5 Over 50

Titanic Star

Born in Los Angeles, the actor, producer, and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, who turns 50 on November 11, was named after Leonardo da Vinci. As a child, he appeared in commercials for Bubble Yum and Kraft Singles before landing guest appearances on shows such as “Roseanne” and a recurring gig on “Growing Pains.” At age 18, he earned the first of seven Oscar nominations with “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”. The “Titanic” star finally won Best Actor in 2016 for “The Revenant.” He’s bought and sold over a dozen homes, in locales from Palm Springs, Malibu, and New York to a private island in Belize. His next project, “The Wager,” an adaptation of David Gann’s nonfiction book, will mark his seventh collaboration with Martin Scorsese. When asked what he wanted to do before turning 50, DiCaprio said, “Just one more movie.”

From "My Cousin Vinny" to "Aunt May"

Born and raised in Brooklyn, actress Marisa Tomei, who turns 60 on December 4, was about to start her sophomore year as a theater arts major at Boston University when she was cast in a one-line part in the 1984 film “The Flamingo Kid.” She left college and dove into acting, landing roles on the soap opera “As the World Turns” and opposite Lisa Bonet on “A Different World.” Tomei is a godmother to all three of Bonet’s children. In 1993, she was named Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mona Lisa Vito in “My Cousin Vinny” and has gone on to be nominated twice more. On “Finding Your Roots” she learned that her longtime friend and college roomie, actress Julianne Moore, is a distant cousin. She joined the Marvel Comic Universe as “Aunt May” to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in 2016 with “Captain America: Civil War” and reprised the role in four sequels. But it’s her “My Cousin Vinny” role that stays with her: “I actually aspire to be more like Mona Lisa Vito: to speak what’s on my mind more often.” Next up, she will star in the indie film, “You’re Dating a Narcissist!”.

Spinning Ryan

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Ryan Seacrest landed an internship at an Atlanta radio station at age 16, which led to a DJ gig while he was a student at University of Georgia. Before becoming an Emmy-winning TV host, he played a fake game show host in an episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” The co-host of “American Idol” and former co-host of “Live with Kelly & Ryan,” Seacrest inherited emcee duties at two classic shows: “Dick Clark’s New Year's Rockin’ Eve” and, more recently, “Wheel of Fortune,” which he took over for Pat Sajak. The “American Top 40” radio host, who turns 50 on December 24, discovered the Kardashians, creating and executive producing “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” A savvy businessman and snappy dresser, Seacrest has invested in startups such as Pinterest and launched a dapper clothing collection, Ryan Seacrest Distinction, at Macy’s.

Everyone's BFF

Journalist Gayle King, who turns 70 on December 28, was born in Chevy Chase, Maryland and graduated from The University of Maryland with a degree in psychology. At 21, she landed her first job as a production assistant at a Baltimore TV station with a salary of $12,000. That’s where she met her future best friend, a 22-year-old news anchor named Oprah Winfrey. The Emmy-award winning co-host of “CBS Mornings” was a longtime television news anchor for a CBS affiliate in Hartford, Connecticut before launching “The Gayle King Show” at Oprah’s OWN. A mother of two adult children and grandmother of two, the O Magazine contributor has played herself in multiple TV series including “Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock,” and “Billions.” Every year for Thanksgiving she takes her three sisters and their families on a tropical vacation. In May, King posed in a swimsuit on the cover of Sports Illustrated. “I don’t have hang ups about my age,” she said.

The Glory of Denzel

Denzel Washington, who turns 70 on December 28, was born and raised in Mt. Vernon, New York and developed his love of acting while working as a YMCA camp counselor in Connecticut. After appearing in a skit, a fellow counselor told him, “You’ve got a real knack for that.” He changed his major at Fordham University from journalism to theater studies and made his stage debut at the Public Theater in 1979. He became a series regular on the hit medical drama “St. Elsewhere” in 1982. He earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Glory” and Best Actor for “Training Day,” making him the first African American actor to win two competitive Academy Awards, and the first since Sidney Poitier in 1964 to win the Best Actor award. The Tony-Award winning star, who recently appeared in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” is set to return to Broadway in a production of “Othello” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. He has been married to his wife Pauletta Pearson since 1983, and they have four children together, including actor John David Washington.

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