The defender rose through the youth ranks as a prodigy at Gillingham and later Chelsea, before making his first-team debut in 2006.
Although he struggled to secure regular first-team football at Stamford Bridge over the next nine years, despite being part of their famous Champions League-winning side, his loan stint during the 2014-15 season with Southampton turned into a permanent switch.
Here are the other sporting stars who are celebrating:
1931: Billy Bingham, former Northern Ireland manager (85).
1948: Ray Clemence, former Liverpool, Tottenham and England goalkeeper, now part of the England backroom set-up (68).
1955: John Whitaker (equestrian), Olympic silver medal winner (61).
1960: Kevin Darley, former champion flat jockey (56).
1968: Oleg Luzhny, former Arsenal and Ukraine defender (48).
1973: Justin Marshall, former All Blacks, Leeds and Saracens scrum-half (43).
1974: Antoine Sibierski, former Manchester City, Newcastle, Wigan and Norwich midfielder (42).
1978: Michael Bridges, former Sunderland and Leeds striker (38).
1979: David Healy, former Northern Ireland striker (37).
1980: Wayne Bridge, former England, Chelsea, Manchester City and Southampton defender (36).
1986: Paula Creamer (golf) – LPGA professional, nicknamed the Pink Panther (30).
1988: Federica Pellegrini, world record-breaking Italian swimmer (28).
1988: Michael Jamieson (swimming) – Scottish Olympic and Commonwealth Games silver medal winner (28).
1991: Andreas Weimann, Derby’s Austrian striker, born 1991 (25).
1991: Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber’s Mexican F1 driver (25).