People.com Entertainment Movies 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) By Diana Pearl Updated on April 26, 2022 07:40 AM Share Tweet Pin Email 01 of 11 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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!