How Old Mother Of The Bride’s Main Characters Are (& How Their Actors Compare)

Mother of the Bride is a unique romantic comedy in that its primary love birds are of an older generation than is typically featured—but how old are they meant to be, and how does this compare to their actors? The story follows Lana (Brooke Sheilds), who is surprised to discover at her daughter’s destination wedding that the mystery fiance’s father is her old college boyfriend, Will (Benjamin Bratt). Of course, the wedding winds up being a chance for these two to work out their differences and rekindle their relationship. It’s the perfect multigenerational love story.

The mother-daughter and father-son dynamic of Mother of the Bride is part of what makes it a unique romantic comedy. The nostalgic connection between two middle-aged college lovers contrasts with the fresh and new romance between RJ (Sean Teale) and Emma (Miranda Cosgrove). Of course, the characters in Mother of the Bride demonstrate how love is ageless, with RJ and Emma sometimes seeming like old souls while Lana and Will are children at heart—but how old are they really?

Lana Is About 58 Years Old In Mother Of The Bride

Brooke Shields Was 58 Years Old While Filming Mother Of The Bride

Lana’s age is never explicitly stated, but given Mother of the Bride‘s nostalgic soundtrack, it’s assumed that she went to college sometime in the 1980s. This would put her birth year in the 1960s, and the timeline of her getting married and having Emma also lines up with this. Since Shields was born in 1965 and was 58 years old while filming Mother of the Bride, it makes sense that her character would be about the same age. After all, Shields is the headline performer in the Netflix romantic comedy, so it’s reasonable that the character would be constructed around the actor.

Lana’s age is significant in Mother of the Bride since romantic comedies traditionally follow lovebirds in their 20s or 30s. Throughout the film, Shields’ character is stuck between celebrating Emma’s wedding and lamenting the fact that her daughter will officially be setting off on her own. With her husband having passed away years ago, Lana believes that it is too late for her to find love and that she will now be alone forever. However, reuniting with Will changes that.

Will Is About 58 Years Old In Mother Of The Bride

Benjamin Bratt Was 60 Years Old While Filming Mother Of The Bride

Will and Lana met back when they were in college, and they began a whirlwind romance together (that ended when he ghosted her without an explanation). Therefore, it can be assumed that these two characters are about the same age. Once again, Mother of the Bride never confirms this, so it’s possible that Will was either a couple of years older or younger than Lana. Regardless, we can assume that he was somewhere around 58.

Bratt was 60 when Mother of the Bride was filmed, just a couple of years older than Shields. This more or less falls in line with Will’s age, which, like Lana’s, was significant to his character. When Lana discovered that Will was single, she assumed he had maintained that party-boy, bachelor lifestyle throughout his life. In the beginning, this makes her concerned about who Emma is marrying. If RJ was anything like his father and had been raised by a perpetual bachelor, she could be at risk of heartbreak.

Emma Is About 24 Years Old In Mother Of The Bride

Miranda Cosgrove Was 29 Years Old While Filming Mother Of The Bride

It is again never explicitly stated how old Emma, Lana’s daughter, is in Mother of the Bride, but some hints indicate she is still in her early 20s. When the Netflix romantic comedy picks up, it’s revealed that Emma had spent the last year in London working an internship for Discovery Resorts, and it’s implied that she landed this position shortly after finishing her undergrad degree. Lana mentions looking forward to Emma moving back home and going to grad school, further indicating that her daughter is only about a year out of college.

Given how overachieving Lana is and how much it’s emphasized that she has high expectations for her daughter, it can be assumed that Emma started college shortly after high school—with perhaps a single gap year at most. This would make her about 24 years old, a little younger than the actor portraying her. Cosgrove was born in 1993 and would have been about 29 during filming for Mother of the Bride.

RJ Is About Years 30 Old In Mother Of The Bride

Sean Teale Was 30 Years Old While Filming Mother Of The Bride

There are fewer hints throughout Mother of the Bride regarding RJ’s age. At the beginning of the film, he was called a “consultant” whom Emma met in London and helped her rework her Instagram account and earn Discovery Resorts as a long-term sponsor. It is also mentioned that RJ works for his father, Will, but there is never any indication of his degree level or how long he has had this job. Therefore, it can only be assumed that the character is about the same age as actor Sean Teale, who would have been 30 while filming Mother of the Bride.

RJ being older than Emma makes sense with the story of Mother of the Bride as well. Later in the movie, Will reveals that after he had had some time to regret disappearing from Lana, he tried to find her. However, by the time he tracked down the lab where she worked, she was away on her honeymoon. Devastated that he had missed his chance, Will rushed off, quickly got married, and had a child, hoping it would fill the emotional void. On the other hand, Lana would have taken her time having kids and didn’t give birth to Emma until about five years later.

Lucas Is About 42 Years Old In Mother Of The Bride

Chad Michael Murray Was 42 Years Old While Filming Mother Of The Bride

While trying to enjoy her vacation in Phuket, Thailand, Lana met Lucas, a fellow doctor who took an immediate interest in her. Once again, Mother of the Bride doesn’t mention how old Lucas is, though Lana does state that she has “underwear older than him.” The actor playing Lucas, Chad Michael Murray, would have been 42 when Mother of the Bride was filmed, and given the 16-year age difference this would create between him and Lana, this age makes sense for the character as well.

The age difference left Lana feeling a little unsure, but her friend Janice was determined that Lucas was all the titular Mother of the Bride needed to get over the combined fact that her daughter was getting married and that the Father of the Bride was her college sweetheart. Ultimately, the nearly 20-year gap didn’t affect the duo’s chemistry, but things still didn’t work out since Will managed to win over Lana first, leading to Mother of the Bride‘s happy ending.

Mother of the Bride

Lana’s daughter Emma returns from abroad and drops a bombshell: she’s getting married. In Thailand. In a month! Things only get worse when Lana learns that the man who captured Emma’s heart is the son of the man who broke hers years ago.

Director

Mark Waters

Release Date

May 9, 2024

Writers

Robin Bernheim

Cast

Brooke Shields , Benjamin Bratt , Miranda Cosgrove , Rachael Harris , Sean Teale , Chad Michael Murray , Michael McDonald , Wilson Cruz

Runtime

88 Minutes

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