We Can't Believe These Stars Are Parents to Teens (& Neither Can They!)

Driving! Modeling! Dating! We've watched these celeb kids grow up before our eyes — and can't believe they're teenagers

By Andrea Wurzburger
Updated January 12, 2021 12:08 PM

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Nicole Richie

Credit: Nicole Richie/Instagram

The star officially welcomed daughter Harlow Winter to her teens with this super-sweet flashback photo of her at three months. "Nothing is better than watching you become the young woman you are," she wrote. "I am so lucky I get to be your mom."

Richie and husband Joel Madden rarely share photos of their kids, but Harlow's aunt Sofia recently posted a shot that proves Harlow is the spitting image of mom Nicole. 

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Jennifer Garner

Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty

Garner's eldest daughter, whom she shares with ex-husband Ben Affleck, is all grown up — and Garner cannot believe it. 

During an appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna, the actress took a moment to acknowledge that it was her daughter Violet Anne's 15th birthday. The show's co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager shared in their shock that Garner's girl is getting so old.

"My daughter is 15 today," she said, as Bush Hager exclaimed "What?" and Kotb said, "Wait, you have a 15-year-old?" Garner replied: "Can you stand it? Can you believe little Violet Affleck, she is 15?"

Kotb then asked what Garner will do when Violet approaches her with the subject of dating. "All I know is she's on Zoom school, she goes to an all-girls school — we haven't had to deal with that yet," Garner said with a laugh.

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Heidi Klum

Credit: Heidi Klum/Instagram

In an interview with PeopleTV, Klum revealed that her 16-year-old daughter Leni is interested in modeling, just like her mama. 

“She's old enough now,” Klum shared. “I always thought she was too young. We always also decided to keep the children out of the public eye. But she's driving a car now, she's 16, so I figured if you can do that, you can also model now if this is what you wish to do.”

The mother-daughter duo followed up Klum's comments with a joint Vogue cover, so we'd say that striking a pose runs in the family. 

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Katie Holmes

Holmes and Tom Cruise's daughter, Suri Cruise, is 14 years old, which means that she is cool enough to have a "#diytiedye" session with her mom. 

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Michelle and Barack Obama

Credit: Pete Souza

Sasha Obama was just 7 years old when her dad was inaugurated in January 2009, and now she's 19! The former FLOTUS admitted to PEOPLE in December 2019 that when she and her husband, Barack Obama, dropped their daughter at school, it all hit home.

“It was of course a little emotional to drop Sasha off at college,” said Mrs. Obama, admitting “the tough part” has been “missing our girls.” Sasha's sister, Malia, is 22 years old. 

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Gwyneth Paltrow

Credit: Gwyneth Paltrow/instagram

Gwyneth Paltrow couldn't believe it when her lookalike daughter — whom she shares with ex-husband Chris Martin — turned 16 in May 2020. 

"I can’t believe I’m actually writing these words," the actress began an Instagram birthday tribute to Apple, "but... happy sweet sixteen my darling girl. You are the light of my heart, you are pure joy."

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Courteney Cox

Coco Arquette (daughter of Friends star Cox and her ex, actor David Arquette) is 16 years old! "When you have a teenager you barely get to see them. So much negotiating," Cox wrote on Instagram alongside a video of the pair performing Demi Lovato's "Anyone." 

Typical teenager behavior, Coco traded her mom a song "if I let her go to a party." 

Luckily, she's still sweet as can be. Mid-song, you can hear her say, "Sorry I'm cursing!" before dropping an F-bomb. 

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Reese Witherspoon

Credit: Reese Witherspoon Instagram

Excuse us, who gave Witherspoon's son Deacon Phillippe permission to start driving? The actress shared on Instagram Stories, "when I'm tired, Deacon always offers to drive me. Love my kid." 

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Madonna

The singer adopted her now 15-year-old son in 2006, and we cannot believe how much he has grown up! The superstar often posts videos of David dancing on her Instagram. 

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Madonna

Her daughter Mercy, whom the singer adopted in 2007 at the age of 4, is also a teen now and totally talented! 

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Victoria and David Beckham

When the couple's youngest son, Cruz, turned 15 in February 2020, his mom just couldn't believe it. "Happy birthday @cruzbeckham!! Can’t believe our baby is 15 today," she wrote alongside a sweet slide show of her baby boy through the years. 

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Paul Rudd

Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Rudd might not have aged over the course of his career, but his son, Jack, who is around 14 years old, has!

The Internet went bonkers when Rudd took his teen son to the 2020 Super Bowl and revealed that they're basically twins. 

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Angelina Jolie

Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty

Jolie's kids are all grown up! She's the parent to six children and four are teenagers!

The actress watched the first of her six children head off to college when son Maddox, 18, started attending classes at Yonsei University in South Korea. 

“I’m nothing but proud,” Jolie told PEOPLE at the time. “I look forward to all he will do.” 

Her son Pax Thien is 17 and daughters Zahara and Shiloh are 15 and 14, respectively. 

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Laura Dern

Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty

The Academy Award-winning actress is mom to two teens: 19-year-old Ellery and 16-year-old Harper (with ex Ben Harper). And she's not a regular mom, she's a TikToking mom. 

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By Andrea Wurzburger