Midlife can still equal crises—just ask the stunning lady below. But the big 4-0 isn't what it used to be: A bumper crop of movie stars, pop idols and Olympic heroes aren't slowing down a bit as they leave thirtysomething behind

TURNING 40 IS OBVIOUSLY NOT what it used to be. Rather than midlife, it's now the prime of life. Taake a look at Meg Ryan, George Clooney, Heather Locklear and Eddie Murphy—all gorgeous and all still at the top of successful careers. Some 40-year-olds, like Survivor winner Richard Hatch and The Practice star Camryn Manheim, didn't hit their strides until their middle years. Manheim broke through on her weekly series at 36 and on March 6 had her first child. Then there are those celebrated for the youthful accomplishments, like Olympics gymnast Nadia Comaneci, a standout from the 1976 Games, who has used her gifts to set herself on a new course through adulthood. The Romanian-born champ, who still maintains her lithe form by working out everyday, now runs a gymnastics school for young people in Oklahoma.
     Whatever stage they're at in their lives, these luminaries are in good company. The year 1961—the beginning of John F. Kennedy's brief presidency, the last swell of the baby boom—seems to have been a banner one for producing talent. Looking over the list of 40-year-olds brings more than a few pleasant jolts; because many stars are frozen in our imaginations at the height of their fame, it may be hard to believe that in real life Cindy Brady (Susan Olsen) and Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) are the same age.

Heather Locklear 9.25.61
I never thought I'd be a flash," says Heather Locklear. "The best revenge is sticking around." In the 20 years since she showed up on Dynasty playing the scheming Sammy Jo Dean, Locklear has adamantly refused to be, as she says, "just another blonde" on her way from isn't-she-great to where-is-she-now. In 1982, while still on ABC's Dynasty, she landed a gig as the girl-next-door police officer Stacy Sheridan on ABC's T.J. Hooker, thus becoming the rare actor to simultaneously star on two prime-time shows. After Hooker ended in 1986, she went into a professional slump compounded by the demise, in 1992, of her eight-year marriage to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. But Locklear rebounded smartly when Aaron Spelling cast her on Melrose Place as the short-skirted, bad-tempered Amanda Woodward, a gig that lasted six years. Now she plays Caitlin Moore, the mayor's campaign manager, on Spin City, and her marriage to Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora in 1994 and the birth of their daughter, Ava Elizabeth, three years later have brought her happiness of a deeper sort. The former junk-food junkie and notorious slugabed can think of only two adjustments she has had to make regarding turning 40: "I'm just starting to be conscious of what I eat," she says, "and I have to exercise more often—which I guess you have to do as you get older."

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