’13 Going on 30′ Star Celebrates Birthday by Putting on Iconic Costume From Movie

Time continues to march on and a movie milestone has been reached that is sure to shake millennials to their core. Actress Christa B. Allen, who played the 13-year-old version of Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30, is now 30. For those of you who somehow missed the romcom classic, Jenna wishes on her 13th birthday that she was “thirty, flirty, and thriving,” and with the help of some magic dust, she wakes up as a 30-year-old, played by Jennifer Garner. Romance and live lessons ensue, and the 2004 movie is considered one of the genre’s greats.

To celebrate turning 30, Allen posted a series of shorts on her social media entitled Vienna, a reference to the Billy Joel song that plays at a critical part of the film. In the videos, Allen interacts with a 13-year-old version of herself and reckons with some of the themes of the movie, especially the idea that a woman has to sacrifice her career aspirations to find love. “When I started my TikTok journey 2 years ago, I had no idea how much people would love 13 Going on 30 content,” Allen tweeted. “After several videos went viral, fans were asking for a sequel by the hundreds. This short series Vienna is less of a sequel, more of a response- I hope you love it!”

Allen had previously gone viral on TikTok and Instagram for Halloween In 2020 when she dressed up in the iconic cocktail dress from 13 Going On 30 and recreated the make-over scene from the movie. “Jenna Rink forever,” she captioned the video.

Garner was asked during an episode of Hot Ones why she thought that 13 Going On 30 has had such enduring appeal over the years. “I think there’s no bigger wish-fulfillment than for a 13-year-old to be 30,” she explained. “Conversely, I don’t know any 30 year old who wouldn’t like to dip back into her 13-year-old body and see what that’s like… It’s just so whimsical and it was actually such a perfectly constructed movie by the late great beautiful soul Gary Winick.”