Older Celebs Who Were Gorgeous When They Were Young

Now more than ever, older celebrities are getting their well-deserved due. There's currently a proliferation of movies and TV projects that not only star, but celebrate, folks of a certain age. Older celebrities in the 21st century are at the forefront of redefining what it means to be active and gorgeous. For some, it perhaps requires a little nip and tuck, for others, it means better living and looking without injectables. Regardless of how they keep their looks, it's never been a better time to be an elder statesperson of a certain stature.

As beautiful and talented as these older celebrities are today, it will probably come as no surprise that they were equally as gorgeous when they were young. Some rocked their glamor on the soundstages of Hollywood when the studio system was still alive and kicking while others strutted their stuff on the boards of Broadway and the West End. No matter how these celebrities chose to spend their youth, they did it with charisma to burn. Let's take a look back at older celebs who were stunning when they were young and appreciate how far these good-looking people have come.

Although today she is recognized largely for her animal rights activism and outspoken views on Islam — which have earned her fines for inciting hatred — back in the '50s and '60s, sultry French actor Brigitte Bardot was perhaps the world's best-known sex symbol. An aspiring ballerina and model in her younger years, Bardot made waves in her early roles in French romantic comedies — in which she frequently appeared nude. Bardot even became a sex symbol admittedly worshiped by other famous celebrities, like the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

Bardot's impact on Western culture is undeniable. Time magazine called her the "original 'sex kitten.'" Her fashion style was popularized around the world — off-the-shoulder sweaters and dresses were later called the Bardot neckline, and the once-controversial bikini became an overnight sensation after she wore one in "Manina the Girl in the Bikini" (1952) and "And God Created Woman" (1956). According to CBS News, the then-teenage star even donned a bikini in 1953 while making her first appearance at the Cannes Film Festival. Bardot celebrated her 88th birthday in 2022.

About 50 years after her final big-screen appearance, Bardot reportedly didn't totally love the fact that her Hollywood legacy was still a topic of pop cultural conversation. Of a letter regarding the 2023 miniseries "Bardot," writer-director Danièle Thompson revealed to The Guardian that Bardot had apparently written about how "she was always surprised how unbelievably interested people were in her and did not quite understand why she was not left alone for good."

Known for her cascading, flowing locks of hair and natural beauty, Jane Seymour's gorgeous looks helped launch her decades-long career as an actor. Before her character "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" became a household name in the 1990s, Seymour's signature mane helped her score her first major movie role. As she told NPR, when she took off her hat in front of producers of the 1973 James Bond film "Live and Let Die," her hair came rolling out. The impressed producers immediately cast her in the movie. Working steadily in TV, movies, and the stage throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s, Seymour leaned into her beauty in a new way in the '00s by co-starring in the 2005 comedy "Wedding Crashers."

On The Today Show, she credited embracing her natural looks for her career longevity and versatility. She said of avoiding cosmetic intervention, "I'm the only actress out there that doesn't do all the stuff. I have wrinkles. I mean, I actually smile and I can frown, and I can get angry." Seymour also choses to share her beauty on social media without a filter and she's her own one-woman glam squad, having picked up the tricks of the beauty trade after working for decades as an actor. She's flattered by her current sex symbol-status, telling People, "I don't quite understand what a sex symbol means, but am I still a full-blooded woman? Definitely!"

Younger audiences might know Sir Ian McKellen for playing powerful elders in the "X-Men" and "Lord of the Rings" movie franchises, but before spurring on mutant revolts and leading the Fellowship through Middle Earth, he was a handsome British stage actor taking on some seriously meaty roles. Like many British actors of his generation, his career started on the stage, where he was notably praised for his Shakespearean performances of characters like Richard II and Hamlet. When he played The Bard's Danish prince in 1971, McKellen's rakish good looks, complete with tousled hair and fringe jacket, were perfectly in step with the times.

While he appeared in plenty of British television shows as a young man, his film career didn't really take off until the '90s, when he starred in and wrote an adaptation of "Richard III." Even though McKellen hit his Hollywood stride well into middle age, he maintains a youthful attitude. McKellen shared with The Guardian, "Because as you get older, inside, you're ageless. Inside? Quite honestly? I feel about 12." Clearly, age is just a concept for McKellen. Now in his '80s, McKellen continues to work on both stage and screen. He even appeared on the runway at London Fashion Week in 2023, kicking off S.S. Daley Fall 2023 show by reading a poem while wearing pieces from the collection.

Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Sally Field got her start in Hollywood as a teenager and charmed audiences with her sparkling, effervescent beauty playing TV characters like teenage surfer Gidget and Sister Bertrille, otherwise known as The Flying Nun. Although Field was surely attractive, she faced adversity – and some serious sexism – when making the leap from television to film. She told BuzzFeed News about struggling as a young female actor to be taken seriously, "Men? Sure. We had Steve McQueen and James Garner and Clint Eastwood. They're gorgeous and they're men — they're allowed," adding, "But can you name the women?" Field also said she got pushback about her ambitions from her agent who, she confessed to Variety, told her that she wasn't good enough or pretty enough to be in movies. We highly disagree on all fronts!

Fortunately, Field didn't listen to her naysayers. She studied at The Actors Studio and earned an Emmy for her performance in the TV movie "Sybil." From there, Field was back in the zeitgeist, starring in movies like "Smokey and the Bandit," and winning Oscars for her performances "Norma Rae" and "Places in the Heart." Now a Hollywood mainstay, Field currently earns praise from her peers for her tenacity. Her "Lincoln" director Steven Spielberg said in Variety, "Through her consistently good taste and feisty persistence, she has survived our ever-changing culture, stood the test of time and earned this singular place in history."

Yes, believe it or not, there was a time when comedian Steve Martin didn't have his signature white hair. In the 1960s, as a young writer on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," Martin appeared on "The Dating Game" as "Bachelor Number Two" sporting dark hair and groovy sideburns. While writing for "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," Martin appeared in a skit sporting not only dark hair, but a bushy beard to boot. Admittedly, his shaggy look was quite attractive, but it didn't last long. Soon, Martin was pursuing stand-up comedy and his look became more polished, like when he appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1972.

Martin's comedy career reached meteoric heights in the '70s, with fans filling arenas to watch his routine. His guest-host turns on "Saturday Night Live," featuring his performances in sketches like "Wild and Crazy Guys" and "King Tut" made him one of the most beloved entertainers of the time. But at the height of Martin-mania, he quit his stand-up career in 1981. Martin didn't quit showbiz, rather he recalibrated his career and became an unconventional movie star in his 30s and 40s with his naturally white hair. These days, Martin is as good looking as ever. His friend and collaborator Martin Short quipped to AARP about his seemingly ageless look that it's because of "the charm of looking 70 when you're 30."

With film credits dating back to the 1950s, EGOT winner Rita Moreno has been winning audiences over with her undeniable talent and beauty since the Truman administration. Although modern audiences might be more familiar with Moreno's depiction of elderly matriarchs in TV comedies like "One Day at a Time," and blockbuster films such as "Fast X," she started her acting career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. But Moreno's early Tinseltown years weren't easy. Born in Puerto Rico, she balked at being typecast by the studio and relegated to small roles rooted in ethnic stereotypes, but she managed to land roles in notable Hollywood films like "Singin' in the Rain" and "The King and I."

Although being gorgeous certainly helped her career, like when her stunning 1954 cover of LIFE magazine helped secure her a contract at 20th Century Fox, it also was a personal burden. Being labeled a sex symbol wasn't easy for Moreno, telling Yahoo! Entertainment, "And it's the very thing that eventually drove me into psychotherapy, which is probably the best favor I ever did myself," adding, "You hate it when they call you a sex object." In the '60s, Moreno became the first Latina to win an Oscar in 1962 for her performance in "West Side Story." Her historic win didn't automatically lead to more opportunities initially, but throughout the decades, Moreno has crafted a career for herself that few can match.

Cybill Shepherd's gorgeous looks opened a lot of doors for her early in life. Growing up in Memphis, TN, Shepherd's beauty got her noticed. At 16, she won the title of Miss Teenage Memphis and when she was 18, she was honored as "Model of the Year." Soon, the flaxen-haired, blue-eyed Shepherd was scouted by a modeling agency and quickly landed gigs, like modeling for Breck Shampoo as one of the brands celebrated "Breck Girls" and appearing on magazine covers for publications like Seventeen and Glamour. In fact, it was her April 1970 Glamour cover that caught the attention of director Peter Bogdanovich, who cast her in his movie "The Last Picture Show," kicking off her acting career with parts in other '70s hits like "The Heartbreak Kid" and "Taxi Driver."

As Shepherd matured as a performer, her career really took off. In the '80s, Shepherd scored her break-out role starring opposite Bruce Willis in the TV series "Moonlighting." and in the '90s she starred on her eponymous CBS sitcom. As a person who massively benefited from being gorgeous, she worked through insecurities about being an aging beauty. She shared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "If we don't work to develop that depth and [have] more fun too—and really laughing and crying as much as possible—learning to love ourselves as we age is one of the most challenging things we can do."

With his chiseled good looks, future Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood served up some serious eye candy as a young actor in the 1950s. Eastwood signed his first Hollywood contract back in 1954, but stardom didn't come immediately for the handsome actor. Despite his camera-ready looks, he paid his Tinseltown dues in a series of low-budget films for Universal. His first movie, 1955's "Francis in the Navy" was part of a film series starring a "talking" mule – not exactly an auspicious career start. Even though Eastwood leaned into being a Hollywood hunk by posing and weightlifting shirtless, work was tough to come by early in his career. Hustling for auditions and acting in small roles, he actually thought about quitting the business altogether, but in 1959, Eastwood kept his acting doggies movin' by landing his breakout role in "Rawhide."

Eastwood transitioned from a young, hunky cattleman to mature bronco in the 1960s by starring in director Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy," beginning with "A Fistful of Dollars" in 1964.From there, Eastwood started to become more well known for his hard-boiled characters like the Man with no Name, "Dirty" Harry Callahan, not to mention his prolific film directing resume, his foray into politics, and his tumultuous love life. And hotness runs in the Eastwood family. Clint's son, Scott Eastwood, has made a name for himself playing beefcake characters and just like dad, he hasn't been shy about doing shirtless workouts for the cameras. 

Dame Judi Dench didn't rise to global stardom until she was in her 60s, when she played M in the "James Bond" film series and won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in "Shakespeare In Love." Despite her late start in Hollywood, she's been delighting British theater audiences with her elegant allure for decades. Making her stage debut in 1957 as Ophelia in "Hamlet," Dench's beauty and talents made her an in-demand Shakespearean actor and she would go on to play many of The Bard's prominent female characters for the famed Royal Shakespeare Company. Dench looked ever the bombshell as Titania in a 1968 film version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," We must say, she looked very fetching in her green body makeup and minimal costuming.

Dench has seemingly found her signature look, and she been rocking her signature pixie-cut for decades, While she's celebrated the world over for her artistic gifts, she bristles at being labeled a "National Treasure" in her home country. She told The Guardian in 2021, "For one thing, it's a terrible label. So dusty, so dreary. For another, it relegates me to being an 86-year-old woman. Whereas in my mind's eye I'm 6ft and willowy and about 39." Sure, in reality Dench is just over 5 feet tall, but her short stature has never diminished her pure talent and graceful beauty.

Over the course of his career, Jeff Bridges has transitioned from being a second-generation showbiz talent into a celebrated elder statesman of Hollywood. But those who are only familiar with Bridges' later-in-life work, like his Oscar-winning turn as a grizzled country singer in the 2009 movie "Crazy Heart" or his iconic performance as The Dude in the cult classic film "The Big Lebowski," might not be aware of Bridges' hunk factor in his younger years. His parents were actors Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges, and Jeff's early acting career was just as hot as he was, scoring his first Academy Award nomination for "The Last Picture Show" while in his early 20s. Whether sporting long, flowing locks like he did in "King Kong" or wearing groovy printed shirts in "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," Bridges has serious '70s sex appeal.

Bridges continued his hot streak in the '80s, just take a look at him in movies like "Against All Odds" and "Starman." Called "the thinking woman's sex symbol," as he's gotten older, Bridges doesn't identify himself with the moniker, but he knows what he finds appealing. He told The Daily Mail, "I think the attractive men are the ones who show you who they are. They're not trying to hide aspects of themselves. They tell you how they feel. That's what I aspire to — being honest."

Before she turned being a domestic goddess into a billion-dollar business empire, Martha Stewart was a gorgeous young model just trying to pay her way through college. Signed to the famed Ford Models, Stewart cooked up quite the career while she was still in high school. She told People, "I knew that I could model, I knew I could pose for pictures, but I was not sexy, and I was not provocative." Although Stewart's self-assessment is harsh, there's no doubt the camera loved her, and she elegantly posed in everything from chic swimsuits to refined evening wear. For Stewart, modeling actually proved key to her future. It was on a modeling assignment in Europe that she dabbled in and studied the epicurean nuances of the continent, laying the groundwork for her success as a food and lifestyle impresario.

Stewart's icy, Hitchcock Blonde beauty buoyed her early life, and it has made her a viral internet sensation in her later years. Stewart doesn't shy away from a good old-fashioned Instagram thirst trap photo, whether it's showing off her great facial features, celebrating her birthday, or taking a relaxing dip in her pool. It seems all the self-love snagged her a cover on the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. At 81 years old, she became the magazine's oldest-ever cover model with a pictorial equal parts smoking hot and playfully sophisticated.

In the 1970s, there was arguably no one more sexy at the movies than Pam Grier. The star of iconic Blacksploitation films like "Coffy," "Foxy Brown," and "Friday Foster," Grier's portrayal of gorgeously fierce protagonists catapulted her into fame. Impeccably styled while kicking butt, Grier elevated B-movies not only with her gorgeous looks, but with her serious talent. Talking with PeopleTV, Grier acknowledged that while she was celebrated for her beauty, it was her study and application of acting methodologies such as Method Acting that elevated her to the next level. On taking the roles that made her a star, Grier told The Guardian, "I felt it important for women of color not to be invisible any more." Still, Grier never found herself to be pretty, something that she attributed to having been sexually assaulted in childhood.

In the '90s, a new generation was introduced to Grier when she starred as the title character in director Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film "Jackie Brown." The role reenergized her career and Grier has remained an in-demand actor ever since. These days, when she's not tending to her Colorado ranch, she flexes her versatile talents on everything from cable prestige dramas like "The L Word" to network sitcoms like "Bless This Mess" and dramatic movies like "Cinnamon."

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The camera loves Jessica Lange's radiant beauty, and in her younger years, not only was Lange gorgeous, but her quirky artistic inclinations led her down a decades-long career as an actor. Lange went from small-town Minnesota to studying mime in Paris. While under the tutelage of mime legend Étienne Decroux, Lange was discovered by fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez. She modeled for Lopez, and he would do her glamor, then hit the town. Lange's work as a model wasn't exactly lucrative – she was supplementing her income by waiting tables – but she told Vanity Fair that her modeling agent knew her real ambition was acting, and gave her information to film producer Dino De Laurentiis for the 1976 "King Kong" reboot. She landed the part and made her film debut as Dwan, the beautiful shipwreck survivor.

Lange parlayed her beauty and talent into a celebrated Hollywood career that's undeniable; she's been honored with numerous awards, including two Oscars, three Emmys, and a Tony. She's also been a favorite of Ryan Murphy, who has cast Lange in multiple seasons of "American Horror Story" and his Netflix series "The Politician." Only a true beauty like Lange could make leopard-print stretch pants look so good.

For modern audiences, Sir Michael Caine often cuts a benevolent, grandfatherly persona on the big screen in roles like Bruce Wayne/Batman's butler Alfred in director Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy. But in his youth, Caine was the epitome of swinging '60s London, a sex symbol of the "youthquake" movement. With his signature black glasses, mod turtlenecks, and well-tailored suits, Caine brought a new kind of masculinity to the screen, starring in movies like "Alfie," the Harry Palmer spy thrillers, and "Get Carter." He particularly identified with Palmer, telling Esquire "He had my attitude to authority: screw it, I'll do it my way and get it right. A rebel. That was me at that time."

That swagger and determination has carried Caine through the decades – who else could miss out on winning an Oscar because they were filming "Jaws: The Revenge" and take it in stride? Even while making the transition from leading man to beloved character actor he thought about throwing in the towel, but it was Jack Nicholson who convinced him to keep going. While Carnaby Street may no longer be the headquarters for everything cool, Caine's youthful style still serves as inspiration for stylish folks not matter what their age. 

Dame Maggie Smith might not consider herself a great beauty, but there's no denying she was a gorgeous presence on the British stage and screen in her younger years. With ambitions to act since she was a teenager, her beauty was recognized by critics early in her career, but looking back on this time, Smith didn't see herself like that. When asked about being called a "dish" in the 1960s, Smith told NPR, "That never was me. The "dish" department didn't apply. ... I think it's got something to do with one not being a "dish" ... because then you become a character actor and you have much more chance of developing and going on."

Indeed, Smith went onto become a highly successful, and very good-looking, character actor. The '60s and '70s saw a youthful Smith win two Oscars, one for her performance as an unorthodox teacher in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and another for a not-so-in-her-prime British actor in "California Suite." She's continued her character acting career by taking on roles like the Dowager Countess in "Downton Abbey," Professor Minerva McGonagall in the "Harry Potter" film series. Her beauty and brains make Smith the total package. On working with Smith on the film "The Miracle Club," producer Chris Curling said to The Guardian, "She has such an actor's brain. The questions she asks, the comments she makes...Every day on the set with her was a revelation."

Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian became an integral character in the "Star Wars" cinematic universe in 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," but before charming audiences in Cloud City, he was one of the '70s hottest actors. Known for his swagger, charm, and overall sexy vibe, Williams' acting career hit its stride with the TV film "Brian's Song," and soon he was co-starring with music icon Diana Ross in "Lady Sings the Blues." In the 1970s, his gorgeous looks were compared to that of another hunky cinematic icon: Clark Gable.

Although not a beer drinker himself, Williams served as a spokesperson for Colt 45 malt beverages in the '80s and '90s. The seductive power of Williams' handsome confidence made him a pop culture icon, with the campaign proving so popular that he returned as a rep for the brand in 2016. Throughout the years, Williams hasn't strayed far from playing Calrissian, playing the character in a number of "Star Wars" projects. And Williams is so handsome that his looks have been collected by the Smithsonian. A talented painter, his handsome self-portrait is part of the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Dame Helen Mirren has redefined beauty standards as she's aged, so it's not shocking that she was gorgeous as a young actor. In one of her first roles, she lit up the stage at Cleopatra in the Old Vic production of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra." produced through the National Youth Theatre in the U.K. With her groovy style sense and smoldering sensuality, Mirren made her film debut in 1967's psychedelic art house film "Herostratus," playing a seductive rubber glove model. Clearly, Mirren wasn't modest about her beauty, and looking back at her younger days, she told Allure, "I could see why — when I got far enough back from my young self — they called me sexy in those days. I fell into the cliché of sexiness: blonde hair, t**s, waist, which I hated at the time because it was not fashionable."

With a litany of film and television credits to her name – and a slew of awards to boot, Mirren's beauty continues to be celebrated. She was on the cover of People's "Most Beautiful" issue in 2022, and while she downplays her own beauty, she definitely celebrates cultivating swagger. She told People, "I love the word swagger because I think swagger means I'm confident in myself, I'm presenting myself to the world, I'm enjoying the world around me." Let's hope Merriam-Webster gets the memo and puts a picture of Mirren next to the word.

In Robert Redford's early Hollywood days, the handsome actor slowly built his acting career first on television, then on to the big screen. In the late '60s, he was starring in movies like "Barefoot in the Park" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which capitalized on Redford's swoon-worthy appearance. By the mid-1970s, Redford was a bonafide cinema idol, but he told The New York Times in 1974, "I never thought of myself as a glamorous guy, a handsome guy, any of that stuff." Redford's growing unease about his sex-symbol status loomed over his career. He said to the BBC about the attention his looks received in his early days, "I was surprised when it came, I was flattered. And I kind of enjoyed it for a while, and then I realized I couldn't slide out of it, that it was attached in a way that became uncomfortable."

But Redford was able to transcend his natural sex appeal and pivot into a behind-the-scenes film power player. His film directorial debut, 1980's "Ordinary People," earned Redford an Oscar for Best Director and kicked off his successful directing career. Spurred by his passion for filmmaking, Redford went on to found the Sundance Film Festival in 1984, which has become one of the most important film festivals in the world. And speaking of Earth, he's also an impassioned environmentalist, working with organizations like the Natural Resource Defense Council and The Redford Center.

Before she slapped her way to television stardom as the ultra-glamorous Alexis Carrington Colby on the prime-time soap opera "Dynasty," Dame Joan Collins was a gorgeous British teenage starlet who signed her first movie contract at just 17 years old. Her beauty was undeniable, and she soon found herself in Hollywood, holding her own as one of the 1950s most beautiful movie stars. Her look was full-on Tinseltown glitz. Think sequins, bouffant hair, and very expressive eyebrows.

As Hollywood changed, so did Collins' career. In the 1970s, her career waned, but the '80s, with its return to ostentatious glam, saw Collins' career as hot as ever. During her "Dynasty" years, Collins even posed on the cover of Playboy. At age 50, she was proud of her work and pointed out that women in particular praised Collins for pushing back against ageism. Now in her ninth decade of fabulousness, Collins isn't slowing down anytime soon. She's still working, and told The Sunday Times, "I work because I have to make a living. This is what astounds me. What kind of money do you think I have?" Clearly, Collins enjoys the fruits of her labor, and doesn't miss an opportunity to share her glamorous life on Instagram, where there's no shortage of fabulous holiday spots, luncheon dates, and fashionably oversized hats.

For younger generations, James Earl Jones might best be known for his voice work. His booming vocals have given life to characters like Darth Vader and Mufasa from "The Lion King," and he also was the voice of cable news network CNN. So you are forgiven if you didn't realize that in his early years, Jones was quite a handsome thespian. Before fame, Jones was an aspiring actor who worked the night shift as a janitor to make ends meet. Jones started his acting career on the stage and made his Broadway debut in 1958. From there, he made his film debut in the 1964 classic "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" as an attractive lieutenant. In the '70s, he cut a dashing figure in movies like "The Great White Hope" and "The Man."

After an illustrious career that includes being a non-competitive EGOT winner – he received an honorary Academy Award in 2011 – Jones' is slowing down on his work schedule. In 2022, after 45 years in the role, Jones himself retired from voicing Darth Vader, but he has allowed filmmakers to continue to use his voice for the character. That same year, Jones' Broadway career excellence was honored when the Cort Theatre was officially renamed James Earl Jones Theatre. A fitting honor for this legendary actor.

Susan Sarandon has been a fiery screen presence for decades, and as beautiful as she is today, she was equally gorgeous when she was young. Sarandon came to prominence in the 1970s for her roles in movies like the cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and the not-so-classic "The Great Waldo Pepper," her carefree yet seductive beauty on full display. In the 1980s, Sarandon really hit her sexual stride with hot performances in "The Hunger," "The Witches of Eastwick," and "Bull Durham."

Celebrated for both her mind and her beauty, Sarandon has been vocal about her embrace of both parts of her persona. She pondered to The Washington Post while promoting her iconic 1991 film "Thelma and Louise," "Is it not then possible to be a smart, sexy woman? Do you really have to be the ice queen intellectual or the sl*t wh**e? Isn't there some way to be both?" Clearly, she has been able to crack the code. Sarandon still makes headlines for her head-turning beauty on the red carpet as much as for her impassioned activism.

Al Pacino has been a Hollywood stalwart for decades, but when he started his film career in the early 1970s, his gorgeous screen presence was rather groundbreaking. Pacino was part of the New Hollywood cinematic movement and Pacino's brooding, everyman sexuality helped define a new masculine ideal in cinema. It's hard to believe that Pacino, considering his smoldering good looks, wasn't Paramount Pictures' choice to play Michael Corleone in "The Godfather," but director Francis Ford Coppola wanted him for the part. And he got him, with Pacino reprising the role in two more "Godfather" movies.

When Pacino wasn't lighting up the screen as troubled mafioso Corleone, he was starring in other era-defining movies like "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon," and "Scarface." In subsequent decades, Pacino has maintained a steady, influential presence on film. After numerous nominations, he finally won an Oscar for his performance in the 1992 film "Scent of a Woman" – and he popularized the catchphrase, "Hoo-ah!," while he was at it. Now in his '80s, Pacino is still making folks say "hoo-ah!" not only in his career, but in his personal life as well. In the social media age, Pacino's youthful hotness was rediscovered and has a hot topic for debate. In 2023, at the age of 83, Pacino became a new father, welcoming a son with his girlfriend Noor Alfallah.

It might shock you that the ruggedly handsome, mustachioed Sam Elliot was one clean-cut young man. No, Elliot didn't time travel to Hollywood directly from the Old West, but in fact, he moseyed his way into town from the Pacific Northwest. As a young actor, Elliot appeared on popular shows like "Mission: Impossible," "Hawaii Five-0," and "Gunsmoke," but it wasn't until his starring role in the movie "Lifeguard" in 1976 that glimpses of the sexy Elliott – of course rocking his signature facial hair – started to emerge.

It seems that since then, Elliot's mustache has rarely left his upper lip, becoming a signature part of his allure. In movies like "Tombstone" and "The Big Lebowski," and TV shows such as "The Ranch" and "1883," it's always there. But if you ask Elliott about people's fascination with it, he's a little baffled. Appearing on "The Today Show," Elliott said, "It's a weird thing, isn't it? It's just hair on somebody's lip. I'm comfortable with it or without it." Although it's been decades since Elliott made a splash in "Lifeguard," he doesn't deny that he still keeps it hot. When asked if he still considered himself a sex symbol in his 70s, he told The Washington Post, "It's a little late for that. That's not where I'm thinking I am in this day and age, for sure. But, yeah, I guess I can cop to it. It's genetics, I guess."

Jane Fonda comes from Hollywood royalty. Her father Henry Fonda was an Oscar-winning actor and young Jane inherited her father's piercing blue eyes. She started working in front of the camera as a model, landing on the cover of Vogue in 1959. The following year, she made her movie debut in "Tall Story," because, as she exclaimed to Harvard Business Review, "I became an actress because I didn't know what else to do!" Working steadily as an actor throughout the '60s, she perhaps reached her peak youthful gorgeousness starring in the title role of 1968's erotic science-fiction film "Barbarella."

Acknowledging how her looks offered ease in her career, she told Vanity Fair, "I took the easy road for a while. I would say that ended with Barbarella. [But] I liked playing somebody that caused a certain generation of men to have their first erection." Shortly after "Barbarella," Fonda pivoted away from work explicitly about her beauty. She moved onto more dramatic roles in movies like "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Klute," and started her extensive activism work. Now in her '80s, Fonda is as active and beautiful as ever. Whether she's acting on the popular Netflix series "Grace and Frankie," encouraging people to stay healthy through fitness, or continuing her activism through causes like her "Fire Drill Fridays."