Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Peaky Blinders season 6.Peaky Blindersspans decades of the 20th century, and the five main siblings in the Shelby family aged quite a bit over its six seasons. TheShelby family treeis quite complicated as it is, and part of the reason it’s so hard to tell who’s in the family and who isn’t is because the show jumps through the early 20th century so frequently.Each season ofPeaky Blindersjumps forward years at a time, and one season even moves forward half a decade in one go. The show started out in 1919, but byPeaky Blindersseason 6, it had already reached 1934.
Part of the reasonPeaky Blindersmoves forward so much is that it needs to. Many of Tommy’s (Cillian Murphy) plans require years of planning, and the show understandably wants to drop audiences right into the middle of everything coming together.Peaky Blindersis also inspired by a true story, and it includes fascinating historical moments, from the aftermath of World War I to Oswald Mosley’s rise to power, which means it has to jump around a bit. For all the show gains by moving forward years at a time, however, it also means that it’s hard to tell how old each Shelby sibling is inPeaky Blinders.
Arthur Shelby Jr. - 32–47 Years Old
Played By: Paul Anderson
The oldest Shelby sibling, Arthur (Paul Anderson), was born in 1888.SincePeaky Blindersseason 1 takes place in 1919, Arthur was 32 years old for the duration of the season. Despite being the oldest, Arthur had several immature qualities, like his impulsivity and naïveté. Arthur’s age also played a fairly significant role in his development throughoutPeaky Blinders, as he decided to settle down and marry Linda (Kate Phillips) in season 3, when he was 37 years old. That was also when he began trying to let go of his immature tendencies and tried to overcome his drug addiction.
Though he plays the oldest brother, Paul Anderson is actually almost two years older than Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby.
Interestingly, though he plays the oldest brother, Paul Anderson is actually almost two years older than Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby.While Anderson simply looks older than Murphy, his in-universe appearance can partially be explained by his drug and alcohol use, which was significantly higher than Tommy’s. ByPeaky Blindersseason 6, which takes place in 1934, Arthur was 47 years old, and his appearance almost matched Tommy’s.
Thomas “Tommy” Shelby - 29–44 Years Old
Played By: Cillian Murphy
Tommy Shelby was born just two years after Arthur, in 1890. His aging is probably the most noticeable of all the Shelby siblings. InPeaky Blindersseason 1, Tommy was just 29 years old, and he still had many youthful features.ByPeaky Blindersseason 6, however, Tommy was only 44 years old, yet he had gray hair and glasses that made him appear much older. Much of Tommy’s aging is probably attributable to stress, as he was the leader of the Peaky Blinders, the Shelby Company Limited, and a prominent member of Parliament.
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Tommy’s aging also has a fairly significant impact on the plot ofPeaky Blinders.In the earliest seasons, Tommy was still suffering from very acute post-traumatic stress disorder due to his service in World War I. He gambled with his life fairly often, and put himself into highly dangerous situations for the chance of massive gain. As the show progressed, however, Tommy’s plans and goals became more nuanced, and he was more focused on protecting both himself and his family.
Ada Thorne - 26–41 Years Old
Played By: Sophie Rundle
The middle sibling and only sister of the Shelby siblings, Ada Thorne, was born in 1893. In 1919, she was just 26 years old when she married Freddy Thorne and became pregnant with her first child, Karl.It wouldn’t be untilPeaky Blindersseason 5, which took place in 1929, that Ada would have her second child, Elizabeth Younger, when she was 36 years old. Despite being younger than both Arthur and Tommy, Ada also displayed much more maturity than them on several occasions, and she always had a better sense of right and wrong than her brothers.
Katie Shelby, Six other unnamed children
Laurence Gray
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Despite not having as much appetite for violence as her brothers, Ada took a much more involved role in the Shelby Company Limited as she aged.ByPeaky Blindersseason 3, when she was 31 years old, Ada had become Head of Property and Acquisitions, and seemingly left her Communist sympathies in the past. ByPeaky Blindersseason 6, when Ada was 41, she had essentially taken Polly Gray’s (Helen McCrory) place as the matriarch and sole voice of reason for the Shelby family.
John Shelby - 24–30 Years Old
Played By: Joe Cole
John Shelby (Joe Cole) was born in 1895, making him the last Shelby sibling born in the 19th century. John also started his adult life much earlier than his brothers or sisters, as by the time he was 24 inPeaky Blindersseason 1, John already had four children. By the time he was 29, inPeaky Blindersseason 3, John had an additional three children with Esme Lee (Aimee-Ffion Edwards).When John was gunned down by Luca Changretta’s (Adrien Brody) men inPeaky Blindersseason 4, which takes place in 1926, he died at the age of 30 and could no longer age.
Finn Shelby - 11–26 Years Old
Played By: Harry Kirton, Alfie Evans-Meese
There’s a large age gap between Finn Shelby (Harry Kirton) and John, as Finn was born in 1908.Finn’s age is actually the easiest to determine of the Shelby siblings, as his first introduction toPeaky Blindersseason 1 saw him tell Tommy he was about to turn 11 just a week later. Finn is also unique for another reason: he’s the only Shelby sibling to be portrayed by two actors. Harry Kirton took over the role from Alfie Evans-Meese inPeaky Blindersseason 2, when Finn was 14 years old.
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Finn’s age is also among the most important to the Shelby siblings. In the earlier seasons of the show,Finn was treated as a child who couldn’t be trusted with the more important plans and operations of both the gang and the Shelby Company Limited, as he wasn’t even 18 untilPeaky Blindersseason 4. Then, his age worked against him in the opposite direction, as his brothers and sister began wondering why Finn wasn’t taking more responsibility even as he reached 26 years of age inPeaky Blindersseason 6.
Peaky Blinders
Cast
Peaky Blinders is a historical crime drama created and written by Steven Knight and starring Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, and Helen McCrory. The television show is based on the gang, Peaky Blinders, a group that banded together after the end of World War I.
