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8 Milestone Celebrity Birthdays in April

Eddie Murphy, Ann-Margret among those celebrating this month

spinner image Side by side images of Eddie Murphy and Ann Margret
Eddie Murphy and Ann-Margret
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP; Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

April 3: Eddie Murphy, 60

spinner image Actor Eddie Murphy
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

This comic icon rose to fame on Saturday Night Live and went on to a box-office-busting career, starting with 1982's 48 Hrs. He earned his lone Oscar bid in a rare dramatic role as a doomed singer in the 2006 musical Dreamgirls. After a lull, Murphy came back with a bang in 2019 as blaxploitation pioneer Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is My Name and reunited with Arsenio Hall for the new sequel Coming 2 America.

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April 12: Shannen Doherty, 50

spinner image Actress Shannen Doherty
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Hallmark Channel

This actress's first major film was 1988's dark high school comedy Heathers, which propelled her to her signature role a few years later as Brenda Walsh in the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210. Her other big project began in 1998, when she joined Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs as good-witch sisters on the hit TV series Charmed. Doherty has been candid about her ongoing battle with breast cancer, which she announced had returned in February 2020, and is vocal about breast cancer awareness and supporting cancer research.

April 13: Peabo Bryson, 70

spinner image Musician Peabo Bryson
Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

This ballad specialist is known for his duets with female singers, including Natalie Cole, Roberta FlackChaka Khan and Angela Bofill. He won two Grammys, one in 1992 shared with Celine Dion for their performance of the title tune from the animated Disney film Beauty and the Beast and another in 1993 for “A Whole New World” with Regina Belle. Bryson suffered a heart attack in 2019 but is reportedly recovered. Still, he told the press, “I was on the other side long enough to make friends."

April 14: Pete Rose, 80

spinner image Baseball legend Pete Rose
Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Harold and Carole Pump Foundation

According to legend, New York Yankee Whitey Ford coined a nickname for Rose — “Charlie Hustle” — when he sprinted to first base despite having drawn a walk during a spring training game with the Cincinnati Reds in 1963. Rose considered the moniker a badge of honor, as he went on to win three World Series rings, three batting titles, two Gold Gloves and Rookie of the Year. His rep was tarnished in 1989 when news came out that he'd gambled on games as manager of the Reds. He's said he still bets on games — but legally now: “That's why they have casinos.”

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April 20: Ryan O'Neal, 80

spinner image Actor Ryan O'Neal
FOX Image Collection via Getty Images

He was one of Hollywood's go-to hunks, starting with his role as Rodney Harrington on ABC's hot nighttime soap opera Peyton Place in the early ‘60s. But it was the 1971 romantic weeper Love Story, based on Eric Segal's novel, that cemented his reputation, with his Ivy Leaguer Oliver sharing a sassy rapport with Ali MacGraw's working-class Jenny. In February, the two stars reunited when they were honored with adjoining stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Neal's comment: “What took so long?"

April 21: Tony Danza, 70

spinner image Actor Tony Danza
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AARP

This onetime pro boxer who was part of such classic sitcoms as Taxi and Who's the Boss? is still in the game. Most recently, he and Josh Groban starred for one season in Netflix's The Good Cop as a son and his father. He'll provide a voice for the animated sports comedy Rumble, to be released in 2022, and there's also a chance that Danza will reprise his live-in housekeeper role in a reboot of Who's the Boss? with Alyssa Milano again playing his daughter and Norman Lear as executive producer.

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April 23: George Lopez, 60

spinner image Actor and comedian George Lopez
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

This stand-up comic of Mexican descent reportedly has Sandra Bullock to thank for being able to produce and star in his own sitcom after she noticed a lack of Hispanic talent on TV series. ABC quickly picked up his show, George Lopez, which ran from 2002 to 2007. His latest project? Walking With Herb, a film that opens this month in which he plays a Harley-riding messenger from God opposite Edward James Olmos as a bank exec and golfer who struggles with his faith. He also has a deal with Amazon for a drama series, Once Upon a Time in Aztlan, about a disillusioned Chicano family in L.A. chasing the American dream.

April 28: Ann-Margret, 80

spinner image Actress Ann-Margret
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

This redheaded Swedish bombshell got her start as a singer and dancer in Las Vegas, was discovered by George Burns and went on to headline such popular big-screen ‘60s musicals as State Fair and Bye Bye Birdie — perfecting her vampy persona opposite Elvis Presley in 1964's Viva Las Vegas. She later starred with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in 1993's Grumpy Old Men, and still takes small roles, including in The Kominsky Method in 2018.