Who said “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”?

Verified

John Lennon. A published source records them saying or writing it.

Source"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"; similar expressions were used by others prior to Lennon's use of this line, and have been attributed to Betty Talmadge, Thomas La Mance, Margaret Millar, William Gaddis, and Lily Tomlin, but the earliest known published occurrence was the 1957 attribution of "Life is…

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“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
— John Lennon
Verified"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"; similar expressions were used by others prior to Lennon's use of this line, and have been attributed to Betty Talmadge, Thomas La Mance, Margaret Millar, William Gaddis, and Lily Tomlin, but the earliest known published occurrence was the 1957 attribution of "Life is… · evidenceLife and Living
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"; similar expressions were used by others prior to Lennon's use of this line, and have been attributed to Betty Talmadge, Thomas La Mance, Margaret Millar, William Gaddis, and Lily Tomlin, but the earliest known published occurrence was the 1957 attribution of "Life is….

APA

Lennon, J. (n.d.). Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/26777-life-is-what-happens-to-you-while-youre/

MLA

Lennon, John. “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/26777-life-is-what-happens-to-you-while-youre/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Lennon, John. “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/26777-life-is-what-happens-to-you-while-youre/.

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