Proof Birthday Boy Channing Tatum Keeps Getting Better and Better Every Year

In honor of his 42nd birthday, we're taking a look back at the Magic Mike XXL star's life and career - in pictures (you're welcome)

01 of 11

BEFORE HE WAS MAGIC MIKE

BEFORE HE WAS MAGIC MIKE
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

Turns out, Channing Tatum has been getting into character for a while. In this childhood snap, the Magic Mike XXL star dressed up in a hat, long coat, and cane - prepping for his future role as a cop in 21 Jump Street, perhaps?

02 of 11

1997

1997
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

If we were classmates with Tatum, this is the photo we would have hung up in our lockers. Yup, even at 17, he had the smoldering stare down pat.

03 of 11

1998

1998
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

In another high school snap - this one from his senior year - Tatum showed off his football garb. Surprise, surprise: He was voted "Most Athletic" by his classmates that year.

04 of 11

2003

2003
J. Vespa/Wireimage

Before he was a movie star, Tatum was (wait for it) a model. Here, he walks the runway at the Sean John show at New York Fashion Week in 2003. In his early years, he also appeared in Vogue spreads and in advertisements for brands like Armani, Pepsi and Abercrombie & Fitch.

05 of 11

2006

2006
Everett

It's the dance movie that spurred an endless stream of sequels, not to mention a romance: Tatum met his future wife, Jenna Dewan, on the set of Step Up.

06 of 11

2010

2010
Sony

In 2010, Tatum took to the big screen to star in the story everyone had been waiting for: the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's Dear John, in which he played an army sergeant who falls in love with Amanda Seyfried.

07 of 11

2012

2012
Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP

Big fame aside, Tatum still clearly prioritizes the most important people in his life: his parents. He brought them as his dates to the premiere of his 2012 film 21 Jump Street.

08 of 11

2012

2012
Claudette Barius

Later that year, Tatum hit the big screen in one of his most highly anticipated films yet: Magic Mike, in which he played a male stripper, much to the delight of moviegoers/everyone everywhere. (Fun fact: It's loosely based on his own experiences as a stripper in Florida.) Three years later, the even sexier sequel, Magic Mike XXL, hit theaters.

09 of 11

2012

Image

All that Magic led PEOPLE to name Tatum the Sexiest Man Alive that year. "My first thought was, 'Y'all are messing with me,' " he told PEOPLE. Humble, too!

10 of 11

2017

"Magic Mike Live Las Vegas" Grand Opening
Ethan Miller/Getty

One of Tatum's latest ventures is Magic Mike Live - a Las Vegas revue (that's since popped up in other cities) based on his hit film and its sequel. The only downside to watching the shirtless guys perform? Tatum isn't one of them.

11 of 11

2020-2021

channing tatum
Channing Tatum. Arturo Holmes/MG21/Getty Images

Most recently, the actor voiced Superman in 2019's The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and brought the laughs in The Lost City alongside Sandra Bullock. He penned a children's book, The One and Only Sparkella — loosely based on his life with daughter Everly — and even added to his family with the addition of supercute pup Rook. Oh, and he's dating the one and only Zoë Kravitz.

Here's to a great year ahead, Channing!

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