Celebrities Turning 50

If it seems like just yesterday that Madonna, Prince, and Michael Jackson were breaking onto the entertainment scene…well, it wasn’t. Not even close, actually.

Turns out those three — and others — have been with us a while. They’ve been around long enough, in fact, that each turns 50 in 2008.

Who else hits the half century mark in ‘08? USA Today looked around a bit to see who is aging gracefully and otherwise. The search came up with a fairly impressive list of rich and famous who will be eligible for AARP membership before the end of the year.

Here’s a sampling, with the fateful date:

Ellen DeGeneres: Actress, talk show host (Jan. 26)

Ice-T: Actor, rapper (Feb. 16)

Patricia Heaton: Actress (March 4)

Sharon Stone: Actress (March 10)

Holly Hunter: Actress (March 20)

Alec Baldwin: Actor (April 3)

Michelle Pfeiffer: Actress (April 29)

Drew Carey: Actor, comedian, game show host (May 23)

Annette Bening: Actress (May 29)

Prince: Musician (June 7)

Kevin Bacon: Actor (July 8)

Madonna: Actress, singer (Aug. 16)

Tim Burton: Director (Aug. 25)

Michael Jackson: Musician (Aug. 29)

Tim Robbins: Actor (Oct. 16)

Alan Jackson: Musician (Oct. 17)

Viggo Mortensen: Actor (Oct. 20)

Marg Helgenberger: Actress (Nov. 16)

Jamie Lee Curtis: Actress (Nov. 22)

To read more about these, and to see who else gets the black balloons this year, visit USA Today.