Actress Anna Kendrick arrives at the 57th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty
Actress Anna Kendrick arrives at the 57th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty
There's no denying that for years Hollywood has been giving us unrealistic expectations of what people actually look like at certain ages.
With the newest instalment of Gilmore Girls set to grace our screens next month, fans of the show were worried how 35-year old Alexis Bledel would realistically playa recent college graduate.
From completely developed "teenage" girls to incredibly mature high school students, these are some actresses that defied their real-life age to play characters nowhere near that.
Fans of the hit show lived for the mother-daughter relationship between actresses Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel so when the announcement came they'd be reviving the dramady for an eighth series, fans were left wondering how they'd approach a series that ended more than nine years ago.
The show will quite simply pick up nine years after it ended but despite this, Bledel is still at least five years older than her character Rory.
Regardles of the age difference between character and actress, fans seem to just be ecstatic Gilmore Girls is getting a final season.
Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls
McAdams shot to Hollywood stardom after her ruthless portrayal of the worshipped/feared high school queen Regina George in Tina Fey's comedy Mean Girls.
The character was aged around 17-years old however McAdams was 25 when she was cast to play the school's queen bee.
Her co-star Lindsay Lohan on the other hand was a fresh-faced 17-year old when the movie was released.
Stacey Dash in Clueless
Similar to the previously mentioned Mean Girls, Dash played a popular high school teen supposedly aged 16.
Dash was actually 28 when she played the tartan miniskirt wearing Dionne.
Her youthful looks complete with her braided hair and shiny nose ring made her portrayal of young Dionne extremely easy to believe.
Dash even went on to reprise the role when Clueless was developed into a TV series which saw her play the high-schooler up until the age of 32.
Pia Miranda in Looking for Alibrandi
Actress Pia Miranda attends the 2007 Inside Film Awards nominations announcement at the Water Bar, Woolloomooloo on October 10, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. Photo / Getty
This coming-of-age flick was huge in the 1990s and even scored the titular actress Pia Miranda an AFI award for Best Actress.
Miranda played a third-generation migrant who struggled with her identity and place in the world as a mixed-race teenager.
The film follows Josephine Alibrandi, a Sydney student in her final year of high school.
What some didn't realise or maybe what the AFI did realise was that Miranda was 26 at the time of filming - a significant nine years older than her character.
Everyone in Glee
If you were left wondering how any high-schooler would realistically go face-to-face with a quarterback built like Cory Monteith you wouldn't be alone.
More than six feet tall and not built anything like the 16-year old character he was portraying, Monteith was 27 when he first scored the role as Finn Hudson.
His on and off-screen girlfriend Lea Michele was also years older than her powerhouse singing, perfection-seeking Rachel Berry however her dorky outfits and young face made her acting as a 16-year old a little more believable.
Dianna Agron, who played cheerleader and high school queen Quinn Fabray was also 23 when filming started on the musical show.
Stockard Channing in Grease
Of course when it comes to older actresses playing high school teens, Stockard Channing takes the cake.
Playing the smart-talking Pink Ladies leader Betty Rizzo in Grease, Channing was already into her third marriage and 34 years old when she sung her way through the high school drama.
She wasn't alone in the Rydell High musical when it came to actors portraying characters younger than themselves.
Olivia Newton-John was 29 while filming Grease, more than 10 years older than the titular character she was playing. Her pigtail-wearing co-star Jamie Donnelly who starred as Jan in the movie also hit 30 while filming the 1978 musical.
Everyone in Pitch Perfect
It seems like when it comes to musical movies, Hollywood loves casting actors a little older. 2012's Pitch Perfect was a perfect example.
Anna Kendrick's character Beca Mitchell was starting her first year of college in the movie musical meaning she'd be about 18-years old.
However, when filming began, Kendrick was already going on 27.
Rebel Wilson's character was an exchange student from Tasmania who was supposed to be around 19-years old.
Instead, Wilson was 32 while filming the movie but her lighthearted jokes and youthful face had most people believing she was a perfect fit for the college lifestyle.
Actresses playing high schoolers isn't a new thing in Hollywood.
Just take the 90s for example - especially when it comes to Beverly Hills 90210.
Andrea Zuckerman - the conservative-thinking editor of the school newspaper was played by Gabrielle Carteris who was 29 when they first started filming.
By the time her character graduated as a high school senior, Carteris had reached the ridiculous age of 32 making the age gap between character and actress 14 years.
Just a touch younger than Grease's Rizzo.
Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility
The iconic Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility was rewarded with a movie back in 1995 that was praised for staying extremely true to its novel counterpart.
