A star from the hit ’70s series “Taxi” is celebrating their 74th birthday today, and is still making an impact personally and professionally.
Former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant, Marilu Henner, born April 6, 1952, seems to defy time. Her television career skyrocketed at age 26 when she took on the role of Elaine Nardo, the sole female cab driver at Sunshine Cab Company.
Marilu Henner Shares Her Tips for Aging Gracefully
In 2016, Marilu Henner shared her health journey and tips for aging gracefully during an appearance on the “Dr. Oz” television series.
Henner admitted that after her father’s passing, which occurred when she was a senior in high school, she turned to food to control her feelings. She told Oz that she became a “yo-yo dieter,” as her weight continued to go up and down.
GettySubsequently, her mother went through a terrible series of health struggles and passed away, two weeks before Henner booked “Taxi,” which ran from 1978 through 1982. She told Dr. Oz she made a promise to herself. If her mother survived, she would learn about the human body and how to help her regain a good state of health. If she passed, she would do the same to benefit herself and her siblings, weaning herself off her bad eating habits.
Henner began to implement a healthy eating plan. She works exercise into her day, and believes that the number one tip to reverse aging is correct posture, which she claims can add years to a person’s overall look if they sit or stand up confidently and straight.
The actress utilizes these techniques to sustain the good health she needs to continue her work as an actress, for over five decades since she first stepped foot onto a stage.
An Active Lifestyle Keeps the ‘Taxi’ Star Moving Forward
At 74, Marilu Henner stays active, a key factor in sustaining the energy and drive that keep her career evolving. Her most recent stage appearance came in 2025, when she starred in the play “Pen Pals” alongside Brooke Adams
Additionally, she claims that one of her greatest assets is her ability to recall even the tiniest moments in her life. The actress has highly superior autobiographical memory, a rare gift identified in only 100 people worldwide, according to a 2019 article by Brain & Life.
She told the publication, “Even when I was 5 years old, people would say to my parents, ‘What’s with that kid and her memory? She remembers the last time I was here and everything that happened.’ They’d call me Little Miss Memory, the Memory Kid, or UNIVAC. You know, the old-fashioned computer.”
“If someone [in my family] wanted to know when something happened, it was always, ‘Ask Marilu.’ Everybody in my family is extremely smart and everybody has great memories, but I knew something was very unusual about mine.”
Marilu Henner continues to work as an actress on the stage and screen.
