How old the cast of Never Have I Ever are in real life, compared to their Netflix characters

Just like most teen dramas, Never Have I Ever is another Netflix show where the cast members’ ages differ hugely to the characters they are meant to be portraying. There’s reasoning behind why Netflix has to hire older actors to play teen roles, but still, it’s shocking to find out.

Yep, you guessed it, in the series there are 30-somethings playing teens at school. Here are the ages of the cast of Never Have I Ever on Netflix, compared to the characters they play in the Netflix show.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan – Devi

Age in real life: 20

Devi is meant to be around 16 or 17 in the show, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who plays her is 20 in real life. Maitreyi is the youngest main cast member and there’s roughly a four year age gap between her and her on-screen character.

Darren Barnet – Paxton

Age in real life: 31

Paxton is meant to be slightly older than the other characters, aged 18. Darren Barnet is 31 in real life, the eldest of the main cast members of Never Have I Ever, with the biggest age gap between him and his character. Their age gap is 13 years.

Ramona Young – Eleanor

Age in real life: 24

Eleanor, who is also meant to be around 16 in the show, is played by 24-year-old Ramona Young. There’s roughly an eight-year age gap between the actor and her Netflix character.

Lee Rodriguez – Fabiola

Age in real life: 22

Lee Rodriguez is 22 and plays Fabiola. On National Coming Out Day, she posted about how since the show she has been asked constantly about her sexuality, and if she is “just gay for the show”. “I felt like there was no better day than today (National Coming Out Day) to publicly say that I AM a proud queer women!” she said in the post. “It‘s so heartwarming when I hear that Fabiola has inspired some of you in the LGBTQ+ community to come out! It‘s the best feeling! ❤️Thank you so so much for the love and support! Much love to you all!”

Jaren Lewison – Ben

Age in real life: 21

Jaren Lewison, who plays Ben, is one of the youngest cast members of Never Have I Ever. He’s 21, compared to Ben who is around 16 or 17 in the show.

Megan Suri – Aneesa

Age in real life: 23

Megan joined the Never Have I Ever cast in season two, first being Devi’s frenemy. Aneesa is around 16 in the show, whilst Megan is 23 in real life. Megan is best known as the title role of Bindu in The MisEducation of Bindu, but has also had roles in Netflix shows such as How To Get Away with Murder and Atypical.

Benjamin Norris – Trent

Age in real life: Late 20s

Benjamin Norris, who plays the iconic character of Trent in the show, is believed to be in his late 20s, but his exact age has not been reported. Trent is 16 in the show.

Anirudh Pisharody – Nirdesh

Age in real life: 28

For ages, the biggest decision in Devi’s life was Paxton or Ben, but then Never Have I Ever cast Anirudh Pisharody as Des to throw a spanner in the works. Just like Darren Barnet, Anirudh is much older than his on-screen character, aged 28 in real life. This means there’s about an 11-year age gap between him and Des.

Richa Moorjani – Kamala

Age in real life: 33

In the show, it’s thought that Kamala is in her mid to late 20s. In real life, Richa Moorjani, who plays her, is 33 and definitely isn’t struggling to find someone to marry – she’s been married since 2019!

Poorna Jagannathan – Nalini

Age in real life: 49

Poorna Jagannathan plays Devi’s mum Nalini. In real life she is 49, which is probably fairly similar to what her age would be in the show.

Never Have I Ever season three is now available on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Meet all the new cast members in season three of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever

• Meet Anirudh Pisharody: The new cast member in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever

• Quiz: Would you end up with Paxton or Ben from Never Have I Ever on Netflix?