Penn Badgley turns 40 today, on November 1, 2026. The actor has spent nearly two decades playing men audiences cannot quite trust, from Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl to Joe Goldberg in You, and his 40th birthday is a good moment to look back at how he got there.
Badgley was born Penn Dayton Badgley on November 1, 1986, in Baltimore, Maryland. He started acting as a child, moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, and built a career that took him from daytime television to two of the most talked-about shows of the streaming era.
The early years
Before Gossip Girl, Badgley worked steadily as a young actor. He played Phillip Chancellor IV on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless, and he appeared in the 2009 horror remake The Stepfather. He also had a small part in the teen comedy John Tucker Must Die in 2006.
Those early roles showed a young actor learning his trade, but Gossip Girl changed everything. The show ran for six seasons and turned its young cast into stars. Badgley was 20 when it began and 26 when it ended. He has said since that the attention was hard to handle at the time, and that he struggled with being recognised everywhere he went.
Gossip Girl made him a star
Badgley first became widely known as Dan Humphrey, the Brooklyn outsider at the centre of The CW’s teen drama Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007 to 2012. Dan was the show’s narrator and, in the end, the person behind the Gossip Girl blog itself.
The role made Badgley a household name, but it also put him in a box. For years after the show ended, he was seen first and foremost as the boy from Gossip Girl. He took film roles to break out of that image, including the comedy Easy A in 2010, the financial drama Margin Call in 2011, and Greetings from Tim Buckley in 2012, in which he played the late singer Jeff Buckley.
None of those films changed his public image as much as his next television role would.
You gave him a second act
In 2018, Badgley returned to television as Joe Goldberg in You, the Netflix psychological thriller about a bookshop manager who becomes obsessed with the women he falls for. The show was a hit, and Joe became one of the most discussed characters on television.
The part was a risk. Joe is charming on the surface and dangerous underneath, and Badgley has said in interviews that he was uneasy about how many viewers found the character appealing. But the role showed a range that Gossip Girl never had, and it gave him a second act that few teen-drama stars manage.
You ran for five seasons, ending in 2025 with Joe’s story finally catching up with him. By the time it finished, Badgley had played the character for seven years, longer than he had played Dan Humphrey. The final season brought Joe back to New York, where the story had begun, and closed the book on a character who had become one of the defining figures of the streaming era.
Life beyond acting
Badgley has always had interests outside acting. He is a musician and released music with his band MOTHXR. He also co-founded the podcast Podcrushed, in which he talks with guests about their teenage years and the stories that shaped them.
He is married to singer Domino Kirke, and the couple have built a quieter life away from the spotlight than his characters ever managed. He has spoken openly about stepping back from social media and about the pressure that came with early fame.
His first name has an unusual origin. His father was holding a tennis ball from the Penn brand during an ultrasound, and the name stuck.
What comes next
With You finished, Badgley is free to choose his next move, and his track record suggests he will not rush it. He has spent his career moving between television, film, music and podcasting, and he has never stayed in one lane for long.
There is also the question of whether he will return to a long-running television role. Gossip Girl and You each took up years of his life, and he has spoken about how demanding that kind of schedule can be. A film role, a limited series or a return to music would all fit the pattern of an actor who likes to keep his options open.
Whatever he chooses, he arrives at 40 with something few of his peers have: two defining television roles in two different eras, and an audience that has grown up with him.
What 40 means for Penn Badgley
Turning 40 puts Badgley at a familiar point for actors who became famous young. The teen-drama years are behind him, the streaming hit is finished, and the question is what comes next. His career so far suggests he will keep choosing roles that are harder rather than easier, and characters who make audiences uncomfortable rather than comfortable.
For fans, the birthday is also a reminder of how long he has been around. Viewers who watched Gossip Girl as teenagers are now in their thirties, and viewers who found You during the pandemic have watched Joe Goldberg for most of a decade. Badgley has been part of the conversation for nearly twenty years, and he is only just turning 40.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Penn Badgley?
Penn Badgley was born on November 1, 1986, which makes him 40 years old on November 1, 2026.
What is Penn Badgley best known for?
He is best known for playing Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl (2007-2012) and Joe Goldberg in You (2018-2025).
When did You end?
You ended with its fifth and final season in 2025, closing the story of Joe Goldberg after seven years.
