Which Celebrities Will Turn 100 in 2026?

Not many people have the chance to celebrate their 100th birthday, and even fewer celebrities have reached this impressive milestone. With the all-out celebration of Dick Van Dyke‘s 100th birthday in 2025, we wondered who might be turning 100 in 2026? Let’s find out which  birthdays we should mark on our calendars this upcoming year.

Mel Brooks

Date of birth: June 28, 1926

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Mel Brooks’ career began behind the scenes, writing comedy in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was part of the writing staff for Your Show of Shows, a landmark television program starring Sid Caesar that helped define early TV comedy. During that time, Brooks worked alongside Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and other writers who would go on to become legends in their own right. That experience shaped his career.

Brooks made his directorial film debut with The Producers in 1967, earning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He followed that with a string of films that became comedy landmarks, including Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety and Spaceballs. In 2001, the Broadway adaptation of The Producers won twelve Tony Awards, at the time the most ever for a single show. Brooks is one of the few entertainers to achieve EGOT status, having won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. His career has also been recognized with a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013. So, a 100th birthday celebration would just be the cherry on top of a very impressive life.

David Attenborough

Date of birth: May 8, 1926

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David Attenborough joined the BBC in 1952, beginning a broadcasting career that would span more than seven decades. He first became known to viewers through Zoo Quest in the 1950s, a groundbreaking series that brought filmed wildlife into homes when such footage was rarely seen. Beyond his work on camera, Attenborough played an essential role inside the BBC, serving as controller of BBC Two during the 1960s and helping oversee the channel’s expansion into color television.

Attenborough is best known for writing and narrating major natural history documentary series, including Life on Earth, The Living Planet, The Trials of Life, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. Life on Earth, first broadcast in 1979, reached audiences worldwide and is widely regarded as one of the most influential documentary series ever produced. Over time, Attenborough also became a prominent public advocate for environmental conservation, speaking about biodiversity loss and climate change in documentaries, books and public addresses. His honors include knighthoods awarded in 1985 and 2020, the Order of Merit in 2005, and multiple BAFTA awards recognizing his contributions to television.

Gene Shalit

Date of birth: March 25, 1926

NBC/Everett Collection

Gene Shalit built his reputation as a journalist and editor before becoming a familiar face on American television. In 1970, he joined NBC’s Today Show as its film critic, a role he held until 2010. Over four decades on the program, Shalit reviewed thousands of films, making him one of the longest-serving movie critics in television history.

In addition to his television work, Shalit wrote for publications such as Ladies’ Home Journal and authored several books on film and criticism. He became known for bringing movie reviews into a morning television format, helping normalize film criticism as part of everyday pop culture conversation. In 1988, Shalit received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, recognizing his long-running contribution to television journalism.

9 Stars Who Lived to 100 — Besides Dick Van Dyke

One of them is still with us!

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Farewell 2025

January 2026

Celebrate the rich lives of the TV & Movie stars we lost in 2025 along with the music makers that created the soundtrack to our lives.

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