How I Met Your Mother started in 2005, but it’s still of interest how old the cast of How I Met Your Mother was when the show started, as well as when it finally aired its finale in 2014. At the heart of the story is the narrator, Ted Mosby, who is telling his kids in the future the story of how he met their mother. Along the way, plenty of women were introduced, with the audience always wondering who might end up as the mysterious mother. The mystery was fun, but the cast was why viewers kept coming back.

The actors who starred in HIMYM were all in their 20s and 30s with established careers when the show began, matching the characters on the show. The cast of How I Met Your Mother led viewers through multiple seasons of hilarious escapades and heartbreaking moments, and while the How I Met Your Mother finale remains controversial, the show had enough goodwill thanks to its highly likable cast to remain a beloved sitcom for fans to look back on years after its final moments. With an incredibly close-knit cast playing the show’s core friend group, their ages are still of note.

Josh Radnor Was 31 Years Old

He Turned 52 In 2026

Josh Radnor was 31 when the show premiered in 2005, which is older than his character was supposed to be: Ted was said to have been born in 1978, which would have made him 27 when the show started. This four-year age difference was easy to pull off for How I Met Your Mother and Radnor since he always looked younger than his real age.

Josh Radnor turns 50 in 2024, as his birthdate was July 29, 1974. With a four-year age difference, Ted would be in his mid-40s if the show was still around in 2024. Given that Ted was nearing his 30s at the beginning of the series, it makes sense that he was anxious to find love. Sadly, he had trouble finding it, even though he was a hopeless romantic at times. Interestingly, it also took Radnor a long time to find love — even longer than Ted. Josh Radnor married Jordana Jacobs on January 6, 2024.

Ashley Williams Was 26 Years Old

She Turns 48 In 2026

Victoria is the woman who could have been The Mother. She is Ted’s only love interest to play such a significant part in the show outside of Robin and Tracy. Victoria makes her debut as the baker who crafted a wedding cake for one of Ted’s friends in the first season episode “The Wedding.” While it’s not made clear in the show, it’s very likely that Victoria is close to the same age as the actor playing her, Ashley Williams, since that would put her in her mid-twenties at her debut, just like Ted and his friends.

She’s also then in her mid-thirties in her last appearance in season 9. Victoria realizes that, despite being friends with Robin herself, Robin will always come between her and Ted, even if Ted doesn’t realize it yet. Since her appearances in How I Met Your Mother, Williams has continued mostly working in television, but more in TV movies than in series. She’s found her niche in the cozy romances presented by Hallmark. She can be seen in movies like Note of Autumn, Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Sweater, and October Kiss.

Cristin Milioti Was 28 Years Old

She Turned 41 In 2026

Cristin Millioti is 11 years younger than her on-screen husband, Josh Radnor. With Radnor playing a character a few years younger than himself, the age gap isn’t quite as large between the characters. While Ted is 27 in 2005 when the first season takes place, Tracy celebrates her 21st birthday that same year, making her six years younger than Ted instead of 11. Tracy doesn’t make her debut in the series until 2013 though in the episode “Something New.”

The show does a great, if very quick, job at showing just how close Ted and Tracy have been to meeting since the beginning of the show after she finally makes her debut. She sits in the classroom when Ted begins teaching the wrong class, Ted dates one of her roommates, she attends the same parties as Ted, and she even spends quite a bit of time at McClaren’s. The show also reveals, however, that Tracy only lives to 2024, meaning she dies the year she would turn 40.

Since How I Met Your Mother ended, Milioti has kept busy in TV and streaming projects. She appeared in shows like Fargo and The Mindy Project, but she made a bigger splash in the time travel movie Palm Springs with Andy Samberg. Milioti also lends her voice to the animated series Hit-Monkey and is set to appear in the Max series The Penguin.

Jason Segel Was 25 Years Old

He Turned 46 In 2026

Since Marshall and Ted went to college together, it makes sense that their characters would be the same age when the show began, at 27. In actuality, Segel was younger than his character at just 25. This was the opposite of Josh Radnor, and Segel is six years younger than his co-star, but still a fresh face in Hollywood and on national television. Jason Segel, born in 1980, just turned 44 in 2024, while Marshall has already crossed the mid-way point of his 40s.

His character Marshall, just like his college buddy Ted, was around 36 when the show ended. Both Marshall and the actor who played him enjoyed great success before they even turned 40. When How I Met Your Mother ended, Marshall accepted a judgeship and set off on a very honorable career. Meanwhile, Segel continues his career as a successful actor while also serving as an accomplished screenwriter and producer, with Segel’s most recent show being Shrinking on Apple TV+.

Cobie Smulders Was 23 Years Old

She Turned 44 In 2026

The Canadian actor, who often poked fun at her Canadian roots in the show since her character was also Canadian, was only 23 when the series began. Her character, meanwhile, a focused career woman all the way through, was supposed to be a bit older at 25. This puts Robin two years younger than both Ted and Marshall, while Smulders is almost a decade younger than Josh Radnor, and two years younger than Segel. Smulders was born in 1982.

Before Smulders ever reached her 40s, she had already made a name for herself outside HIMYM. Her biggest role came when she joined the MCU in the role of agent Maria Hill, with her first appearance coming in The Avengers in 2012, appearing in several films as well as guest appearing on the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and finally ending her time there in 2023’s Secret Invasion​​​​​​. She was also in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and starred in the 2019 TV series Stumptown. She’ll appear on The Lincoln Lawyer season 5, and a subsequent spinoff on Netflix.

Neil Patrick Harris Was 32 Years Old

He Turned 53 In 2026

One of the older actors on the show, Neil Patrick Harris’ character Barney Stinson was supposed to be older than the others at 29. Harris, meanwhile, was already 32 when he began playing the boyish, sleazy womanizer in a suit. This made him one year older than Josh Radnor and his character a good seven years older than the main friends on How I Met Your Mother.

Neil Patrick Harris turned 53 years old in 2026, and he has enjoyed tremendous success since How I Met Your Mother, which marked a return to the spotlight for this former child star who had been known for decades as his first most popular character, Doogie Howser, M.D. Along with appearing as Count Olaf in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harris has appeared in the movie Gone Girl, starred on Broadway, hosted countless awards shows, and more. He also returned for two episodes of How I Met Your Father in 2023.

Alyson Hannigan Was 31 Years Old

She Turned 52 In 2026

Lily Aldrin also went to college with Marshall and Ted, so the character was also 27 when the show started. Alyson Hannigan is a bit older and was actually 31 when the show began. As the quirky Lily, she and Marshall easily made up the most likable couple on the series and the one that proved to be relationship goals for Ted, Robin, and Barney. Hannigan first gained fame for her starring role in the American Pie films as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played the witch, Willow.

Hannigan turned 52 in 2026. This makes her six years older than Segel and the same age as Radnor. Hannigan married actor Alexis Denisof, who actually had a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother as Robin’s obnoxious co-anchor and one-time boyfriend, Sandy Rivers. When it comes to her career, Hannigan has only taken on small roles since the show went off the air, often in hosting roles on reality shows. In 2023, she returned to the spotlight as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

Wayne Brady Was 34 Years Old

He Turned 54 In 2026

Though he only appears in a handful of episodes throughout the run of the series, Wayne Brady does appear across eight seasons of the show. He makes his first appearance as James Stinson, Barney’s older brother, in the season 2 episode “Single Stamina.” Though his age isn’t explicitly stated in the series, with Barney as the oldest of the main friend group and his brother a little older than him, it’s likely he’s meant to be in his early 30s in his first appearance.

James is a fan-favorite character in the series as he and Barney have so much in common, but he also learns to change his cheating ways much earlier than Barney does. Brady, of course, is one of the busiest men in television, so it makes sense that he only appeared sporadically throughout the show.

During his early appearances, Brady was still appearing in Whose Line Is It Anyway, but he was also working on writing different scripts and guest starring in other projects. He also appeared in Baby Daddy, Psych, and Everybody Hates Chris during the same decade and lent his voice to several animated projects. He’s also the host of the game show Let’s Make A Deal.

Charlene Amoia Was 23 Years Old

She Turns 44 In 2026

When Charlene Amoia made her debut in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Return of the Shirt,” she and Cobie Smulders were the same age. Amoia, however, wasn’t playing one of the core friends, but instead, the waitress who often interacted with the group at McClaren’s. She’s likely playing close to her real age in the show since her age isn’t typically part of her storyline.

Wendy the waitress was actually only supposed to appear in one episode of the show, but she became a fixture in the bar after briefly dating Barney and disagreeing with Marshall about his green initiative for the bar. Wendy, however, didn’t appear on the show through its 2014 ending. Her appearances ended in 2011, making her just approaching 30 when she last showed up in the show.

Since then Amoia has provided a lot of voice work for both television and movies, but she’s also continued doing television commercials and appearing in larger roles. Amoia can be seen in Birds of Prey, the Fear Street movies, and is set to appear in the final season of Cobra Kai.

Jennifer Morrison Was 35 Years Old

She Turned 47 In 2026

Unlike many of the recurring characters in How I Met Your Mother, Jennifer Morrison’s Zoey doesn’t make her first appearance until well into the series. She first appears in the series in the season 6 episode “Architect of Destruction,” which aired in 2010. Also, unlike many of the love interests who appear in the show, she doesn’t start off as a love interest, but instead, as an obstacle to one of Ted’s architectural projects as she’s a big proponent of restoring old buildings instead of tearing them down to build new ones.

Zoey’s age isn’t explicitly stated in the show, but it’s clear that she and Ted are meant to be around the same age when she debuts. She might even be slightly younger than him since she enrolls in his class and turns his own students against him at one point. They have a rocky start, but form a tentative friendship, and then a romantic relationship, but it’s also clear that Zoey isn’t in the show for the long haul. She and Ted simply argue too often for them to last. She only appears in the show for three seasons.

At the time of her appearances in the series, Morrison was best-known for her roles in House and Once Upon A Time. While those are still considered touchstones of her career, she’s continued to work in tv, movies, and even lending her voice to video games. Morrison has since appeared in the movie Bombshell and the television series This Is Us. Most recently, she’s appeared in Will Trent and Tracker.