After years worth of buzz, many casting controversies, and general hubbub, Fifty Shades of Grey finally premieres on Valentine's Day. Aside from the book series' cult following, I'm sure there are a few people out there who haven't read the books who are thinking, "What the hey?! Might as well watch it and see what the fuss is all about!" If this sounds like you, you may be wondering: how old is Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey? Is she in her twenties? Maybe her thirties? PLEASE don't tell me she's 19 or something...
Welp, "or something" was pretty accurate. In the books, Anastasia is in her final year of college when she meets Christian Grey and she is 21 years old. In the book, we know that Grey's character is a 27-year-old billionaire, meaning that she and Christian have a six-year age difference. Anastasia is also on the cusp of turning 22, placing her in the pre-quarter-life crisis years before she has become cynical and jaded with the world. She's also young enough to NOT laugh in Christian Grey's face after he utters a line like "laters, baby," as more seasoned ladies in their mid-twenties (like yours truly) would.
Let's bring the ages of some non-fictional characters into the mix here. Dakota Johnson, who stars as Anastasia, is 25 years old at the moment, making her four years older than Anastasia Steele. I'm no casting agent, but I would say that she plays a pretty convincing 21. At 32, Jamie Dornan five years older than his character of Christian Grey, and seven years Johnson's senior IRL. So that makes a six-year fictional age difference, and a seven-year real life one — pretty close.
So yeah, be sure to keep all of these figures in the back of your mind when you go check out the movie.
Image: Universal Pictures
