Celebrities Give Their Take on Turning 50

By Jesseka KadyLak USA Today

Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson might be the biggies celebrating the big 5-0 this year. But celebrities such as Alec Baldwin, Viggo Mortensen and Michelle Pfeiffer are also marking the milestone. Some stars are using the time to contemplate the future; others are using it to party. USA TODAY’s Jesseka Kadylak checks out a few of them:

Ellen DeGeneres

(Jan. 26)

DeGeneres celebrated with a carnival-themed bash on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., where she tapes her daytime talk show. Guests such as Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey and Tom Hanks enjoyed Ferris wheels, bumper cars, dancing and games. DeGeneres later shared photos from the festivities on her show. “It was the best party ever — it really was,” she said.

Alec Baldwin

(April 3)

Now that Baldwin has reached the half-century mark, the one thing he says he wants is to work less. “A man turns 50 and he has a funeral for the skills that he never had,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “He says goodbye. I’m never gonna be a cop, never gonna be a professional baseball player, never going to play the piano, a ballet dancer, the leading rusher in the NFL. All those things gone. But! There’s other things to do. The world is run by men in their 50s. So I’m trying to decide what to do when I quit this business.”

Sharon Stone

(March 10)

Stone acknowledges that she’s no longer the “32-year-old pretty girl from “Basic Instinct,” but told The Mirror, “I’m not afraid of aging. I just think: “Hey, I might as well just go with it.”" Stone said she hasn’t had plastic surgery and doesn’t plan to. “Like me or don’t like me — and if you don’t like me, then pardon me, but (buzz) off!” Instead of following a strict workout regimen, Stone said she does only as much as she has to to stay fit. “I chase three children to stay in shape. I don’t have a regular routine. When I notice things aren’t quite where I want them to be, I step it up. You park farther from the door, you take the stairs instead of the elevator.”

Jamie Lee Curtis

(Nov. 22)

To celebrate her 50th birthday year, the actress posed topless for the cover of the May/June 2008 issue of AARP the Magazine. Curtis told AARP that she’s embracing getting older. “I actually think there’s an incredible amount of self-knowledge that comes with getting older. I feel way better now than I did when I was 20. I’m stronger, I’m smarter in every way, I’m so much less crazy than I was then. Getting older means paring yourself down to an essential version of yourself,” she said. Curtis lost 20 pounds after learning her cholesterol and blood pressure were too high. She did it by steering clear of bread, granola and crackers. She has given away most of her jewelry and uncomfortable shoes and refuses to dye her hair. “I think I have finally found what I hope beauty is, or at least, beauty as it applies to me,” she told People.

Others hitting 50

Jan.1: Grandmaster Flash, hip-hop pioneer

Jan. 20 : Lorenzo Lamas, actor

Feb. 16: Ice-T, rapper/actor

Feb. 21: Mary Chapin Carpenter, singer

March 3: Miranda Richardson, actress

March 4: Patricia Heaton, actress

March 20: Holly Hunter, actress

March 21: Gary Oldman, actor

April 10: Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, singer/producer

April 21: Andie MacDowell, actress

April 29: Michelle Pfeiffer, actress

May 23: Drew Carey, comedian/game-show host

May 29: Annette Bening, actress

June 8: Keenen Ivory Wayans, comedian/actor/director

July 8: Kevin Bacon, actor

June 17: Jello Biafra, musician

July 30: Kate Bush, singer

Aug. 16: Angela Bassett, actress

Aug. 17: Belinda Carlisle, singer

Aug. 24: Steve Guttenberg, actor

Aug. 25: Tim Burton, director

Sept. 6: Jeff Foxworthy, comedian

Sept. 10: Chris Columbus, director

Sept. 22: Andrea Bocelli, singer

Sept. 25: Michael Madsen, actor

Sept. 30: Marty Stuart, singer

Oct. 16: Tim Robbins, actor

Oct. 17: Alan Jackson, country singer

Oct. 20: Viggo Mortensen, actor

Nov. 16: Marg Helgenberger, actress

Dec. 11: Nikki Sixx, Motley Crue musician

Dec. 17: Mike Mills, R.E.M. bassist

Dec. 31: Bebe Neuwirth, actress

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