Jamie Oliver turns 50 today (May 27), with the celebrity chef’s wife Jools sending him a sweet birthday message on Instagram to mark the occasion.
Alongside a photo montage showing Jamie Oliver in multiple family snaps, she wrote: “Happy birthday my absolute LEGEND we love you SO much xxx and cannot wait to celebrate you today 50 WOW we are so proud of everything you have achieved so far you are wonderful xxxx love you.”
But the father-of-five, whose latest TV show Jamie Cooks: Georgia aired on Channel 4 last night (May 26), isn’t the only famous person to be celebrating a milestone birthday this year. These stars have all got a big one this year too…
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Mel B shares a birthday week with Jamie Oliver
Later this week, Mel B is another star to turn 50. She’ll hit her half-century on Thursday (May 29), joining her former Spice Girls bandmates Victoria Beckham, Mel C and Geri Halliwell in their fifties.
She told US Weekly in a recent interview that she’s not the biggest fan of her birthday because her dad’s birthday was the day before and he sadly died in 2017. “I’m not really a party person,” she explained. “I can celebrate, but I always feel like there’s so much pressure for you to be happy on that day.”
About her fifties, she said: “I’m getting to know myself more and more. I’ve really had to work on that. And, I’m going to be working on that for the rest of my life. I’m ever-evolving. I like myself. So 50, even though it’s a big thing, I’m like, bring it on.”
Angelina Jolie
One of the biggest names in Hollywood, Angelina Jolie will be turning 50 on June 4. Last year, she told IndieWire that at the age of 49 she feels “like an older woman now and I embrace that”. She added: “When I was younger, there were certain pieces of music and certain sounds that matched what I was feeling: I was falling in love, or I was curious about this, or whatever I was going through.”
In 2021, she told British Vogue that she likes ageing and is happy to enter her fifties. “Maybe because my mum didn’t live very long, so there’s something about age that feels like a victory instead of a sadness for me,” she explained. Her mum, Marcheline Bertrand, died aged 56 from cancer in 2007.
Liz Hurley
Liz Hurley is set to turn 60 on June 10, and told Hello! earlier this month that her boyfriend, Billy Ray Cyrus, will be flying into the UK to celebrate the milestone birthday with her.
“He should be in England for my birthday. He’ll be meeting my family – and my dogs – and hopefully, it’ll be lovely.”
Speaking with the Daily Star in March, the actress and model said that she believes “life gets better with age” as she reflected upon her 30-year friendship with Sir Elton John. “I just feel that as you become more confident, you really know your friendships,” she said.
Jeremy Kyle
On July 7, Talk presenter Jeremy turns 60. The broadcaster is best known for ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show, which ran from 2005 to 2019, when it was cancelled following the suicide of a guest, Steve Dymond, whose appearance had been filmed the previous week.
A coroner exonerated the show as the cause of or as a contributory factor in Dymond’s suicide last year, finding “no causal link” between them.
Following the news, Jeremy told OK! in December about his milestone birthday: “I’m 60 next year and life feels like it’s starting again. Now we need to look ahead. I don’t want this to be my legacy – I want my legacy to be that I’m a great dad.”
Dame Helen Mirren
Helen is turning 80 on July 26, and before becoming an octogenarian has been working with Age UK to promote the importance of forming healthy lifestyle habits. She said that she’s been making “little changes” to her lifestyle as she’s aged, with an attitude of embracing ageing as well as regular exercise.
“Whatever you may think about ageing, it’s something we must all try to embrace rather than fear,” she said. “It’s no secret that for many, getting older will come with its complications – specifically there will likely be aches and pains along the way, getting out and about and living as independently as we’re used to in our younger years may not be as easy to do.”
Ant and Dec
Britain’s most iconic presenting duo both turn 50 this year. It’s Declan Donnelly who hits the milestone first, on September 25, before Anthony McPartlin joins the club on November 18.
They’ve come a long way since their days on the Byker Grove set as teenagers, though they have slightly differing viewpoints about turning 50. “I’m alright with it,” Ant told Metro in January. “I’m pleased I’m still around and we’re still enjoying what we do, and have lovely families and loving kids – I’m very grateful.”
Dec ‘winced’ at the idea of turning 50, and said: “I had a bit of a mini-meltdown turning 30, and then I was better turning 40. I remember waking up on my 30th birthday and going: ‘Oh, I’m exactly the same. Nothing’s changed.’ So I was much more accepting of turning 40 and then 50 I’m, like, whatever.”
Kate Winslet
Kate will be 50 on October 5, but the actress won’t be throwing any massive celebrations for the milestone birthday. She told Harper’s Bazaar last August that she’s not really a fan of big parties or surprises, and added: “I want to spend the year doing 50 remarkable things, whether that’s a particular hike I’ve never done, or a place I’ve never been, acts of kindness – I’m gathering a little list.”
In 2022, when she was 47, she discussed ageing on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour podcast. “I’m 47, there are bits that don’t do what you want them to do any more,” she said. “There’s something kind of fab about going: ‘Oh well, that’s just the way it is, isn’t it?'”
Steve Coogan
On October 14, Steve turns 60. The comedian and actor, best known for playing the socially inept broadcaster Alan Partridge, has joked in the past that as he’s got older he’s become more like his character.
He told The Telegraph last month that he feels relaxed about turning 60 later this year, explaining: “It’s weird, when I started out I was 22 and everyone said, ‘God, you’re so young. Then one day they stopped saying it. If I go to east London and eat I know pretty much anywhere I go I’ll be the oldest person in the room.
“But I live in Lewes. One of the most gratifying things was that when they had the Covid vaccine I was one of the last ones to get it, because I was one of the youngest people in Lewes.”
Wayne Rooney
On October 24, former footballer Wayne Rooney turns 40. The Manchester United icon, who has kept himself busy as a football manager and pundit since he retired from playing in 2021, and is set to celebrate the milestone birthday with wife Coleen – who will be 40 next April – and their four sons.
Wayne hasn’t spoken about turning 40 yet, but has said previously about ageing: “I’m not really that bothered by appearance. I know a few players who go off doing stuff in the mirror ages before they go out to play a game. But I’m not really interested in that. As you get older you play in more important games and that is when you start thinking about what will happen if you win or lose.”
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