How old is Jean Smart compared to her ‘Hacks’ character Deborah Vance?

The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards were full of sweet and funny moments, and while Hacks beat The Bear for Outstanding Comedy Series, Jean Smart also won her third Emmy for playing the hardened yet endearing comedian Deborah Vance. Besides talking about Smart’s amazing acceptance speech, fans want to know how old she is.

From the Sugarbaker manager Charlene Frazier on Designing Women, to quirky mom Regina Newly on Samantha Who?, Smart has made fans laugh for decades. Since the entire premise of Hacks is that a young comedy writer (Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels) is helping the older Deborah modernize her material, fans are curious about Smart’s age compared to her clever, but sometimes unlikeable character.

How old is Jean Smart, and how old is her brilliant Hacks character, Deborah Vance?

Smart was born on Sept. 13th, 1951 and is 73 years old. While Hacks fans seem unclear about Deborah Vance’s actual age when the HBO series begins, Deborah is 70 in season 3. As a viewer pointed out on Reddit, Jimmy LuSaque Jr (Paul W. Downs) states Deborah’s age in Hacks season 3, episode 1, “Just For Laughs.”

Smart was a brilliant choice to play Deborah, since she really leaned into the role and shows all the nuance and emotion of being told that you’re too old or not good enough anymore. Her time on Hacks is one of Smart’s most memorable parts. When she won her 2024 Emmy, she made everyone laugh and cheer when she joked about the name of the network that Hacks is on. She said, “everybody at HBO… Max… no, I’m sorry. Just what we needed, another network.”

Besides being excited that Smart and I were both born on Sept. 13th, I love reading her interviews, as she has such a wise and calm approach to life. She has thought about the concept of aging a lot, and she shared in an interview with Yahoo! Life that she sees her mom when she sees her reflection in the mirror. She said, “I don’t feel that different than when I did when I was 20 or 30.” She added, “I feel like the same person, except my body isn’t cooperating.”

Like her character, Smart proves you can do anything you want at any age, and no one should tell you otherwise. When she won the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, which aired on Sept. 19th 2021, she had just turned 70 a few days before. When she won her second and third Emmys for Hacks in 2022 and 2024, she was 71 and 73.

While Deborah might face sexism and ageism, Smart is “grateful” to be starring in so many amazing TV shows and movies in her 70s. She said on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” that she is “kind of baffled by it, but I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.” Well, I’m not baffled by it, because Smart shows her amazing talent in every single part she portrays, and the Emmys voters agree!