highest VO2 max ever recorded for a woman over 75, comparable to world-class runners in their 20s. (VO2 max is a measure of aerobic fitness.)

75-year-old Charlotte Davis shattered six swimming records

In her first National Senior Games appearance, Charlotte Davis set meet records in all six of her swimming events, proving newcomers can dominate even at 75 years old.

Barbara “Babs” Costello shares kitchen hacks, holiday rituals, and life advice with her 8 million followers across TikTok and Instagram.

AARP (Brenton Ho/Variety via Getty Images)

‘TikTok Grandma’ Babs Costello found a second act, online, at 77

Former preschool director Barbara “Babs” Costello only joined social media at age 72; by 77, she had more than 8 million followers across TikTok and Instagram with “Brunch With Babs,” where she shares her kitchen hacks, holiday rituals, and life advice that resonates with younger and older fans alike. Costello calls the work an “unexpected gift” in retirement and uses her influence to raise awareness about age-related health issues.

‘Gamer Grandpa’ broke a streaming record at 89

Yang Binglin, China’s “Gamer Grandpa,” was recognized in August 2025 as the world’s oldest gaming streamer. At 89 years old, he collected 280,000 followers on the Chinese video-sharing site Bilibili, proving gaming transcends age while also inspiring intergenerational connections through his 500-plus game collection.

At 70, John Yandle still throws batting practice for the Giants

John Yandle, 70, has been the San Francisco Giants’ secret weapon for more than four decades. When the team needs to prep for a left-handed pitcher, he shows up to throw batting practice, often on short notice and sometimes on the road. Even a torn rotator cuff didn’t end his streak — Yandle returned six months after surgery. His rule is simple: Keep proving age isn’t a limiter, just the number on a jersey.

Betty Kellenberger became the oldest woman to hike the Appalachian Trail at 80

After three attempts, a knee replacement and a hurricane evacuation, Carson City, Michigan, resident Betty Kellenberger completed the nearly 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail in September 2025, becoming the oldest woman ever to finish the 14-state trek. The retired teacher trained by climbing hospital stairs in her flat hometown and averaged 10 miles daily. Kellenberger joins the elite 25 percent who successfully start and complete a thru-hike.

Natalie Grabow, 80, became the oldest woman to finish the Ironman World Championship.

AARP (Aristide Economopoulos/Redux)

An 80-year-old grandmother became the oldest woman ever to finish the Ironman World Championship

New Jersey grandmother Natalie Grabow made history in October 2025 by completing the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, conquering a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run. At 80, she became both the oldest woman ever to finish the grueling event and the first woman to compete in the 80-plus age group, proving endurance has no expiration date.

Chuck Corley earned his Ph.D. at 78 years old

Air Force veteran Charles “Chuck” Corley completed an 11-year Ph.D. journey in electrical and computer engineering, becoming the oldest person ever to earn a doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin, and walking at commencement in 2025.

Hurl Taylor, 86, racked up his ninth degree

Emory University profiled 86-year-old Army veteran Hurl Taylor, who earned a master’s in business for veterans in 2025 — his ninth academic degree, and his fourth from Emory, again making him the university’s oldest graduate and a poster child for endless learning.

Melinda Lunday made sure nursing-home residents didn’t get ignored

Long-term-care ombudsman Melinda Lunday, 55, spends her days crisscrossing rural Tennessee facilities as an on-the-ground advocate for residents who can’t get answers. With a notebook, persistence and a calm bedside manner, she investigates complaints, pressures administrators to fix lapses and helps prevent wrongful discharges. In one visit, a resident who’d been brushed off for medical help was approved to resume needed medications before she left.

Buzz Miller built a 50-state lifeline for pets and their people

After seeing service members in tears as they surrendered their pets before deployments, Pennsylvania lawyer Buzz Miller reinvented his retirement by founding PACT for Animals and its Operation Foster program. Starting at age 70, Miller built a nationwide network that has since placed more than 3,000 pets into temporary foster homes for military families as well as hospital patients. The payoff is mutual: Pets stay safe, owners keep hope, and many older fosters gain companionship, daily movement and a new sense of purpose.

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