How Celebrities Spent Their 21st Birthdays

When you're a celebrity and every day is a party (at least that's what it seems like!), how do you top it for your 21st birthday? Maybe you throw an even bigger party (or multiple parties) or you go unexpectedly low-key. For some reason, it's weirdly interesting to think about how celebrities spent their 21st birthdays. 

When you're a celebrity, the way you ring in your 21st is a really big deal, usually complete with a party or two - if you're Gigi Hadid - or even five, if you're Paris Hilton. Other celebs, like Cara Delevigne and Justin Bieber, decided to do what a lot of other future 21-year-olds do: they headed to Vegas. And still, other celebs like Ariana Grande and Saoirse Ronin, decided that the happiest place on earth would be the happiest place to spend their twenty-first birthdays. 

Other celebrities keep their 21st birthday parties low-key. Paul Dano actually tried to hide his from his castmates on Little Miss Sunshine. Taylor Swift ditched the opportunity to throw a huge shindig and instead opted for a low-key hangout with her parents. 

As these celebs prove, you can either go big - really big - or not big at all for your 21st birthday.  

For Emma Watson's 21st birthday, she actually sent her fans a message. “Just a quick message to say thank you for all the Birthday wishes and gifts you’ve sent. I’m continually overwhelmed by the support from you all. It means so much to me, so thank you very much," she said. "Turning 21 is a significant occasion for everyone, and it’s proved to be quite a milestone.”

Avon's cosmetic line mark toasted their spokeswoman Lauren Conrad on her 21st birthday with a party on February 1, 2007 in West Hollywood, California. Gal pal Heidi Montag was on hand to celebrate with plenty of champagne.

Paris Hilton celebrated her 21st birthday with 5 parties - in London, New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. An estimated $75,000 was spent on each guest that attended the five-night birthday event. Those in attendance included Donald Trump, P Diddy, and of course, her family.  
 

Rihanna had a relatively low-key 21st birthday in 2009: she went to a movie with some friends. After going to an early showing of Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, she hit up a party in the Hollywood Hills. At the end of the night, her closest friends sang "Happy Birthday" to the songstress and toasted her with champagne and birthday cake. 

Selena Gomez celebrated her 21st at an intimate dinner with family and friends at LA's Bagatelle restaurant on Monday, July 22, 2013. She posted this pic to her Instagram with the caption: "Thank you to @bagatellela for an amazing bday!!!! It's a birthday WEEK! #werk #becauseIcan."

Even though Taylor Swift famously has a huge squad, there was no grand bash for her birthday. There were no ice-filled tubs of champagne. For her 21st birthday in 2010, Taylor Swift hung out with her parents. According to a friend, 21 was never a big deal for the songstress. Or maybe it was the fact that her and then beau - Jake Gyllenhaal - were about to break up. 

Justin Bieber's 21st birthday was the perfect opportunity for the Omnia's grand opening in Vegas. The club, which was formerly Pure nightclub at Caesar's Palace, hosted the party during it's 3-night grand opening. Bieber allegedly received an estimated $500,000 for attending the birthday party/club opening.

The celeb arrived shortly after 1am on a Sunday where he immediately grabbed a bottle and poured shots for all his friends. He then rearranged the numbers on his '65 black Lincoln Continental birthday cake to read 12 instead of 21. The rest of the night was spent poppin' bottles, dancing, and then singing "Happy Birthday" to the crowd. 

Harry Styles rang in his 21st birthday with a ton of celeb friends on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 at Los Angeles hotspot Isabel. Those in attendance included: Chris Martin, Jennifer Lawrence, Adele, David Beckham, Cindy Crawford, Courteney Cox, Adam Levine, Zach Braff, Kendall Jenner, Kelly Osbourne, Cara Delevingne, and Rashida Jones. After the One Direction member feasted on four cakes (like the pic here posted to Rita Ora's Instagram) he FaceTimed his mom. 

Cross-dressing themed 21st birthday party? Only for model Cara Delevinge. When the model turned 21 in 2013, she went all out. "Thank you to all my friends for all their love and support and for making my birthday so special, I would be nothing without you! #crossdressing #sparkles#camo #itsbeenemotional," she wrote as a caption for this pic from her Instagram.  
 

Gigi Hadid actually had two parties to celebrate her 21st. The supermodel's actual birthday is on April 23, but her first party was on April 28, 2016 at The Nice Guy in LA. Naturally, she was surrounded by all of her closest friends, including (of course!) Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner, Naomi Campbell, Lenny Kravitz, and Kourtney Kardashian.

Her boyfriend, Zayn Malik, showed up to the party a little late, but was of course there. Then just a few days later she jetted off to Las Vegas to party the night away at Intrigue at Wynn Las Vegas.