Summary
- Jeff Winger is the among the older members of the Community group, lying about his age and turning 40 during the show's run.
- Annie Edison is the youngest member, starting at Greendale right after high school graduation and ending the series at age 24.
- Pierce Hawthorne, played by Chevy Chase, had the highest age in the group, starting at Greendale at age 54 and graduating at age 68.
Given the mismatched ensemble of colorful characters in the series, the Community character ages range drastically. From the fresh out of high school Troy and Annie to Pierce being decades older than everyone else, this group was totally different from each other. Although most of the characters never get their age mentioned specifically, certain storylines and minor details are revealed throughout the show's run to help determine the ages of Community's core cast of college friends.
Community's core ensemble consisted of Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), Annie Edison (Alison Brie), Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), and Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs). Each season of Community took place in the span of a new school year at Greendale, but the study group stuck around longer than the average student. Over the course of the show, the Community characters' ages or birthdays were unearthed, and age differences also became a hot topic in several instances.
Jeff Winger
Among the Community character ages, Jeff is the one most unwilling to admit how old he really is. Even though he's obviously older than a typical incoming freshman, when Jeff Winger started at Greendale, he led his peers to believe that he was in his early thirties. In the season 5 episode, "G.I. Jeff," it was revealed that Jeff was having trouble with turning 40 years old. He was actually born in 1974, making him 34 when he started college in the fall semester of 2009. Joel McHale is older than the character he plays, as he was 37 when making Community season 1.
Annie Edison
Annie started at Greendale shortly after she graduated high school at the age of 18, making her the youngest of the Community character ages. Her young age became a topic of controversy when Jeff started to have romantic feelings for her. Annie's age also gave her character an element of innocence that carried on throughout the series. By the time Community ended and Annie was on her way to intern with the FBI, she was 24 years old. Brie is much older than her Community character, as she was 26 when making Community season 1, almost nine years older than the character she was playing.
Shirley Bennett
Yvette Nicole Brown's Shirley was the "nice one" of the group. She was another adult student looking for further education at the local community college. Even though she was a proud mother, her age was often a sensitive subject since she didn't want to be viewed as an old member of the group. Shirley's age was never explicitly revealed in the series, but according to production details, her birthday was in August 1971, making her 38 when she started at Greendale. Even though Jeff pretended to be much younger than Shirley, they were only four years apart. When Yvette Nicole Brown left Community, she was 44 years old.
Pierce Hawthorne
It's no surprise that Pierce has the highest of the Community character ages. By the end of Community season 2, Pierce mentioned he was 66, and with his November birthday, he would have been 64 when the series started. It was later revealed that Pierce started at Greendale in 1999 because he was rich and bored. This meant that Pierce started at the community college at the age of 54, and when he graduated nearly 13 years later in the spring of 2013, he was 68. Chase is roughly the same age as the character he plays, as the Fletch actor was 65 in the first season of Community.
Troy Barnes
At the start of Community, it was believed that Troy was also 18 since he and Annie graduated from high school together. During his sophomore year in season 2, he learned that he was actually turning 21 years old, meaning that he was 19 when he started college. It was later revealed that Troy thought everyone turned 10 years old twice in life. When Troy left Colorado in Community season 5 to travel around the world in Pierce's yacht, he was 23 years old, nearing his 24th birthday in December. In real life, Glover was 25 years old in the first season of Community, six years older than Troy.
Abed Nadir
Abed was the only one of the Community character ages that was ambiguous. His birthday is in March, but a specific year was never stated. Since Abed was able to order alcoholic drinks prior to Troy's 21st birthday, he was clearly 20 or older when the series first started. Based on his experiences, he was older than Troy and younger than Britta, putting him in the middle of the age pack among the study group. By the end of Community season 6, Abed was likely in his late 20s. Pudi was 30 during the first season of Community, which puts him around five years older than the character he plays.
Britta Perry
In the pilot episode, Abed mentioned that Britta's birthday was in October of 1980, making her 28 when she joined Greendale, which puts her on the older side of the cast. Later in the series, her driver's license was shown, revealing a June 1982 birthday. Either way, since around six years had passed when Community came to a close, Britta would have been in her mid-30s when her time at Greendale came to an end. Jacobs was 26 years old when shooting Community season 1, which makes the actor the closest of the Community cast to their character's age.
How Old The Actors In Community Were Vs. Their Character Ages
While the characters making up Community's study group range pretty widely in terms of age, the ages of the actors playing them are a little different, as is common in TV and movies. Here is how old each of the actors really was at the show's premiere and Community's ending:
- Joel McHale: 37 years - 43 years
- Alison Brie: 26 years - 32 years
- Yvette Nicole Brown: 38 years - 44 years
- Chevy Chase: 65 years - 71 years
- Donald Glover: 25 years - 31 years
- Danny Pudi: 30 years - 36 years
- Gillian Jacobs: 26 years - 32 years
All told, the actors' ages don't vary too much from the Community character ages, with Brown, Chase, and Jacobs lining up nearly exactly. The other four actors in Community played down a few years, which is common. Notably, while it was initially thought that Jeff Winger was several years younger than Joel McHale, the two wound up being closer in age after Jeff's lie was revealed.
What Will Be The Community Character Ages In The Movie?
Fans may get an update on the Community character ages with the upcoming movie. After teases throughout the series and vague promises since it ended, a Community movie is on the way with most of the main cast returning. There is still not a lot known about the movie, however, Community creator Dan Harmon did suggest (via Six Seasons and a Podcast) that there would be a time jump and would see the characters in a world that "has changed so significantly that there's a lot to deal with." He also suggested that the movie would see the characters reuniting after not seeing each other for a while.
Given that Community ended nearly a decade ago, it's possible the movie will have a similar timeline, seeing these characters 10 years later. If that's the case, Jeff and Shirley will both be in their 50s, which is closer to Pierce's age in Community season 1, and there will undoubtedly be jokes about that thrown at Jeff considering how self-conscious the former lawyer was about his age. Troy, Annie, and Abed will all likely be in their mid-to-late-30s, and Britta will be in her mid-40s. Unfortunately, Chase probably won't return for the Community movie, but if he did, Pierce would be in his 80s.