Culture

If You Want To Feel Old, 13-Year-Old Jenna From ’13 Going On 30′ Is Officially 30 Now

And yes, she is partying like it's 1987.

by Michelle Rennex  15 November 2021
13 Going On 30 Jenna

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

If you were keen to go through a quarter-life crisis this fine Monday, then you’d be pleased to find out that the actress who played 13-year-old Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30 is actually 30 now.

Released in 2004, Christa B. Allen, who was 13 at the time, played 13-year-old Jenna in the teen classic. 13 Going On 30 revolved around a teen Jenna suddenly waking up trapped inside a 30-year-old body after wishing to be “30, flirty and thriving” on her 13th birthday.

In the movie, young Jenna wakes up the morning after the wish as a 30-year-old living in New York — changing the main characters from Allen to Jennifer Garner to match Jenna’s new age.

But young Jenna just turned 30 in real life, which means she doesn’t need to transform into Jennifer Garner to be flirty and thriving anymore.

Allen has gone viral a number of times in recent years for recreating iconic scenes from her breakout role.

Recreating her infamous party look for Halloween last year, Allen has also helped 13 Going On 30 fans find the dress for $13 on Amazon so they can dress up as Jenna too.

But for her 30th birthday, Allen has actually released a series on TikTok called ‘Vienna’ where she chats with her own 13-year-old self as an homage to her first-ever acting gig. In it, Allen discusses the idea of being “30, flirty and thriving” that’s presented in 13 Going On 13 — specifically that the only two options of “thriving” presented to young girls is to be “wildly successful and alone” or to “get married, have kids, and decorate some cheesy house”.

“Look not everything is going to magically fall into place the second you turn 30,” young Allen says in the skit. “[It falls into place] when you realise you’ve already met the love of your life: You. You complete you.”

“See, that’s another movie that really fucked us up.”