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
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Usher
When the singer sat front row at the February 2022 AMIRI runway show in Los Angeles, he was joined by Evan Ross and another very cool sidekick: 13-year-old son Naviyd Ely.
Usher recently welcomed his fourth child, son Sire Castrello Raymond. He shares son Sire and daughter Sovereign Bo, 21 months, with girlfriend Jenn Goicoechea and is dad to sons Naviyd Ely, and Usher V, 14, from a previous relationship.
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Alessandra Ambrosio
"It's official, you're a teenager now!" the supermodel captioned a video of daughter Anja's 13th birthday party. The model and her mini-me took this sweet shot during a winter break trip in Brazil.
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Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves
No, we're not alright, alright, alright that the actor and model's firstborn son Levi just turned 13 in October. (The couple also share son Livingston, 8, and daughter Vida, 11.)
In 2020, McConaughey told PEOPLE about his kids' many talents, which for Levi was music. "Basically he came out of the womb knowing a minor from major key on the piano," McConaughey said. "In the last six months, he really got into listening to composers, and he now can listen to a movie and tell you, 'Oh, that's Hans Zimmer,' or 'That's John Williams,' which is really cool."
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Katherine Heigl
To celebrate daughter Naleigh's 13th birthday, the actress shared sweet photos of the newly-minted teen "as she waited in Seoul Korea to come home to us and we waited in LA to hold the baby we already loved."
She then posted a nostalgic ode to "this gorgeous, spectacular girl at 9 months. All folds and rolls and chicken fluff hair" as well as the "extraordinary" young woman she's become.
"This girl turns 13 today. 13. She is officially a teenager. I can't seem to process it. How did this happen," she wrote. "Wasn't she my silly, giggling, gap toothed, rolly polly baby just a few years ago…just yesterday?"
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Ashlee Simpson Ross
The singer, who shares son Bronx Mowgli with ex-husband Pete Wentz, celebrated Bronx's 13th birthday Nov. 20th with a black-and-white pic welcoming him to teenagerhood.
"This is 13. Happy birthday Bronx! You are the coolest teenager. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU," she wrote.
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Jamie Lynn Spears
The former Zoey 101 star is just as shocked as you are that her eldest daughter Maddie (whom she shares with ex Casey Aldridge) is 13 years old and headed to her first homecoming.
"Don't worry, I also can't believe my baby's growing up and going to her first dance and doing all the things that make time zoom by and stand still all at the same time," she captioned an Instagram slideshow of the big event, which obscured the teens' faces but showed off their homecoming finery to full effect.
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Jennifer Garner
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?"
She spoke more about her daughter ahead of back-to-school season, saying how "excited" she is to have a high schooler.
"I love back to school. I'm ready for it," she told PEOPLE. "I love high school football games. I loved any high school game. I'm so excited to have a high schooler and to get to go."
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Chip & Joanna Gaines
Chip opened up to PEOPLE about the emotional day in February 2021 when their oldest son, Drake, 16, got his driver's license: "I was so excited leading up to it, and Jo was too, kind of," he recalled. "Then we get this kid his license, and the first morning he goes to drive, Jo bawls her eyes out. She was just devastated and wanted no part. She wants to hire him a chauffeur!"
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Katie Holmes
When Suri (seen here in 2020 during a tie-dye session with mom) turned 15, Holmes posted a sweet carousel of throwback photos to Instagram, with the caption "I can't believe you are already 15!" Neither can we!
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Nicole Richie
The star officially welcomed daughter Harlow Winter to her teens with this super-sweet flashback photo of her at 3 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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Heidi Klum
In an interview with PeopleTV, Klum revealed that her 17-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 ... 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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Michelle and Barack Obama
Sasha Obama was just 7 years old when her dad was inaugurated in January 2009, and now she's 20! 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 23 years old.
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Gwyneth Paltrow
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 17 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
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 David 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
Rudd might not have aged over the course of his career, but his son, Jack, who is around 16 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
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 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 16 and 15, respectively.
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Laura Dern
The Academy Award-winning actress has two almost-independent kids: 20-year-old Ellery and 16-year-old Jaya (with ex Ben Harper). And she's not a regular mom, she's a TikToking mom.