Jeff Goldblum turns 74: the Jurassic Park star's year of jazz, Wicked and a world tour

Jeff Goldblum turned 74 on Thursday, Oct. 22, and the birthday set off a wave of tributes to one of Hollywood’s most recognizable and quirky stars. UPI marked the day with a photo retrospective of an actor it described as best known for “Jurassic Park,” “Independence Day,” “The Fly” and “Thor: Ragnarok.”

There was no single piece of breaking news behind the attention. Instead, the birthday arrived at the end of an unusually busy year for Goldblum, who has spent much of 2026 on the road as a jazz pianist.

How old is Jeff Goldblum?

Goldblum is 74. He was born on Oct. 22, 1952, in West Homestead, a suburb of Pittsburgh, according to the French station Jazz Radio, which noted that he left for New York at 17 to study acting. Films followed, including “The Fly,” “Jurassic Park,” “Independence Day” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

More recently, he played the Wizard in “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good,” alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

The jazz side of his career

Music has run alongside the acting the whole time. Jazz Radio reported that Goldblum founded The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra nearly 30 years ago, and for years the band mostly played Los Angeles clubs, working through Great American Songbook standards. Its first album, “The Capitol Studios Sessions,” came out in 2018.

His latest record, “Night Blooms,” was released June 5, 2026, on Fontana. Consequence reported that it is a companion to 2025’s “Still Blooming” and features Charlie Puth, Melody Gardot, Cynthia Erivo and Dodie, plus alternate “Night Sessions” takes with Erivo, Ariana Grande, Scarlett Johansson and Maiya Sykes.

A 2026 world tour

The album came with a long tour. According to Consequence’s published schedule, the run included:

• Europe in early summer: Manchester, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Madrid, Barcelona, Antwerp and Paris’s Salle Pleyel.
• North America: the Ottawa Jazz Festival in June, San Diego and Los Angeles in August, and an October swing through Fairfax, Virginia; Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Seattle; Denver; Portland, Oregon; and Phoenix.

Several of the U.S. dates were played with local symphony orchestras, including those in San Diego, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Seattle, Denver and Portland. The scheduled October leg wrapped up in Phoenix on Oct. 17 and 18, just days before his birthday.

Jazz Radio described his onstage style as much like his acting career: he stays a little in the background, lets each musician take a solo, introduces the band and jokes between songs. At 74, the station wrote (translated from French), “he continues to play and shows no desire to slow down.”

How does Jeff Goldblum stay in shape?

The Argentine outlet Infobae marked the birthday with a look at his fitness routine, drawing on an interview he gave GQ. According to that report, Goldblum gets up around 5 a.m. for about 45 minutes of exercise: a cardio warm-up, a circuit with free weights and machines that works several muscle groups at once, a second short cardio block and stretching to finish. Infobae reported that he then makes breakfast and takes his children to school.

FAQ

When is Jeff Goldblum’s birthday? Oct. 22. He turned 74 in 2026.

Is Jeff Goldblum in Wicked? Yes. He played the Wizard of Oz in both “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good.”

Does Jeff Goldblum have a new album? His most recent album with The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, “Night Blooms,” came out June 5, 2026.