Celebrities Who Became Unrecognizable As They Aged
We may remember celebrities because of their iconic on-screen looks but everyone ages and with age comes changes in our appearance. These celebrities have aged and the result is that many are almost unrecognizable compared to their heyday. While some have aged gracefully, others were the victims of botched plastic surgeries or the cruel witch that is life. Sorry, not everyone can be George Clooney.
Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer started out on the stage and then moved into acting. His first screen role was in an ABC Afterschool Special starring opposite a young Michelle Pfeiffer back in 1983.
He would go on to star opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun by the end of the decade and by the mid-1990s, Val Kilmer was considered to be seriously hot property. He famously beat out 1980s pop icon Michael Hutchence of INXS to play Jim Morrison of The Doors in Oliver Stone’s Blockbuster movie about the band. His role in Heat with De Niro and Pacino is often considered to be his finest.
Val Kilmer Now
After years of increasing weight, Kilmer shocked fans with a dramatic turnaround, claiming on Twitter to be back down to 165 pounds. He also revealed that he'd been through a battle with cancer.
While his career slowed, he continued to work and even won a Grammy Award for his spoken word work in 2012.
Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers stole American hearts when she played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Edith and Archie Bunker, in Norman Lear’s groundbreaking sitcom, All in the Family. Though she never expected to land the role at all as it was originally given to Candice Azarra who played Gloria in the pilot episode. Candice was dropped soon after making way for Sally.
Struthers’ Gloria was known for her blonde pigtails and defiant attitude in dealing with her opinionated and overbearing father. From then on in, things were plain sailing for Sally as she became one of the best-loved talents in American TV.
Sally Struthers Now
We wouldn't recognize Sally if we passed her on the street but she deserves our admiration for her most recent work. She's been a long-time advocate for the Christian Children's Fund (now ChildFund) and works to help starving and needy children in developing nations. She also played Dolly in Hello, Dolly! in 2014, which was the musical's 50th-anniversary production.
Struthers has also been satirized twice in TV's South Park in episodes about a starving child named "Starvin' Marvin." The joke revolves around Struthers’ overeating in contrast with her endeavors to help people who don’t have enough to eat, suggesting that she was hoarding food. She was reportedly saddened by her portrayal.
Mickey Rourke, Superstar
Mickey Rourke began his career in comedy in the movie Diner in 1982. While that didn't exactly break new ground, it was1986’s 9½Weeks and 1987's Angel Heart that showed his acting talent and his willingness to tackle taboo subject matter in his roles that brought him to the forefront of stardom.
While tame by today’s standards, these films both propelled him as a symbol along with his costars, Kim Basinger and Lisa Bonet. In 1991, however, Rourke decided that he'd had enough of acting and quit the silver screen for the boxing ring. He'd trained as a boxer when he was younger. His boxing career lasted three years.
Mickey Rourke Now
Rourke picked up a few minor acting roles in the 90s when he returned to acting from the boxing ring. Although his face was badly damaged from his time on the fight scene, his talent allowed him to work steadily, often portraying misfits and misunderstood tough guys.
Yet, it wasn't until 2005's Sin City that Rourke had another significant starring role. It was his performance in 2009's The Wrestler that would lead to a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination. He's undergone quite a bit of plastic surgery over the years and not all of it has improved his looks.
Kathleen Turner, Eighties Wonder
In the 1980s it was hard to go to the movies and not see Kathleen Turner. She had a hugely successful stint as the lead in movies such as Body Heat, Romancing the Stone, Prizzi's Honor, The War of the Roses, and Peggy Sue Got Married. Her smoldering good looks and sultry voice made her the perfect choice when Hollywood was looking to fill the role of femme fatale.
She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award during that decade. She also did the voice over for Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Kathleen Turner Now
Kathleen Turner's transformation from a siren into an ordinary person was beyond her control. In the 1990s, she developed rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that gave her unbearable, crippling pain and threatened to leave her in a wheelchair.
The medication prescribed for her treatment caused a general weight gain and bloating. In addition, she turned to the bottle to battle her discomfort. She found herself moved out of the limelight, and the acting offers moved from "star" to "mother" or even "grandmother." Luckily, her arthritis has gone into remission in recent years and she has appeared in a number of guest roles throughout the years, including appearances on Friends, Nip/Tuck, and Californication.
Rupert Everett, Bad Boy
Rupert Everett won a BAFTA award for his first ever role as Julian Mitchell in Another Country in 1984. He played an openly gay student in a 1930s English school. He had a reputation for playing bad boys and his smoldering good looks made him a shoo-in for parts in movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Everett even tried (unsuccessfully) to turn his popularity into a music career as a pop star with his album, Generation of Loneliness. But it was too late, the public saw him only as an amazing actor and were not interested in his musical endeavors. He won a second BAFTA and a first Golden Globe in 1997 for My Best Friend's Wedding.
Rupert Everett Now
There's nothing wrong with the way Rupert looks now, in fact, he's still a handsome man, but he's nearly unrecognizable from the fresh-faced boy that once graced the silver screen. He's still acting as much as he ever was, though. He appeared in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and before that in the Shrek movies and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Aside from being outspoken on a number of political and social issues, such as decriminalizing prostitution and same-sex marriage, he's also taken up writing and had two memoirs and a screenplay published. Clearly, there has always been more than just what lurks on the surface for this modern Renaissance man.
Lara Flynn Boyle Peaked
Twin Peaks was simultaneously a cult classic and a major television hit of the late 80s and early 90s. David Lynch's peculiar take on small town life reeling from the circumstances surrounding the mysterious murder of Laura Palmer captured the imagination of the public around the world.
If there was a face of Twin Peaks, it was Lara Flynn Boyle, who starred in both seasons of the show's short run as Donna Howard, Laura’s close friend who becomes obsessed with solving the murder. She didn't, however, star in the movie sequel and she has already refused a role in the new TV series which will air sometime in 2017.
Lara Flynn Boyle Now
It's hard to believe that the Lara of today is the same person who once graced Twin Peaks. One plastic surgeon cruelly said, "Her face looks like its melting. Now it's deflated."
It’s not difficult to understand how a young beauty might feel the pressure to maintain their looks with risky procedures and unscrupulous doctors as they age, but it may explain why jobs have been few and far between recently for Lara.
Axl Rose Rocking Out
1987 was a golden year for hard rock music and its undisputed kings were Guns 'n' Roses, fronted by the lithe and limber, controversial-but-not-just-for-wearing-bike-shorts-on stage, Axl Rose. The album "Appetite for Destruction" has sold more than 30 million copies globally, and the follow-up "Use Your Illusion" sold another 35 million.
Back then, Rose was famous not only for having an incredible vocal range but for inciting riots and throwing liquor bottles at fans during live performances. However, the band soon imploded over personal differences and ended up taking a long hiatus before finally releasing the album "Chinese Democracy", which sold far less than expected by their label.
Axl Rose Now
If you're not working all that often, it's easy to start comfort eating. That's apparently what happened to Axl Rose who has gone from the tight bodied youth of yesteryear to a possible replacement for Meatloaf.
On Twitter, he extols the virtues of Taco Bell, but rock and roll is all about excess, right? An excess of Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunches backstage may have replaced all the booze and coke.
Mark Hamill, a Young Skywalker
The original Star Wars trilogy was a cultural phenomenon that has inspired generations of filmmakers, and the lead actor was Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker.
Mark's success in Star Wars wasn't necessarily a good thing for his career. As one producer bluntly told him, "I don't want Luke Skywalker in my film." The role was simply too iconic for Mark to be cast easily in other movies and he ended up doing mainly voiceover work over the coming decades. You may have heard him as Batman’s evil nemesis the Joker in many of the animated versions of the comic from the past few decades.
Mark Hamill Now
Who cares what you look like when your only work is off-screen? Mark Hamill let things slide for a long while because why bother when no-one will see you? And the car crash he endured following the first Star Wars movie might not have helped things. Those are real scars from the wreck you can see in the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back.
As Star Wars re-emerged for a sequel trilogy and Mark Hamill was asked to reprise the role of Luke Skywalker, Hamill was told to hit the gym and recover some of his former good-looking glory. It worked.
Catherine Bach as a Duke
There may be no bigger symbol of the 1980s than Catherine Bach playing the role of Daisy Duke in Dukes of Hazzard. She was famed for wearing denim hot pants and looking alluring throughout the series in which she proved a foil for the Duke brothers themselves and their escapades battling the hapless Boss Hogg and his underlings.
During the height of her fame, her legs alone were rumored to be insured for $1 million dollars. Imagine the pressure. The role was reprised for a movie but it was Jessica Simpson who would take on the role of Daisy.
Catherine Bach Now
After Dukes of Hazzard, things went downhill for Catherine Bach's acting career. It's possible that the role had left her typecast and prevented other shows and movies from taking up her contract. Another possibility is that she simply accomplished all of her goals as an actor in the entertainment industry and wished to focus more on raising her two daughters. She still looks great today, just very different from her acting heyday.
She's appeared only in low-profile roles ever since. However, she has also launched her own range of jewelry with the Debenhams group of stores in the UK. Her ex-husband, Peter Lopez, shot himself in April 2010, in what appeared to be a suicide.
Geena Davis, Doubly Desirable
Geena Davis was a smoking hot property in the 1980s. It seemed like she could do no wrong when Beetlejuice and then Thelma and Louise propelled her to box-office superstardom. For a while in the 90s you could not turn around in a grocery store without seeing Davis and her ex-husband Jeff Goldblum on tabloid covers. Their remake of the horror classic, The Fly, is truly nauseating.
However, the flop Cutthroat Island directed by Renny Harlin, her now ex-husband, was the only real fly in the ointment. The movie was specially designed to be a vehicle to cement Geena's career. It turned out to be a disaster which nearly sunk her instead.
Geena Davis Now
Geena's still looking good these days, but it would be hard to deny the years have been super kind to her unlike most 60-year-olds. Pictured here, the famous actress is fronting for the Women's Sports Foundation's campaign for equality in sports for females.
While there's still a bit of acting in her life, most of Geena's time is now spent in activism. She's set up her own institute to examine gender roles in the media, too. Fun fact, she nearly made the 1999 women’s Olympic archery team as one of 300 finalists. Maybe she could play an aging Katniss Everdeen when Disney buys the rights to the Hunger Games?
Boy George and Culture Club
Boy George was born George Alan O'Dowd, and he headed up one of the biggest pop sensations of the 1980s, Culture Club. Originally discovered by the Sex Pistol’s manager Malcolm McLaren, George stood out as a London club kid known for his eccentric style and wild behavior.
Songs such as "Karma Chameleon," "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" sold millions of copies and much of it was due to Boy George's unique look. His androgynous and colorful approach to dressing and presentation made him immediately recognizable to legions of fans throughout the world.
Boy George Now
Unfortunately for Boy George, things didn't go well for a long period after the band split up. As he later revealed in interviews, the break up of Culture Club was really the downfall of a romantic relationship between George and Jon Moss, the drummer for the band, as well as a heroin addiction and the tragic loss of their keyboard player from overdose.
This culminated in his serving a substantial prison sentence for imprisoning and then violently assaulting a rent boy. Boy George served his time and is now making something of a comeback. He writes books, designs clothes, is an active photographer and still writes songs. His most recent musical work has been winning acclaim for its honesty and humility.
Cybill Shepherd Moonlighting
Cybill Shepherd's role in Taxi Driver opposite Robert DeNiro is probably what brought her to the public eye but what cemented that relationship was her role in TV's Moonlighting in the 1980s as Maddie Hayes. Maddie Hayes was the owner of a failing detective agency and Bruce Willis was the reluctant detective brought in to turn it around. The couple's on-screen chemistry was legendary and the series ran for four years as something of a global hit.
Cybill Shepherd Now
Nothing lasts forever and while Shepherd is still attractive, the days of playing the lead role based on her alluring appeal are behind her. She's still acting, though, and has starred on The L Word and Psych as well as in Criminal Minds and The Client List.
Her most recent role was in Do You Believe? in 2015, which was a heavily Christian-influenced production. Her character was a mother mourning the loss of her daughter. In real life, Shepherd has three children. One of them is the actress and L Word co-star Clementine Ford.
Kelly Le Brock Shocking Science
Kelly Le Brock hit the big time from her first moment on screen. She starred opposite comedy/acting legend Gene Wilder in The Woman in Red. It wasn’t surprising that the daughter of a model would herself be a natural in front of the camera!
She then moved on to feature in Weird Science a smash hit teen comedy in 1985. She starred as the fantasy woman created by two teens in a science experiment. Her character, despite the underlying sexism of the movie's theme, was a strong woman who through a series of hard lessons turns the boys into men.
Kelly Le Brock Now
Kelly's life has been full of ups and downs and her best years on the screen seem to be well behind her. She married the star Steven Seagal but their marriage came to a close in 1996. They had three children together during their union.
Since then she's been involved in the homeopathic movement and became one of the first people in the United States to own a hyperbaric chamber, which treats a wide variety of ailments including infections and air bubbles in the bloodstream. Today, most of LeBrock’s efforts are as the spokesperson for a children's cancer charity.
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris' fame as a martial arts star has seen him immortalized in an endless series of jokes regarding how tough he is. These memes include such classics as "Chuck Norris will never have a heart attack. His heart isn't nearly foolish enough to attack him."
When he was young, he was also a considerable heartthrob and won a serious following for his good looks (as well as for his acting and martial arts skills). One of his most famous roles was the leading character in Walker, Texas Ranger. He also starred alongside Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon.
Chuck Norris Now
The legendary Chuck Norris hasn't so much aged as he has hardened. His acting career is still going on and he's appeared recently in The Expendables series of movies. He's also a devout Christian. He's penned several tomes on Christianity.
Chuck's a Republican too and has campaigned for Mike Huckabee as the presidential nominee and spends a lot of his time (and money) working on Republican causes. Norris is active on social media and shares frequent updates about his family.
Goldie Hawn, Private Benjamin
In her first major role in Cactus Flower in 1969, Goldie Hawn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. It was a serious role as Walter Matthau's suicidal fiance. She's best known, however, for her comedic performances and perhaps her best-loved role is that of the eponymous Private Benjamin for which she also won an Academy Award.
She parlayed her good looks and natural blonde into a career that has spanned several decades. Hawn’s other film credits include Butterflies Are Free, Housesitter, Shampoo, Death Becomes Her, and First Wives Club. She’s been married to fellow actor Kurt Russell since 1983.
Goldie Hawn Now
Goldie Hawn is now in her 70s and still looks great. She's still with Kurt Russell who she's been in a relationship since 1983. Most of her time is now spent running the Hawn Foundation, which focuses on academic performance improvement for youth. Much of the foundation's work is focused on scientific studies to demonstrate improved academic learning strategies.
Hawn’s famous gorgeous daughter Kate Hudson closely resembles her mom. The younger blonde starlet will surely look to her mother for advice as she begins to age!
Edward Furlong's Brooding Good Looks
Edward Furlong's star shone brightly from the start. He won Teen Idol and then starred as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. His role as a skinhead in American History X was praised for its honesty and condemned for its frightening brutality. Over the years, Furlong also had roles in Pet Sematary Two, American Heart, Detroit Rock City, The Green Hornet, and A Home of Our Own.
His acting career continued through the 90s with mixed success (including another Terminator movie) and he even recorded an album, Hold on Tight, though it was only ever released in Japan.
Edward Furlong Now
Then Edward's life spun completely out of control. His career began to fall to pieces in the wake of serious drug and alcohol problems that quickly grew increasingly worse.
Edward finally ended up in rehab in October 2000. He said, "I was a heroin and cocaine addict. It was really scary. I don't even think about [partying] anymore. It seems lonely now: running and clubbing and doing coke. I have nightmares about doing hard drugs." His past substance abuse issues definitely show in his face.
Janice Dickinson, Top Model
Janice Dickinson was possibly the first supermodel, though there are other worthy contenders to that claim. But Dickinson has even published a memoir, No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World’s First Supermodel, that backs up her claims. What is absolutely certain is that she was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women of her generation.
She was a global hit as a model during the 1970s and 1980s. She would go on to sit on America's Top Model on television in 2003 because who could give better advice to aspiring models than Janice Dickinson?
Janice Dickinson Now
Janice underwent plastic surgery that ended up botched.
The surgery was so bad that she's barely recognizable as the woman she once was. Her next appearance on TV was on the series Botched! where the show’s experts attempted to repair the extensive damage to her looks.
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers became popular for her role as Chrissy Snow in Three's Company, an American TV show based on a British show Man About the House. Strangely, the American version lasted eight seasons and the British one only six. She co-starred on the show with Joyce DeWitt and Jack Ritter, and the show is still a fan favorite to this day.
She then played the role of Carol Lambert in Step-by-Step which confirmed her status as one of America's favorite sitcom actresses and her sultry good looks certainly didn't hurt with that. Step-by-Step ran until 1998.
Suzanne Somers Now
Fast forward to today and Suzanne Somers is still looking good, possibly too good for a woman who is now 70 years old. She denies having plastic surgery.
However, she is a firm advocate of holistic and alternative medicine and it's possible that she stumbled upon the fountain of youth while researching one of her books on the subject. Somers is a two-time cancer survivor and after her first grueling round of treatments, she decided to go the holistic route.
Nicole Eggert From Baywatch
Nicole Eggert's beauty was obviously something special from an early age as she won a place in the Miss Universe petite division at the age of five. However, it is her role of Summer Quinn in the lifeguard drama Baywatch which brought her adult beauty to the attention of the viewing public.
She was also supposed to appear in a Baywatch spin-off series but the series was canceled before it went into production. Before Nicole's Baywatch fame, she was wildly popular as Jamie Powell on the hit sitcom Charles In Charge, alongside teen star Scott Baio.
Nicole Eggert Now
She's appeared in a lot of reality television over the last decade and even came second on Splash, a show about celebrity diving. She was said to have been injured during the production of the show but she denies that rumor.
Nicole also starred in several Lifetime movies. Today, Nicole does something very unusual for a former celebrity - she is the owner and operator of an ice-cream truck. Her company is called Scoops, and she actually drives the truck! Nicole says it's a family-run business.
Lil' Kim, Rapper/Songwriter
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lil' Kim (born Kimberly Denise Jones) started rapping when she was still in her teens. She got her big start in 1995 when she hooked up with the late Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) and his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
She was just 19 years old at the time. Kim and Biggie became a couple and dated on-again-off-again until his 1997 murder. Lil’ Kim's debut album, "Hard Core," came out in 1996. It had there #1 hits and the album went double platinum. Her next two albums went platinum as well, making Kim a legit superstar.
Kim's Shocking New Appearance
Lil' Kim has experienced several legal and financial issues in the years since making her debut as a rapper.
One of the most shocking changes to Kim is the outrageous plastic surgeries she has subjected her face to. She’s barely recognizable as the Lil’ Kim we all fell in love with back in the 90s.
Donatella Versace, Fashion Designer
Italian fashion icon Donatella Versace is the head designer and Vice President of the Versace Group. Known for her trademark long blonde hair and heavily tanned skin, Donatella has a unique sense of style that has brought her tremendous success and fame in the fashion industry.
Versace clothing is revered by A-list stars such as Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson, Blake Lively, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry, Cheryl Cole, January Jones, and many more. In this throwback photo, Donatella is pictured with her brother, the late fashion designer Gianni Versace, at a party in the early 1990s.
Donatella, Barely Recognizable
Since the previous photo was taken, Donatella Versace has had many plastic surgeries, and some say she’s gone too far with them. Some unkind commenters have nicknamed her a “human waxwork.” According to some top plastic surgeons who have studied photos of her new look, she appears to have undergone a botched facelift along with heavy lip injections.
Her blonde eyebrows certainly aren’t helping the overall effect. She’s never seemed to embrace the natural look, however, so perhaps she’s happy with the outcome. In the past, she’s admitted to using Botox but generally credits “tonnes of cream” for the appearance of her skin and hair.
Courteney Cox, ‘Friends’ Sweetheart
After appearing in Bruce Springsteen “Dancing in the Dark” music video, Courteney Cox went on to become a huge star. The world grew to love her as Monica Gellar on the megahit television series Friends. She remained close friends with co-star Jennifer Aniston, and the two are frequently spotted out and about together all these years later.
Cox later starred in the series Cougartown and Dirt, as well as in the Scream film franchise. She was married to fellow actor David Arquette from 1999 until their divorce in 2013. The two have a daughter named Coco.
Not Such A ‘Friendly’ Look These Days
Courteney Cox appeared on an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls, and she got pretty candid about the plastic surgeries she’s had in an effort to retain a youthful appearance. She admitted that she’d taken things too far, saying, "I have done things that I regret, and luckily they’re things that dissolve and go away.
So, um, that’s good, because it’s not always been my best look. So, now I just have a new motto: 'Just let it be'." Grylls advised her to avoid any further cosmetic procedures, telling the star that her natural look is beautiful.
