Do the Ages of the 'Sex Lives of College Girls' Cast Actually Match College Girls?
Published Nov. 18 2021, 1:52 p.m. ET
Comedian and actress Mindy Kaling's latest venture into television is the HBO Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls, which follows four 18-year-old freshman girls attending Essex College in Vermont as they navigate love and relationships. Based on the show's official description, many people expected the actors and actresses on the show to be as young as their fictional counterparts.
How old is the cast of The Sex Lives of College Girls? Read on as we investigate.
Pauline Chalamet as Kimberly.
Pauline Chalamet's previous acting credits include The King of Staten Island, and she also happens to be the older sister of a little-known actor named Timothée Chalamet. However, unlike her onscreen counterpart Kimberly, Pauline is 29 years old.
Amrit Kaur as Bela.
You may have seen actress Amrit Kaur in shows such as The D Cut, Star Trek: Short Treks, The Bold Type, Nurses, and Hudson and Rex. Now, she'll play sex-positive Bela on The Sex Lives of College Girls. According to Refinery29, Amrit is 28 years old, a decade older than her character on the show.
Reneé Rapp as Leighton.
Actress and musician Reneé Rapp is making her big move to television after taking over the lead role of Regina George in Broadway's Mean Girls. Compared to her co-stars, Reneé is closest in age to an actual college student, being just 21 years old.
Alyah Chanelle Scott as Whitney.
Alyah Chanelle Scott is also no stranger to the stage, and like her co-star Reneé Rapp, she has also been the leading lady in a musical! Before The Sex Lives of College Girls, Alyah played Nabulungi in the National Tour of The Book of Mormon. However, her college days aren't too far behind her, as Alyah graduated from the University of Michigan in 2019 per BroadwayWorld. She is currently 24 years old.
Gavin Leatherwood as Nico.
Fans will recognize Gavin Leatherwood's gorgeous grin from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, where he played Nicholas Scratch. However, on The Sex Lives of College Girls, Gavin is starring as equally drool-worthy Nico. Gavin is also a far cry from college-age at 27 years old.
Why are the main cast of 'The Sex Lives of College Girls' so much older than their fictional counterparts?
As has been pointed out by many an internet op-ed and exemplified in shows such as The Vampire Diaries (where actor Ian Somerhalder was nearly 40 when the show ended, playing a 25-year-old), most of the time, television shows cast much older actors to play young roles. While some argue this creates unrealistic beauty standards for teens watching the show, others think there's a more practical purpose for the age-up.
Many teens participate in underage sex as portrayed on TV — but that's not something that could legally happen on television, at least not without parental consent forms and a guardian present. To cut down on the awkwardness and circumvent paperwork, many shows prefer to use older actors instead.
New episodes of The Sex Lives of College Girls air on Thursdays on HBO Max.