Smallville premiered on October 16th, 2001, and ran for 10 seasons until 2011. Viewers were dropped into Clark Kent's life as a freshman at Smallville High. While they were in school, the ages of the characters were easy to determine based on their grade. However, the exact ages for characters like Lex, Kara, and even Clark were more complicated.
Knowing a favorite character's age is important to some viewers. This is because how old someone is can help a viewer understand character dynamics and relationships. Character ages are rarely, if ever, blatantly stated. However, some investigation and logical assumptions can help determine many of the main character's ages (or at least land them somewhere in the ballpark).
10 Jonathan & Martha Kent Were Both Born In 1961
Jonathan and Martha first met while attending Metropolis University. Their relationship was badly received with opposition from Martha's father, who believed she was too good to marry a farmer from Smallville. Nevertheless, they pursued a relationship, married, and lived together in Smallville.
During this time, they learned that they were unable to have children. Martha wished it wasn't the case, and then came the meteor shower and the arrival of Kal-El. Their lives changed forever as they raised Clark like he was their own. Any morals or values Superman has can be mostly attributed to his upbringing under the Kents' roof.
9 Lionel Luthor Was Born In 1944
Lionel Luthor was born in Suicide Slums – one of the worst neighborhoods in Metropolis. When he was a teenager, he, alongside his friend, Morgan Edge, murdered his parents to collect their life insurance. That sum of money led to the creation of LuthorCorp, which funded several more evil deeds.
Lionel Luthor was an antagonistic force for most of the series. Viewers learned what kind of father he was to Lex and how destructive his influence over Smallville was. Like all great characters, Lionel was complex and later earned his redemption on several occasions – even saving Clark's loved ones and protecting his secret.
8 Oliver Queen Was Most Likely Born In 1980
Although Oliver's exact birth date is never stated, he's depicted as attending Lex's private school in the same year. Therefore, viewers can assume he was born in 1980 – the same as Lex. On the surface, both characters came from similar upbringings of wealth and recognition, and their paths in life deviated drastically.
The two became adversaries in season 6 when Lex began experimentation on meteor-infected individuals. Oliver donned a costume, calling himself the Green Arrow, and assembled a team of superhumans to combat Lex and his growing roster of villains.
7 Tess Mercer Was Born In 1984
Tess was introduced in season 8 as Lex's successor. She inherited his finances and LuthorCorp after his disappearance. It was later revealed that Tess was the hidden younger sister of Lex and daughter of Lionel. Her real name was Lutessa Lena Luthor. She grew up in an orphanage, far from the public eye, run by Granny Goodness.
Despite Tess's familiar obsessive tendencies over the meteor-infected and Clark's true identity, she ultimately became a trusted ally to Clark, Chloe, and Oliver. Her life as Luthor was explored in an alternate reality in the season 10 episodes "Kent" and "Luthor."
6 Lana Lang Was Born In Late 1986
Fans of Smallville met Lana Lang before they met Clark. The Kents entered a flower shop and spoke to Lana, who was 3 years old, on the day of the Smallville meteor shower in 1989. The day not only became infamous to Smallville, but to Lana too. Sadly, it was the day she lost both her parents.
Over the course of the series, Lana would hold a lot of resentment toward meteor-infected people, stating that things would be better for everyone if the meteor shower never happened. Statements like that unknowingly hurt Clark and reinforced his decision to keep Lana in the dark regarding his true lineage.
5 Chloe Sullivan, Like Most Of Her Classmates, Was Born In 1987
Like most of her classmates, including Pete Ross, Chloe was born in 1987. She was one of Clark's closest friends when they met shortly before attending high school. Chloe grew up with her father and believed her mother abandoned her. In actuality, her mother was afraid of her own meteor-induced powers and wanted to protect Chloe, who'd one-day manifest powers of her own.
Appearing in all 10 seasons, Chloe grew closer and closer to Clark. She eventually learned his secret and aided him in his future heroic duties. She even took up the mantle of "Watchtower" after Oliver Queen created a prototype Justice League team.
4 Kara Zor-El Was Born In 1967 On Krypton
Born on Krypton in 1967, Kara is Clark's older cousin. Kara's father, Zor-El was a scientist just like his brother. He built a spaceship for Kara to follow her baby cousin, Kal-El, to Earth. During the Smallville meteor shower in 1989, her ship fell into the Smallville reservoir. She remained in stasis for 18 years until Clark's battle with Bizarro in season 7 freed her.
Her dynamic with Clark was unusual but interesting. She was technically his older cousin, but younger in other ways. She adapted to the planet more quickly, gaining the power of flight long before Clark, but was also unfamiliar with Earth.
3 Lois Lane Was Mostly Likely Born In 1986
Lois Lane was introduced in the first episode of season 4, just as Clark and his classmates began their senior year of high school. Lois, who was stated to be a year older than Clark, her cousin Chloe, and their classmates, was required to enroll in Smallville High for the last semester she never completed.
Clark and Lois, played by Tom Welling and Erica Durance, had amazing chemistry. What began as playful banter eventually led to romantic interest. Due to her popularity and charming wit, Durance's appearances quickly evolved from guest star to series regular.
2 Lex Luthor Was Born In 1980
Lex Luthor was 9 years old on the day of the Smallville meteor shower in 1989. This makes him roughly 6 years older than Clark. Throughout the series, Lex's childhood was explored more than Clark's. Viewers saw Lex as a child who lost his hair after his exposure to the meteor rocks. The trauma surrounding his mother and baby brother, and the bullying he endured during high school, shaped his views as an adult.
In the early seasons of the show, Lex acted as a sort of older brother to Clark. He bought him things, gifted him tickets to sold-out events, and gave him dating advice. This dynamic would sadly fade as the two's lives grew more sour and complex.
1 Clark Kent Is Believed To Have Been Born In Either 1986 or '87
On Krypton, Kal-El's exact birth date is unknown. The Smallville meteor shower that masked Kal-El's arrival occurred in 1989. Clark's classmate, Lana, was 3 years old at the time. Jonathan and Martha would eventually find young Kal-El (or did he find them?) and forge documents stating Clark Kent's birth date as May 3rd, 1987.
It's reasonable to assume that Clark's birth year is either 1987 or late 1986. Though in real life Tom Welling was roughly ten years older than the character he played, Clark was believed to age like any average human (ignoring the fact that almost none of the cast looked their character's ages).