5 Former Child Stars Have Birthdays Today (Can You Believe Rudy Huxtable Is 45?)

Send happy birthday wishes to Elle Fanning, Keshia Knight Pulliam and more former child stars today

There must be something about April 9.

Several icons of the movie, music and fashion worlds have birthdays today, but notably, five of them are former child stars.

Elle Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Jesse McCartney, Leighton Meester and Keshia Knight Pulliam are all blowing out the candles, marking various milestones in addition to career success and personal triumphs.

Fanning turns 26 on April 9. She first appeared on the big screen as a toddler version of big sis Dakota in 2001's I Am Sam when she was 3 years old, and hasn't slowed down since.

In 2023, she spoke to PEOPLE about longevity in the industry, saying she looks up to fellow former child star Kirsten Dunst, who keeps "surprising others" with her work. "She's kind of genre-less. She's always makes kind of interesting choices," she shared.

Meanwhile, Stewart turns 34 today, and is celebrating the recent buzz around her latest project, Love Lies Bleeding. She famously starred in the Twilight franchise as a teen, though actually started working all the way back in 1999, with her first two works on IMDb listed as uncredited parts in The Thirteenth Year and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas.

Related: Ella Enchanted Turns 20 Today: See a Young (Red-Headed!) Anne Hathaway at the 2004 Premiere

"When I was a kid ... I was extremely shy and not somebody who you would think would want to be an actor," Stewart said in a 2019 Variety interview, via E!. "I definitely had to like ... I had to dig."

She has since been nominated for an Oscar for her work as Princess Diana in 2022's Spencer.

Another April 9 birthday baby is singer McCartney, who is 37 but has been in the spotlight since he was just about 12. McCartney's 2004 album Beautiful Soul and its namesake single truly launched him into superstardom, a moment he reflected on in a recent PEOPLE interview.

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“I remember the first time I heard that song, I was coming out of my SAT exam and I heard it on the radio on Z100,” he said, “and I remember thinking I didn't have to worry about what was going on with my SATs because I had made it!”

In the years since, McCartney has continued making music and worked steadily on TV and as a voice actor. He also married longtime love Katie Peterson in 2021.

Upper East Siders will likely care to know that Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf herself, Meester, is 38 today. Like Stewart, she's well known for a role she made famous as a slightly older star, but actually started working at 13, first with an episode of Law & Order.

Now married to fellow teen icon Adam Brody, she's a mom of two most recently seen on How I Met Your Father.

Related: Never Been Kissed Turns 25! See the Starry Cast Then and Now

Rounding out the day is Pulliam, now 45, who started her career at just 5 years old as Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show. (She earned an Emmy nomination at age 6!) "People really did grow up with me," she said in a 2008 PEOPLE interview just before her 30th birthday. "People feel like I'm their sister, their best friend, their daughter."

She went on to Spelman College, but kept acting, too, most recently on Tyler Perry's House of Payne. She's now a mom of two, too, and wed Brad James in 2021.

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