16 Stars Who Worked Hard on Their Image and Look Amazing Now

Celebrities often change the way they look. While some just change their hairstyles, others change their overall look. Some of these changes are done because of new roles, and others — just because they want to.

We at Bright Side decided to go back to the past a little bit to see what some celebrities looked like several years ago and we compared their looks to what they look like today. Some old photos were big discoveries for us.

1. Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper has taken the path from a character of little-known comedies to a successful actor and director. The evolution of his looks is also quite interesting. Few people remember, but at the beginning of his career, Cooper was blonde with a messy hairstyle. And about his clothes — this tendency for messiness was also present in his clothing (like unbuttoned shirts, for example.) But now, the old image is gone. Cooper has his natural hair color back, his forehead is now more exposed, and he wears a tux with a bowtie.

2. Emma Watson

Because Emma Watson became famous back when she was a child, her fans were able to watch the evolution of her look this whole time. At some point, Watson made a splash in the media when she cut her hair and appeared in public with a short pixie cut. With this new hairstyle, she looked playful but eventually grew back her long hair and exposed her forehead.

3. Emma Stone

Emma Stone is actually blonde but we often see her with bright ginger hair because, during a big part of her career, the actress dyed her hair. Her makeup has always suited her, and early on, she loved the smoky eye and bronzer look. But in 2019, the actress surprised everyone when she dyed her hair brown and got an asymmetric bob cut. This new image made her look like a totally new person.

4. Katy Perry

Katy Perry loves to experiment when it comes to her appearance. In her career, she’s tried dozens of different looks. For a long time, she had been a brunette with long bangs, and then she shocked everyone when she got a boy cut, now she’s a bright blonde. By the way, the red lipstick that she loves looks amazing with her new hairstyle.

5. Natalia Vodianova

Natalia Vodianova looks very feminine and natural. But there was a time when she experimented heavily with color. She really loved appearing in public with bright makeup (especially red lips) and brightly colored dresses with complex shapes. But today, Vodianova prefers more muted colors and minimalistic makeup and styling, so it’s hard to believe that she’s not a young girl but a mother.

6. Blake Lively

This actress has always been tie very attractive “girl next door” type. She has long hair and an amazing smile. At the beginning of her career, she let her hair down, had bronze skin, and wore simple clothes. But over time, she decided to change her style into something that can now be called “elegant femininity and luxury.” Today, she looks more like the actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood that wore elegant dresses and had beautifully-styled hair.

7. Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron has never had trouble changing her look. For her role in Monster, she put on about 30 lb, and for Mad Max: Fury Road, she shaved her head bald. This was our chance to see that her head shape was really attractive and that she looked great with short hair. Then she dyed her hair dark, and afterward, returned to blonde. This simple hairstyle and makeup made her look several years younger.

8. Kerry Washington

For a long time, Kerry Washington straightened her hair. She experimented with the length but not the shape. Today, she has finally let her natural curls take over and they look great. They make her look light and playful.

9. Jennifer Lawrence

At the beginning of her career, this young star was a cute blonde with long light hair and maybe a spray tan. At the end of the 2000s, she wore very simple clothes and ordinary cocktail dresses. Since then, she’s started to look more elegant: she changed her hair color to platinum blonde, she doesn’t have tan skin anymore, and she has a more retro vibe. Today, she prefers more experimental looks.

10. Kristen Stewart

Of course, many people remember the actress as the romantic Bella from Twilight, where she had long hair. But during her acting career, Kristen Stewart has experimented with her style quite a bit. She’s had boy cuts and dark goth hair. At some point, she even tried the style of an elegant lady often wearing long dresses, but several years later she found her style. Now, she likes messy hair, bright makeup, and grunge-style clothes.

11. Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy is loved, not only for his outstanding acting skills but also for his attractive appearance. His most important feature is that there is always a bit of messiness in his look. But in 2020, you can see that the “messiness” is actually the result of a lot of hard work. Now, Hardy loves shorter hairstyles that highlight the oval of his face and he uses styling gel. Also, he now wears perfectly-fitted suits.

12. Michelle Williams

She first appeared on the big screens as a blonde girl with beautiful hair, but then she decided to change her image completely. She had very modern and edgy hair for several years. Now, she’s returned to a longer hairstyle, and also dyed her hair to be a cool platinum blonde that looks great with bright makeup.

13. Anne Hathaway

For her role in Les Misérables, Anne had to cut her hair really short, and then, for a while, she experimented with different cuts and the length of her bangs. At about the same time, Anne’s stylists started to dress her in more edgy clothes, like suits and leather. But in the end, she’s returned to a more feminine and sensitive look with gorgeous locks and elegant dresses.

14. Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton is not a huge fan of beauty experiments: her fans are used to her with very light hair and minimal makeup that highlights her Nordic beauty. Tilda uses the androgyny both in her appearance and her clothes. But recently, she’s decided to try something different: her hair is now longer, it’s strawberry blonde, and she wears brighter makeup that makes her face even more interesting.

15. Elle Fanning

Elle Fanning started her movie career as a blonde girl that loved natural makeup, hair that was always worn down, and light dresses with flowers and lace. The roles that she got were appropriate: most of the time, Fanning portrayed princesses and very kind characters. Now, she’s grown up and she’s changed her style. Her hair color is a little cooler now, and her regular locks have been replaced with more elegant and unusual hairstyles. She also experiments a lot with her makeup, accentuating her eyes.

16. Cate Blanchett

The actress has often appeared on red carpet events with different hairstyles and her amazing, elegant dresses are basically her trademark. Fashion critics often called the star a fashion icon. Despite many experiments, Cate Blanchett has rarely changed her hair color dramatically. Most of the time, it was blonde with colder and warmer shades, sometimes, more ginger. But last year, she appeared in public with brown hair. Together with her hair color, her clothes changed: they became edgier. However, she hasn’t had that style for a long time: now, Kate is back to the classic blonde and luxury dresses that highlight her amazing natural appearance.

Bonus: Celebrities with jaw-dropping changes

Khloé Kardashian

Bella Hadid

Eiza González

Which celebrity appearance transformation do you remember? Do you think that changing their image often is their personal choice or a part of their job?