Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones ring in their joint birthdays

Michael Douglas turned 82 and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones turned 57 on Thursday, September 25, as Hollywood's famously couple celebrated their joint birthday. A coincidence that has become a defining quirk of their relationship since they met in 1998.

Michael Douglas turns 82 and Catherine Zeta-Jones marks her 57th birthday

The two-time Oscar winners, born exactly 25 years apart on the same date, first crossed paths at the Deauville Film Festival in France. They married in November 2000 at New York's Plaza Hotel, a wedding that remains one of the most talked-about celebrity events of the era, and they have two children, Dylan and Carys, both now in their twenties.

On Friday, Sept. 25, Jones marked the couple’s birthdays with a sweet tribute on Instagram.

“Happy Birthday darling! A birthday kiss to my husband Michael, sharing this special day with you, is as special as the day itself. Love you😘😘,” Zeta-Jones captioned the post.

The post features a snap of the pair sharing a smooch amid blue ocean.

Before their paths crossed, both had already built impressive careers. Michael Douglas, son of Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, first made his name in the 1970s on The Streets of San Francisco before shifting into producing, winning an Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and later cementing his status with Wall Street and Fatal Attraction.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, meanwhile, rose from Welsh theatre and British television, including a breakout turn in The Darling Buds of May, to Hollywood stardom with a daring role in The Mask of Zorro, which was the very film that reportedly caught Douglas's eye and prompted him to seek her out at Deauville. She would go on to win her own Oscar for Chicago, cementing her status as a leading lady in her own right.

Over the years, the pair have turned their shared birthday into a running gag. Catherine once joked that she was running out of gift ideas after 25 years of double-duty celebrations, even posting a cheeky nude photo for one of Michael's milestone birthdays. Michael, for his part, has repeatedly credited the coincidence, along with their willingness to be open about marital rough patches, for keeping the relationship going strong.

Catherine Zeta-Jones has more recently found a new generation of fans as the iconic goth matriarch Morticia Addams in Netflix's Wednesday. Michael Douglas has largely stepped back from acting in recent years, focusing instead on family life and the occasional Marvel cameo as Hank Pym.

Last year's shared birthday coincided with the couple's 25th wedding anniversary celebrations, a milestone widely covered as proof that they had gone the distance. This year's low-key celebration suggests the tradition looks set to carry on for many more years.

(By Pratyusha Pan)

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