We live in a culture that puts an astounding amount of social capital into youth and beauty, and in no corner of the world is that more obvious than in the entertainment industry. So many entertainers and celebrities do everything in their power to make themselves look and seem younger, whether that means lying about their age, having enhancements, or subjecting themselves to every vanity treatment in the world in the hopes of shaving even one day of age off of their faces and bodies. And in some ways it's an understandable need, since so much of the industry does seem to rely on being as flawless as you can be. But sometimes these attempts can backfire and make you look even worse than you would have if you hadn't done anything to yourself at all, and sometimes you just can't fight your genes.

But on the other side of that coin, sometimes all it takes is hitting the DNA jackpot to look incredibly, almost inhumanly young and beautiful long after you've passed your supposed beauty expiration date. Some Hollywood stunners can keep up with their youngest entertainment industry counterparts and then some, and if most people had an inkling that they would look even half as good as these beauties in their 40s or even 50s they'd probably be thrilled to get older. So who in Hollywood has managed to freeze time on their faces and bodies? And who has managed to look even older than their age, despite some of their efforts to look younger?

Younger: Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is one of those absolutely inhuman freaks who looks pretty much identical to her 20-something and 30-something self. The fact that she has her patented J-Lo look has helped a lot, because keeping the same signature style over decades really does make it harder to differentiate between eras and ages. But even putting that aside, you could probably pick out a random picture of Jennifer from today and a random picture from 10 years ago and I doubt you could tell much of a difference. She might always be Jenny from the block on the inside, but at this rate it looks like she's always going to be Jennifer Lopez, stunning fashion icon on the outside. No doubt she can afford every beauty treatment under the sun, not to mention I'm sure she knows every cutting edge beauty technique around the minute it comes on the scene, but you also have to have a lot of genetic luck to look this good at her age. Lopez has also always been proud of her curves, which may have helped hold aging at bay, because normally women who are at healthy weights don't age as quickly as their super unhealthy counterparts.

Older: Madonna

Pop superstar Madonna isn't exactly ready for the nursing home at the age of 59, and her body still looks pretty fit and healthy. However the legend has definitely gone way overboard on her cosmetic improvements and Photoshopping. Madge seems to be absolutely wild about facial enhancements, but she has reached the point where it looks like her skin can barely contain any more help. What makes things worse is that the overdone face has become the signature look of middle aged women desperately trying to make themselves look young, so much so that now instead of making someone look younger it's actually an immediate signal of advanced age. And Madonna has always been one to push the envelope, but instead of keeping her own unique style she seems desperate to remain hip and youthful, which only magnifies the fact that she is no longer hip or youthful. She has always been more style than substance, but her need to stay "important" has made that painfully, awkwardly clear.

Younger: Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Hurley has become a pretty established actress over the course of her career, but with one glance at her it's easy to see that she must have started out as a model. At 52 years old, Elizabeth looks hotter than most 25-year-olds in the world, and she's still working her totally flawless face and body. She might be the female lead on the E! series The Royals, but she looks ready to sport that Bedazzled bikini two decades after the movie originally came out. Considering how she looks in her 50s, we have no problem believing that she might be the devil, or that she at least made a deal with the devil to keep looking this unreal. She was also known as the longtime love of Hugh Grant in the 90s and early aughts, but now if you looked at them side by side, she looks 15 years his junior.

Older: Aaron Carter

Former tween pop star Aaron Carter has aged so quickly in the past few years that a lot of people thought that he must be doing some very hard substances. People's jaws dropped when they saw his recent DUI mugshot, because he looked exhausted, drained, and like he was nearly wasting away. The sudden change in his appearance caused such a stir that Aaron felt compelled to address the issue publicly, and explained that he in fact was actually suffering from a digestive disorder that made it so difficult to eat that he had lost a ton of weight, and the drastic weight loss is what made him look suddenly so much older. Aaron sadly said that he felt incredibly self-conscious about his appearance and was even turning to cosmetic enhancements in the hopes of appeasing his insecurities. However if his explanation was true then he has no reason to feel bad about himself. It's something that can only be helped by an improvement in his health and it stands to reason that if he solves his digestive issues he would start looking more like his old self.

Younger: Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara seemed to get a head start on a few different milestones in life. She was married and had a child when she was in her very early 20s, and wound up getting divorced before her acting career really got off of the ground. It's an unusual start for a woman who is now the highest paid television actress in America, but it's no surprise that Vergara managed to hit it big as the beautiful and hilarious trophy wife on Modern Family considering that she looks 35 despite being 45 years old. The Colombian stunner has the rockin' curves and stunning face that is nearly a requirement for her career, and had the talent to pull off a great comedic role to boot. And ironically Sofia initially shied away from her younger husband Joe Manganiello because she didn't want to deal with the drama of younger women always vying for him, but he kept at it and eventually made himself Mr. Sofia Vergara.

Older: Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan is another textbook example of someone who has managed to make themselves look older by totally overdoing it with enhancements instead of making herself look younger, which was presumably the goal. It's clear that a decade and a half of super hard partying has taken its toll on Lindsay's appearance, but now she just looks like one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Sadly there is no way to turn back the hands of time, and when it comes to Lohan the damage is clearly already done. Enhancements are not going to fix the problems now, and having a frozen, overdone face will only make it harder for her to find acting work (if she's even trying to do that anymore). That's why you don't consume illegal substances, kids, and the fact that LiLo looks like that by the age of 30 is probably a better life lesson than the DARE program.

Younger: Sandra Bullock

It seems like Sandra Bullock has been America's movie sweetheart for about eighty years at this point, so it's astonishing to see how incredible she looks at 53 years of age. If she has had enhancements it certainly doesn't look like she's overdone it, but considering her flawless skin and still slammin' body I think it's more likely that she might have a hideous and ancient looking portrait hidden away in one of her closets or something. But by all accounts Bullock is a wonderful person in real life, so maybe the old adage "in your youth you have the face you want and in your later years you have the face you deserve" is true. But from one look at her it's clear that she can still give any 20-something starlet a run for their money in the looks department, and she must have one of the best dermatologists in the world.

Older: Johnny Depp

Up until his late 40s most people marvelled at the fact that Johnny Depp managed to look so fantastic for so long, so much so that he probably would have been one of the "younger" entries on the list if it had been written a few years ago. But time and age has hit Johnny like a freight train, and I'm sure his drinking and general lack of caring for himself only compounded the rapid change. Johnny seemed like one of those actors who was bothered by being seen as a pretty boy or a heartthrob, so even before he started to bloat and apparently started with enhancements he was doing some serious work on dirtying himself up. But I guess be careful what you wish for, because Depp has abruptly started to look his 54 years of age and then some, and if the suddenly "enhanced" looks are any indication, Johnny isn't quite as happy no longer being the pretty boy as he may have thought he would be.

Younger: Salma Hayek

Mexican beauty Salma Hayek does not look even within a decade of her 51 years of age, and honestly if you compare her to her 31-year-old self she looks nearly identical (and I doubt anyone wouldn't believe it if you said she was 30). Some people are truly genetically blessed, and Hayek definitely seems to be one of them. Her beauty still looks youthful and natural, so much so that you have to wonder how it's even physically possible to freeze time like she seems to have. Her face is still flawless, and her body is unreal, especially when you consider the fact that she has already had a child. And as if her life didn't seem perfect enough already, she's married to a literal billionaire, so she certainly doesn't have to worry about trying out every beauty treatment under the sun in the hopes of maintaining her spectacular unchanging looks.

Older: Kylie Jenner

Since her mid-teens it seems like Kylie Jenner has been literally trying to transform herself into older sister Kim, and after an absurd amount of enhancements it seems like she has managed to do it, extra years and all. Kylie definitely gives off the vibe that she thinks she's very mature for her age, and in some ways she might be, but it also seems like she's desperate to be seen as mature in a way that only immature people really are. She now blends in seamlessly with all of her Kardashian sisters, except Kylie is only 20 and looks about the same age as 31-year-old Khloe or even 37-year-old Kim. The most striking comparison is with Kendall Jenner, who is Kylie's older sister but now looks and seems younger. It's kind of a natural feeling to have as a teenager, as most teenagers can't wait to grow up and be "real adults," but most people don't have the funds or the parental permission to physically modify their entire body to actually look like an adult.

Younger: Gwen Stefani

It is completely shocking to look at Gwen Stefani's birth date after assuming she is around maybe 35-40 years old. However, the woman is actually 48! That's right, the No Doubt singer and The Voice star is literally two years away from being 50 years old, and that's what she looks like. It's clear Gwen takes incredible care of herself, to have that kind of physique AT ALL let alone at her age takes some serious dedication to physical fitness and healthy eating, but even after taking that into consideration she looks so good it's ridiculous. And she looks like this after giving birth to a whopping three children! Maybe it's the blush of new love with Blake Shelton that's making her glow, but when you look at her all you can really think is wow, Gavin Rossdale must have been insane to let her get away!

Older: Adele

English superstar singer Adele is pretty much already a legend. She has a voice that is incomparable, she has sold more records than you can imagine, she's won almost a dozen Grammys, she's made more than 100 million dollars, and throughout that time she has also gotten married and had two kids. And she even has the look of an established diva. And yet, Adele is not even 30 years old yet. She has managed to achieve these insane career highs by the age of 29 and she shows no signs of stopping, and I guess if you consider the fact that she's been a smash hit since she was 21 years old it's easier to understand how she might seem so much older, but it's still a little crazy. But as far as maturing before your time goes, it seems like Adele has mastered all of the good parts. She's beautiful and classically styled but doesn't actually look aged, and her lack of caring about fame or the celebrity lifestyle is pretty unusual for someone who became that famous that young.

Younger: Selena Gomez

It's easy to picture Selena Gomez as a young kid, and not just because she became a superstar when she was still a kid. Selena doesn't look like she's ever going to outgrow her baby face, so while she might be sporting a woman's body she still looks like a teenager at best. The 25-year-old actress and singer has gone out of her way to try to mature her image, she recently starred in a Woody Allen film and her music and styling has taken on a much sultrier and more adult vibe, but she still looks exactly like the teen pop princess she was when she was 17. It certainly doesn't help that she seems permanently attached to fellow former child star Justin Bieber, because together they genuinely do look like a couple of high school sophomores who keep making up and breaking up every other semester.

Older: Lorde

New Zealand born musician Lorde has a very mature sound, style, and demeanor, so it makes sense that the world was shocked to realize that the "Royals" singer was only a teen when her first album was released. And honestly, when listening to her music it is almost impossible to believe that someone so young wrote and produced material with that level of depth, not to mention her actual singing voice sounds much more like a sultry lounge singer than a high school student. It's also baffling to see her next to music buddy Taylor Swift, who is more than half a decade older than Lorde's 21 year age, but actually looks younger when they're side by side. But Lorde seems to like a more mature look anyway, she almost always dresses and styles herself like an older woman, and frankly her look does actually match her whole vibe. But if she comes off as this mature at the ripe old age of 21 we can only wonder what she'll be like in a decade.

Younger: Gabrielle Union

Gabrielle Union is another one of those women who hasn't just aged gracefully, she doesn't seem to have aged at all. She could pass herself off as a teen in the Bring It On era and honestly she could probably slap on that cheerleading uniform and pull it off without anyone batting an eye. She was actually a little (and sometimes a lot) older than most of her Bring It On co-stars, and even though they're all still younger most of them now look her age or older because of her freakish inability to age. She also is one tall drink of water and looks relatively strong, so I strongly suspect that she might be an immortal Amazon like Wonder Woman. If she hadn't discussed her fertility issues with husband Dwayne Wade I think some people might think she's lying about her age, which actually could be kind of brilliant since so many actresses lie about being younger instead of older.