Line #44 Main/OlderThanTheyLook


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11	[[quoteright:237:[[Manga/YuGiOh https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ygo_45.png]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:237:[[AnimeHair The hair must've sucked out all of the hormones.]]]]
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14	->''"If she tells you she's 26, and ''looks'' 26, she's damn near forty!"''
15	-->-- '''Creator/ChrisRock''', "No Sex (in the Champagne Room)" [[note]] The preceding line is [[YoungerThanTheyLook "If a woman tells you she's 20 and looks 16]]... [[FilleFatale she's 12]]."[[/note]]
16
17	Sometimes characters don't look their age. Whether it was a deliberate artistic choice on the behalf of the creator (usually to make the character more attractive or to legally fulfill a fetish) or something much deeper and linked to their characterization and the plot, this character will be older than they look. Although still within the normal range of the human lifespan (for that setting, anyway), this character will look noticeably younger than their age. Sometimes even improbably younger; it's not unheard of for a seeming teenager to be over the hill chronologically.
18
19	This is an extremely common trope in SpeculativeFiction, where FunctionalMagic or AppliedPhlebotinum can be used to explain the characters appearance being at odds with their age.
20
21	In science fiction or fantasy, it can lead to ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, TheAgeless, or a TimeAbyss. See also AgeIsRelative and ImprobableAge. Not to be confused with OlderThanTheyThink. Contrast with YoungerThanTheyLook. If they're just drawn in a way that makes them seem older, it's ArtisticAge. When a character is played by a much younger actor, it becomes HollywoodOld unless the difference is {{justified\|Trope}}. When the ''actor'' is older than the character they portray, it's DawsonCasting (although the actor themselves may just fit this trope, justifying the DawsonCasting).
22
23	This is a SuperTrope of NeverGrewUp.
24
25	Compare MistakenAge, AgeInsecurity, and AgeInappropriateDress. For characters that don't look younger than their age but are still good-looking, see SilverFox. Contrast AnimationAnatomyAging.
26
27	Remember, this trope doesn't cover characters who are impossibly old, just much older than they look. For characters who are impossibly old, see Really700YearsOld and TimeAbyss.
28
29	[[noreallife]]
30	----
31	!!Examples
32
33	[[index]]
34	* OlderThanTheyLook/AnimeAndManga
35	* OlderThanTheyLook/ComicBooks
36	* OlderThanTheyLook/FanWorks
37	* OlderThanTheyLook/{{Film}}
38	* OlderThanTheyLook/{{Literature}}
39	* OlderThanTheyLook/LiveActionTV
40	* OlderThanTheyLook/VideoGames
41	* OlderThanTheyLook/VisualNovels
42	* OlderThanTheyLook/{{Webcomics}}
43	* OlderThanTheyLook/WesternAnimation
44	[[/index]]
45
46	----
47	[[foldercontrol]]
48
49	[[folder:Advertising]]
50	* This was the thrust of a classic 1960s ad for Grape Nuts cereal. The commercial involves a young boy who mistakes his girlfriend's mother for her daughter (his girlfriend) and comments "Oh, no, Mrs. Burke! I thought you were Dale!" The idea was that eating Grape Nuts and exercising would give someone a body that would cause them to be mistaken for their own child. The ad was very popular and inspired a number of copycat advertisements, such as a magazine ad for Ivory Liquid brand dishwashing detergent in which a group of teen college girls was shown with a 32-year-old mom among them, the ad asking the reader to guess who it was, but stating that "Her Ivory Liquid hands won't give her away!"
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
54	* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': A relatively {{Downplayed\|Trope}} example; Kalo is stated by [[WordOfGod the creators]] to be around 30. However, due to the art-style, he is about the same height as (or slightly taller than) [[HeterosexualLifePartners Careful S.]], who is implied to be a middle-schooler. However, he is an Adelian and they may age differently from people.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Music]]
58	* When Music/BrunoMars first received mainstream attention, his youthful voice and TeenPop-oriented music caused many to judge him as someone in his late teens or very young adulthood, yet in actuality he was in his mid-20's and already had a noteworthy music production career. As his career went on and his music matured, his voice and appearance hasn't changed much even as he is now well into his 30's.
59	* Music/{{CHVRCHES}}: Lead singer Lauren Mayberry is well-known for still looking like a teenager despite being well into her 30s.
60	* Music/CoreyHart has aged very well if you look at him. He's a 58-year-old guy who looks like he's ''38''.
61	* {{Music/Devin Millar}} is really an adult man in his 20s but he naturally looks like he could be ''15''.
62	* Music/EazyE: His short height and high-pitched voice makes it extra surprising to learn that he was actually the oldest rapping member of the Music/{{NWA}}. He was a year older than Music/DrDre and five years older than both Music/IceCube and MC Ren, something you would not guess from looking at [[https://hiphopgoldenage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/nwa-1024x881.jpg a publicity still of the group]].
63	* Music/{{Eminem}}'s [[BreakthroughHit breakthrough album]], ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'', depicted him as a short, small-framed platinum blond with cute mannerisms, [[WhatBeautifulEyes large eyes with long eyelashes]], and a high-pitched voice. At the time, he also had a [[DawsonCasting brat/juvenile delinquent persona]], rapping about childish topics like teachers, school bullies, comic books, cartoons, and [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood abusive parents]]. In the video for "My Name Is", he could easily pass for 16-18. He was in fact 26 years old and - in the era of TeenPop - was already fretting about being over the hill. His management team even subtracted a couple of years from his 'official' age, only going back to the real number after his mother - as part of her ongoing harassment of him - leaked his birth certificate to the press. In addition, Eminem is the oldest member of D12; he looks like he's the youngest. While he definitely started to look middle-aged in his 40s, it's still not uncommon for young people discovering him from his recent material to react in disbelief when they find out he's old enough to have been a major celebrity in the 90s.
64	* Music/{{Futari No}}: [[StarcrossedLovers Nana and Lili]] are depicted in music videos from ages 7 to 21. However, due to Harumaki Gohan's chibi-like art style, combined with a dash of HairstyleInertia, the only physical difference between their 7-year-old and 21-year-old selves is their height. It would be reasonable to see them at age 21 and assume that they're 15 at most. [[GirlishPigtails Nana especially.]]
65	* Music/{{Gwen Stefani}} : Outside of her music career, one of the most talked about things about her is how she never seems to really show her age. At one point her fanbase even speculated that she may really be a vampire.
66	* Kate Pierson of Music/TheB52s looks about 10-15 years younger than her actual age, and that doesn't even cover [[GenkiGirl how energetic]] she is in videos and performances. For example, she was 41 for the Love Shack video.
67	* Orono Noguchi from Superorganism is in her early twenties and has been described as looking like a high school freshman.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Podcasts]]
71	* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'': the [[spoiler: Starblaster crew]] are all examples of this, because [[spoiler: they spent 100 years traveling between planes of existence, their physical age resetting every year. Lucretia]] is a particularly interesting example of this, because [[spoiler: she subsequently gambled away twenty years of her life, so that she's both older ''and'' [[YoungerThanTheyLook younger]] than she should look.]]
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
75	* Cheapened example in [[Wrestling/ColtCabana Matt Classic]], a cryogenic experiment from the 1950s revived in the super secret bunker that Wrestling/WrestlingSocietyX takes place in.
76	* Thunderkitty was at least seventy years old while she looked no older than a woman in her twenties, having debuted in 1952. Dave Prazak insists such a thing is impossible but his Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} broadcast partner Portia Perez insists it's true, based on the "fact" no one born in this day and age would consciously choose to dress like Thunderkitty.
77	* Wrestling/{{Layla}}, the 2006 Diva Search winner, was the longest-tenured diva on the WWE roster with the retirement of Wrestling/BethPhoenix in 2012, up until her own retirement in 2015. By then, she was almost ''forty'' but looked like she hadn't aged a day since she first arrived in the WWE. [[https://twitter.com/mslayel/status/617737088104972288 Some say she looked even better.]]
78	* Wrestling/AJLee is now in her early thirties (born in 1987) but could easily pass off for early twenties.
79	* Wrestling/BookerT, born in 1965, looks like most men their mid-to-late thirties at the most.
80	* Japanese pro wrestler Cherry (no, not [[Wrestling/KaraDrew the one]] that was in Wrestling/{{WWE}}) had a gimmick where, when questioned about her age, would claim she was "Forever 18". However she eventually lost a match where she would be forced to show her passport and thus reveal her true age: turns out she was born on May 14, 1974... 37 going on 38! Twenty years older than what she was billed at, yet looking far, FAR closer to her gimmick age.
81	* Wrestling/MickFoley is now past 50 (born in June 1965) and, apart from his greying beard and occasionally shorter hair, still looks the same as he did in the Attitude Era (though he was [[YoungerThanHeLooks younger than he looked]] back then.) His well-being, on the other hand...
82	* Wrestling/TerryFunk was over twenty years older than Mick Foley, having been born in 1944. Nonetheless, even towards [[http://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/9424618/768full-terry-funk.jpg his twlight years in his seventies]], he still looked pretty much the same as he did in the [[http://static0.thesportsterimages.com/cdn/864/857/90/cw/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Terry-Funk.png mid 90s]]. Amazing when you consider that, after all he put his body through, it was sheer lady luck that he managed to live to the age of 79 still looking fresh out of the Attitude Era.
83	* Former [[Wrestling/AllJapanWomensProWrestling AJW]] star [[http://i.imgur.com/VXmpn.jpg Mimi Hagiwara]] (on the right). 56 years old but you'd easily think she's at ''least'' 15 years younger.
84	* Wrestling/{{Kane}} is now 51 (born in April 1967), but looks at least ten years younger.
85	* This is [[http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/lynn_jerry_ecw.jpg Jerry Lynn in the old ECW]] (circa late-90s to early 2000s). And this is [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Jerry_Lynn_CHIKARA.jpg Jerry Lynn in 2012.]] Aside from the lack of facial hair, he doesn't look much different than he was a little more than a decade ago. Can you believe that, as of 2013, Jerry Lynn's ''50?''
86	* Apart from his shorter hair, Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage, who is now 62 (born in 1956), looks pretty much the same as he did in Wrestling/{{WCW}}. Though he was already in his forties when he got his main event push.
87	* Wrestling/{{Sting}} was 37 when he transitioned to Crow Sting, 47 when he debuted in TNA, and 55 when he debuted in WWE. In all instances, he looked at least 5 years younger. (The face paint does hide most of the wrinkles.) He's an aversion now thanks to his receding hairline though.
88	* Does [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Lilian_Garcia.jpg Lilian Garcia]] look like a 50-year-old woman?
89	* Wrestling/TheYoungBucks have been wrestling since 2004, were born in 1985 (Matt) and 1989 (Nick), and have both gotten married to womanly wives and become fathers. But if you saw Matt and Nick Jackson on the streets of Hesperia, California without first knowing who they are, you'd probably mistake them for high school kids about to attend a rave.
90	* When the Young Bucks met Wrestling/RingOfHonor's "elder statesman" Caprice Coleman, Matt Jackson refused to believe he was thirty-three and continually refused to believe he could be that old as Coleman turned thirty-eight.
91	* Wrestling/{{Rhyno}} has looked pretty much the same for the last [[http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/r/rhyno/02.jpg 15]] plus [[http://www.pwpix.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/rhyno-27231888-620x400.jpg years.]]
92	* The Wrestling/BellaTwins are both in their early 30's and look 21.
93	* Wrestling/ChrisJericho was born in 1970, [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9EI0qIlfaN4/maxresdefault.jpg making him 45 in this picture.]] Yes, really.
94	* [[Wrestling/SeanWaltman Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman]] just never seems to [[http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag61/FrankieM575/Wrestling/Sean%20Waltman/X-Pac1999_zpscc8ff6dd.jpg look]] any [[http://www.pwmania.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/sean-waltman.jpg older.]] (Amazing when you remember that he is a former crystal meth addict.)
95	* Former WWE Diva [[Wrestling/TerriRunnels Terri "Marlena" Runnels]] still looks insanely gorgeous at nearly 50 years old.
96	* "The Mouth of The South" Wrestling/JimmyHart looks pretty much the same now as he did during his heyday in the 1980s, aside from a few extra wrinkles.
97	* WWE referee Charles Robinson is in his mid-fifties (born in 1964), but looks pretty much the same [[http://wrestlingnews.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Charles-Robinson.jpg now]] as he did during his days in [[http://img.comc.com/i/Wrestling/1999/Topps-WCWnWo-Nitro-Authentic-Signatures/CHRO/Charles-Robinson.jpg?id=dd31c515-b765-44e8-bc68-0365ad2e0aa3&size=zoom WCW]].
98	* Wrestling/AshleyMassaro was in her late thirties prior to her suicide in 2019 and actually looked better than she did when she was in her twenties. (As she was underweight before she left due to her stint on ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' making her breast implants look oversized. She later gained the weight back and aging made her look more natural before her suicide).
99	* Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin in [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/84/49/22/844922ac8157f2abf80947dbbd0ef4b8.jpg 1999]] aged 34. Stone Cold Steve Austin [[http://cdn1.thecomeback.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/stone-cold-steve-austin.jpg now]] aged 52. See much of a difference?
100	* Wrestling/RonKillings just flat out doesn't age. [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/7/73/54_K-Kwik_1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100614004241 Here]] he is during his fist WWE run as K-Kwik in 2001, and [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/42/40/1c/42401c25fe12dc59b0d639bcb37bcdc4.jpg here]] he is in his current run as R-Truth.
101	* Even despite her muscular frame, Wrestling/AlexaBliss looks like a young teenager even though she's well into her twenties, primarily due to her being barely five feet tall. Parodied on Sasha Banks's Facebook photo of Alexa.
102	--> '''Fan:''' Do you know if Alexa's seeing anyone?
103	--> '''Sasha:'''[[note]]who is several months ''younger'' than Bliss[[/note]] Dude, she's like twelve.
104	* Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura and Wrestling/KanakoUrai are both pushing 40. Neither of them look or perform like wrestlers nearing the age at which most wrestlers have already ''retired.''
105	* Wrestling/AJStyles is in his 40s now, yet he looks and moves like a man 15 years his junior.
106	* [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]] doesn't look like a man who's pushing seventy. [[http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Jerry+Lawler+WWE+Superstars+Sandy+Relief+XoG1lG4WDL_l.jpg Early fifties tops]]. Though, he's clearly had some work done.
107	* Gray hair aside, Wrestling/KevinNash, who is 60, has hardly aged since WCW and can easily pass for about two decades younger [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_918EJ8Uf8/TpaxFaBjC3I/AAAAAAAAJ8E/SXtY91ZUxrE/s400/diesel-wwe-legend-sports-fashion-5.jpg when he colors his hair]]. Though he has racked up a ton of injuries to compensate.
108	* Wrestling/StacyCarter was 29 when she first showed up in the WWF as Miss Kitty (later The Kat). Her petite frame and youthful features made her look like a 21-year-old.
109	* Wrestling/DaffneyUnger's heavy make-up helps conceal that she's actually in her forties.
110	* The women of Irish wrestling all fall into this in some way:
111	** {{Wrestling/Kazza}}'s HardDrinkingPartyGirl character makes her look like she's twenty-one as opposed to late twenties. The blonde hair makes her look even younger.
112	** Wrestling/ValkyrieCain looked like a teenager when she debuted but was already in her twenties.
113	** Siren was nearly thirty when she started ring announcing for Wrestling/CelticChampionshipWrestling. She didn't look a day over twenty-three.
114	* Wrestling/BrunoSammartino was 82 when he died, but honestly could've passed for his [[https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2018/04/gettyimages-109707872_copy_-_h_2018.jpg early sixties.]]
115	* Aside from her dramatic weight loss leaving her completely unrecognizable from her younger days, Wrestling/BullNakano looks like she's [[https://i.imgur.com/dabRFyr.jpg in her twenties]] rather than her early fifties.
116	* The only noticeable difference between Wrestling/BobBacklund in the [[http://jasonferruggia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bob-backlund-e1478740893908.jpg nineties]] and the [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qkSJAoyIlm4/maxresdefault.jpg present day]] is that he let his hair go grey. This is probably because he still regularly exercises at his home gym and just generally takes care of himself, hence why he looks so good at 72.
117	* Wrestling/TonySchiavone is in his sixties, but could pass for twenty years younger. Some even say he looks better now than he did in WCW.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Radio]]
121	* ''Radio/JourneyIntoSpace'':
122	** In ''The Red Planet'', James Edward Whitaker claims to have been born on September 12, 1940, which is consistent with his appearance being that of a man in his early 30s. However, his actual date of birth is September 12, 1893. Records indicate that he disappeared in 1924. He has not aged a day in the intervening 47 years. [[ThisWasHisTrueForm After he dies, his body reverts to its true age of 78.]] The crew later discover that the same is true of every human brought to UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}. They are all at least 15 years older than they appear to be.
123	** In ''The Return from Mars'', Cassia appears to be 17 but she tells Jet that she is 38 Tribosian years old. Jet believes that this equates to approximately 54 Earth years. However, Cassia tells him that he has miscalculated and her true age in Earth years is 152.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Roleplay]]
127	* ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'':
128	** Sebastian is only 4'9", which is very short for a 17-year-old boy and leads to him getting mistaken for younger than he is.
129	** Michal is the same height as Sebastian and is also one of the most impulsive and childlike members of the cast, making it easy to forget that he's 16.
130	* 18-year-old ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' character Kimmy Redmond is described as looking about thirteen, which is simply down to physical immaturity rather than anything fantastical. There are also Laeil Burbank, who looks about 16, and Alice Jones, who is commonly mistaken for an ''elementary school'' student. A recent addition is V4's Celeste Beaumont, who looks like an under-developed freshman.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
134	* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'':
135	** Characters start to make annual aging rolls at 35, and on a lucky outcome, their apparent age doesn't increase that year. Mages' {{Longevity Treatment}}s greatly increase the chance of this occurring, so a powerful mage could live for a century and still only look middle-aged.
136	** Characters with the "Unaging" supernatural Virtue can look as young as they want, in addition to experiencing NoStatAtrophy from age.
137	* The ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'':
138	** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'': This generally happens to werewolves once they undergo the First Change, thanks to a strong HealingFactor that keeps them in peak condition. A vignette in one book emphasizes this -- a werewolf who looks to be in her early 40s is called in for a polygraph test, and completely confuses the cops when she truthfully admits to being in her 70s.
139	** ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'': The fusion of the Geist and human soul causes Sin-Eaters to stay roughly in their prime in terms of energy and ability. They don't necessarily stop aging, but they avoid most of the problems of old age, such as arthritis and organ malfunction, often resulting in this.
140	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
141	** Eldar and Dark Eldar SpaceElves have lifespans that can be thousands of years, but in their twilight years look to be middle-age by human standards. Eldrad Ulthran is at least 10 000 looks no older than his mid-50s, and Asdrubael Vect claims to be old enough to remember the Fall of the Eldar (making him at least 2000 years older than Eldrad) but is still hale and hearty. For the Dark Eldar, this is merely their physical form. Powerful Psykers and Daemons can see past this, and see the Dark Eldar for the twisted and horrifying beings they really are. Yes, even [[MsFanservice Lelith Hesperax]] has seen better days.
142	** With the use of rare [[FountainOfYouth rejuvenation devices]], it's possible for certain humans to look only middle-aged while pushing 80 to 100, or around 50's while several centuries old. Expensive forms reserved for Inquisitors, flag officers, government officials and the very very rich make centuries old look like a worn 30's or a normal 40's.
143	** Space Marine SuperSoldier genetic modifications let them reach [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld three to five hundred years]] of age and still look middle-aged. Blood Angels and their successor chapters look even younger than other Marines.
144	** The Emperor of Mankind himself has the appearance of man in his mid-late forties, but is in actuality tens of thousands of years old, having been born in ancient Anatolia at the dawn of human civilization.
145	** Due to the Dawn Blade's properties, Commander Farsight is suspected to be in his fourth century. His race doesn't live past ''40''.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Theatre]]
149	* [[spoiler: Raina Petkoff is 23, but gets mistaken for 17]] in ''Theatre/ArmsAndTheMan''.
150	* OlderThanRadio: In the 1880s Creator/GilbertAndSullivan operetta ''Theatre/{{Iolanthe}}'', the hero, aged twenty-five, is caught embracing a woman who is not his fiancée and looks seventeen. She's actually his mother, a fairy, but the other characters think that's a staggeringly improbable cover story. "Her age upon the date of his birth", reasons one, "was minus eight."
151	* [[spoiler:Clara]] in ''Theatre/TheLightInThePiazza''.
152	* In the DistantFinale of ''Vanities: The Musical'', the women are in their late 30's or 40's, but are still "lookin' good", as the closing song in the off-Broadway version says.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Web Animation]]
156	* ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'': Because their avatars (seem to) reflect their personalities rather than their physical age, there can be a dissonance between these two variables. For example, the protagonist Pomni looks like a little girl in jester clothes, but is actually 25; Ragatha has the looks of a ragdoll and only the height of a 30 year old woman; and Gangle, a mask with a ribbon body, is taller than them, but her constant weeping and unique voice can make think she's a teenager rather than a 26 year old woman.
157	* Played for laugh with ''WebAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse''. In the first episode Barbie says she's celebrating her and Ken's forty-third anniversary, despite the fact she looks no older than 24.
158	* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'':
159	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQK8BH56jHU Yuri]] appears to be similar to an elementary schooler, however, she is actually 23.
160	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvBeIbo7Pvw Yuri]] thinks that Hiiragi is a college student, however, [[spoiler: Tokusa reveals that he is a 34-year-old office worker despite his younger look.]]
161	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf4Bob-2Z7w Azami]] looks like a younger woman despite being 45. Many people also [[MumLooksLikeASister mistake her son Tokusa for being her brother]] because of how beautiful she is.
162	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': As an immortal vampire, Vampire Lord is much older than his peers.
163	* ''WebAnimation/ImAnton'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLeJMJpQ8oo Tim]] despite being 20 years old, is the size of a baby. As a result, he isn't able to do much on his own.
164	* ''WebAnimation/KanonsRomComMangas'':
165	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Pr9nRhCXY Higaki]] may seem like a small elementary school kid but she is actually an adult. Yuuto kept mistaking her for a little girl much to her dismay. He eventually realized that she was not a child when it is revealed that she is his boss. He still teases her about it from time to time after that.
166	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YymVcR_Tvg Hina]] looks like a middle schooler due to her short height, but she is actually 16 years old and a high schooler.
167	* ''WebAnimation/MoniRobo'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf4xdHwuZgQ Nao]] is a 38-year-old part-time housewife who often gets mistaken for a student due to her baby face. This caused her a lot of struggles, such as being looked down on at work and junior employees mistaking her for a fellow one and getting asked for her ID card whenever she bought alcohol.
168	* ''WebAnimation/PanicCollection'': Paige is always depicted as a child even as an adult though she is often portrayed as an adult in the thumbnails.
169	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
170	** In Volumes 2 and 3, [[TheHeavy Cinder]], [[ForTheEvulz Mercury]] and [[RedEyesTakeWarning Emerald]] infiltrate [[ExtranormalInstitute Beacon Academy]] disguised as visiting students from [[ExtranormalInstitute Haven Academy]]. While Mercury and Emerald are indicated to be teenagers of the appropriate age (17-21) to infiltrate the school, Cinder is a grown adult and some years older than any of the students. While her true age is unknown, she has no trouble passing as a student [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon without raising suspicions]].
171	** Neopolitan is 4'10" tall in heels, making her one of the shortest characters in the show. Although she is in her early twenties, she is around Oscar Pine's height, making it appear as though she's closer to him in age rather than being an adult. In ''Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday'', her height does make people assume she's younger than she is, including Roman Torckwick; the first time they meet, he doesn't realize how old she is until he can get a good look at her.
172	* In ''WebAnimation/{{Shrapnel}}'', [[LittleBitBeastly Fenri]] can live to be anywhere from over 1,000 to 2,000 years old, but still look like a child by at least 443 years of age.
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Website]]
176	* If anything in ''[[http://akaichounokoe.deviantart.com/art/Doki-s-Chronicles-I-342986274 Doki's Chronicles]]'' is to go by then Toki and Doki are really somewhere in their eighties or nineties (if not a bit older or younger), as back in the time when these two were born cerebral palsy and selective-mutism were not explainable and were beyond their birth-parents comprehension, except for by a horrible disease (Doki's case) and being a 'good child', as seen and not heard (Toki's case). To further point this out, they should not be able to have babies but did. However, there is a reason as to why the are older than they look and that is because they were frozen when they were 12 and a half years old, drastically slowing down their aging process and causing them to age as if nothing changed.
177	* Website/{{Killerbunnies}}:
178	** [[http://akaichounokoe.deviantart.com/art/Killerbunnies-XI-and-XII-Kamu-and-Kanran-444451527 Killerbunnies XI and XII: Kamu and Kanran]] who has a condition that makes them look like babies but they don't seem to let them stop them in being damn near malicious and that both are old enough to smoke but their ages are never stated.
179	** In Jeanne's case, this is unclear, as we don't know if she is a child or if she just looks like one.
180	** We also have Andibea, who's stated to be twenty-two.
181	* ''Website/NotAlwaysRight'':
182	** [[http://notalwaysright.com/being-ageless-gets-old/24106 One story]] features a 33-year-old customer who looks like a teenager, trying to buy an M-rated game.
183	--->'''Customer:''' "[...] I even quit drinking because it’s too much of a hassle to buy beer!"
184	** In a similar vein, [[https://notalwaysright.com/common-sense-playing-truant/77287/ this]] story has a customer accusing an employee of being a teenager playing hooky. Both the employee and her manager confirm that the employee is 21 years old and a college student but the customer refuses to believe them to the point that she actually calls the police to try and arrest the employee for truancy. Fortunately, the police officer realizes this is a bogus charge, and, after verifying the employee's age has the customer banned from their store.
185	** [[https://notalwaysright.com/common-sense-playing-truant-the-revenge/86278/ The]] same two people again, four years later. This time the woman tries to get OP busted for underage drinking. Luckily, OP just got a shiny new passport.
186	** Spinoff site ''Website/NotAlwaysWorking'' has several instances of guys being mistaken for pedophiles because their twenty-plus-old girlfriends are mistaken for preteens or young teenagers.
187	** ''Website/NotAlwaysLegal'' has [[https://notalwaysright.com/its-a-blessing-and-a-curse/262627/ a couple of Asian girls stopped for underage drinking]]. Except that the younger girl is a very pretty twenty-two-year-old [[DudeLooksLikeALady man]], and his "elder sister" is actually his mother, who has been "twenty-eight" for thirty years now. The awed police suspect an [[ImmortalityInducer elixir of immortality]].
188	** [[https://notalwaysright.com/73-reasons-get-id/99077/ This convenience store clerk]] uses this trope to deal with people who don't see why they should have to show their ID to prove they're old enough to buy booze.
189	---> '''Clerk:''' You guess how old I am, and if you get within five years, then I’ll take your word for how old you are.\
190	'''Customer:''' Okay! I’d say you’re… mid-fifties. If I have to be specific… 54.\
191	'''Clerk:''' I’m 73!\
192	'''Customer:''' ''{{Beat}}'' I guess I'll go get my license, then.
193	[[/folder]]
194
195	[[folder:Web Videos]]
196	* WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd is in his early forties but could pass for being much younger. James Rolfe also has two daughters in RealLife, thus doubling as an [[AbsurdlyYouthfulMother Absurdly Youthful Father]].
197	* Dan Avidan from ''Music/NinjaSexParty'' and ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' is in his early 40's, and his partner Ninja Brian is even older (he's even married with a young daughter). In Brian's case you'd know but looking at Dan (a peppy human Q-tip who's constantly happy) you'd never guess. This of course is before he starts talking about Rush and calling game levels "boards", which is when he shows his age.
198	* Chris Bores, who is known as the infamous [[WebVideo/TheIrateGamer Irate Gamer]], was born in '''1979''', making him older than many of his more well-known colleagues and detractors (and is much older than the majority of his audience by nearly 20 years).
199	* ''WebVideo/TheGumdrops'' stars two actresses in their thirties -- Kaireht Yovera and Ingrid Igoe -- playing twentysomething college students. Some of the crew members weren't even aware of Ingrid's age until she started joking about being an 80s kid. That being said, the other main cast members (Rebecca Rose Flynn, Corey Patton and Ellen Jones) are in their mid-twenties but look slightly younger.
200	* The cast of ''WebVideo/IsItAGoodIdeaToMicrowaveThis'' are often mistaken for high school age, even in their more recent episodes where the cast is approaching 30.
201	* Justin "[[WebVideo/YouCanPlayThis JewWario]]" Carmical, formerly the oldest employee of Website/ChannelAwesome, turned 40 in 2011; he looked to be no older than his early 30s.
202	* Former [=YouTuber=] LtCorbis/Soph at the height of her popularity looked like an elementary-school aged child, but was actually 14 years old.
203	* Any time LetsPlay/{{Lucahjin}} reveals her age, especially alongside a photo of herself (she's 47 at the time of this entry), there are numerous comments from people who can't believe it. She could easily pass for early 30s, and some would argue late-20s.
204	* Mechagodzilla in ''WebVideo/MonsterIslandBuddies'' is actually millions of years old, abit thanks to [[TheSlowPath an accidental time-travelling mishap]]. Though considering he's a robot, it's easy to miss.
205	* WebVideo/TheNecroCritic doesn't appear to have aged a single day between his first video (at age 19) and his most recent one (in his 30s).
206	* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic is in his 30s, but still has the same babyface as he did when he was fourteen. Doug takes it to bizarre levels with Donnie [=DuPre=] from WebVideo/DemoReel. The character is ''42'', but as he's still wearing tight clothes, hiding his hairline with a fedora and only has a little more stubble than usual, he looks late twenties at most.
207	* WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows would often mock bad lyrics that sound like they were written by a teenager, but would excuse them believing the person that wrote & sung the song was a teen. Only to find out the person in question was in their mid-to-late 20's (such is the case of Kimberly Perry and Carly Rae Jepson)
208	[[/folder]]

Context Main / OlderThanTheyLook