Best Movie TV Transformation Photos
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There’s something magical about the movies, from the elaborate productions to the vivid performances from our favorite actors. And while all acting is about transforming yourself into someone else, it’s always especially eerie to see an actor you love transform themselves into someone else you know — like Ana de Armas’ spooky resemblance to Marilyn Monroe in the film Blonde. That’s a trend we’re about to see a lot more of — and we want to celebrate all the amazing ways actresses have transformed themselves into pitch-perfect copies of other famous figures in the past.
Biopics have been coming out left and right over the past year, from this fall’s Respect featuring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin to the long-awaited Princess Diana biopic Spencer starring Kristen Stewart — and that’s on top of Jessica Chastain-led The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis-led King Richard (about Venus and Serena Williams’ father), Lady Gaga and Adam Driver-led House of Gucci about the Gucci family, Lily James’ Pam & Tommy series as Pamela Anderson, and Aaaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, featuring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as titular couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Right now, transforming yourself into a famous figure from the past has never been hotter — and we’re looking at some of our favorite actresses’ movie and TV transformations of all time to really celebrate this art. Whether it be spending months studying everything about the person they plan to portray or dealing with pounds of stage makeup every day for the better part of a year, these actresses commit like no other.
From new actresses portraying Old-Hollywood titans to A-listers taking on historical figures, there’s no shortage of incredible transformations: See side-by-side photos of actresses looking exactly like their characters below.
A version of this article was previously published in December 2021.
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Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo (Based on Suze Rotolo)
So, for Timothee Chalamet and Elle Fanning’s new movie A Complete Unknown, Fanning transformed to look like Bob Dylan’s girlfriend and muse during the early 1960s, Suze Rotolo (who they renamed in the film as Sylvie Russo). For the role, Fanning has embodied Rotolo’s look: simple fashion and auburn hair.
Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse
In Feb 2024, the Back to Black movie following the life of Amy Winehouse was released, and many saw how similar actress Marisa Abela looked like her. As of April 2024, the film has received loads of criticism for the plot and direction, but quite a few critics did praise Abela’s acting.
Ana De Armas as Marilyn Monroe
For Ana De Armas to truly transform into Marilyn Monroe for the Netflix film Blonde, de Armas spent up to three hours a day turning into Monroe, while the late icon’s real movies played in the background.
Watch it on Netflix.
Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg
Kristen Stewart truly transformed into the late actress Jean Seberg for the 2019 thriller Seberg, prepping by watching a bunch of her films to nail her mannerisms. She told Telegram, “I watched a lot of her movies. Then it was just kind of forgetting that those details were sometimes impossible to nail, which actually behooves the story, because you want to see someone living, not someone pretending.”
Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate
Margot Robbie captivated audiences once again when she portrayed the late Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She did a lot to prepare for the role, including reaching out to Tate’s friends and family to truly honor her. “They all said how kind, loving, and good-hearted she was. I was fortunate enough to step on to set with Debra Tate’s blessing, Sharon’s sister,” she said to People.
Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding
Everyone was captivated by Margot Robbie’s performance as Tonya Harding in the film I, Tonya, earning an Oscar nomination for her work as the controversial, disgraced figure skater. To get the skating down, she worked with skating choreographer Sarah Kawahara for three months, practicing about four times a week, per ESPN.
Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes
Amanda Seyfried not only transformed physically into convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes but mentally as well. She took in every detail she could about the character, even deepening her voice a few octaves like it’s alleged that Holmes did. Back in Feb, the trailer for Hulu’s The Dropout came to light and everyone was freaking out about the retelling of the dark true story of how a tech founder lied to the world and stole millions of dollars for a fake company. Since then, Seyfried has won an Emmy for her role!
'The Dropout' on Hulu
Price: $5.99/Month Subscription on Hulu
Naomi Watts as Princess Diana
Back in 2013, Naomi watts took on the role of playing Princess Diana in the 2013 film Diana, which was based on Kate Snell’s 2001 book Diana: Her Last Love. The film was all about Diana’s last two years of her life, navigating all the changes she had to face before suddenly passing. Despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews, Watts worked tirelessly on the project, channeling the late princess every chance she could.
In a previous interview with the Guardian, she said she truly felt Diana gave her permission to play the role. “There were definitely moments when I felt Diana’s presence – I dreamed about her a lot, too, and that’s a first. I kept wondering to myself: ‘Would she have liked it?’ So I found myself constantly asking for her permission to carry on,” she said. “I had saturated myself with Diana and her life and I felt this enormous responsibility of playing this iconic woman. It felt like I was spending a lot of time with her. There was one particular moment when I felt her permission was granted.”
'Diana'
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Emma Stone as Billie Jean King
All eyes were on Emma Stone when she decided to take on the role of Billie Jean King in the 2017 film Battle of the Sexes, and some say that this is Stone’s best role to date. Despite never playing tennis herself, Stone revealed how she was able to portray the legend (and with King’s help too!) She told VOA, “I danced, so footwork was good. (And) I had been on stage before and when Billie Jean went out onto the tennis court it felt like her stage, so she really keyed in on that.”
She added, ”We went to the U.S. Open … and I was sitting next to Billie Jean, and Sloane Stephens was catching balls and tucking them in her skirt and bouncing them with the racquet. It’s just little in-between stuff but that took me months to learn!”
Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn
For Martin Scorsese’s epic 2004 film The Aviator, Cate Blanchett took on the role of five-time Oscar-winning legend Katharine Hepburn (which ended up getting her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role!) Blanchett worked tirelessly to perfect her transformation into Hepburn, recounting how long it took her to nail Hepburn’s distinctive Mid-Atlantic accent as she poured over her movies and memorized her mannerisms.
“Kate Hepburn was a deeply private woman, so we were trying to unlock the human being while also watching her body of work and paying nods to certain performances,” she stated per Closer News Weekly.
Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner
Cate Blanchett wasn’t the only one to fully transform for the movie The Aviator, because Kate Beckinsale truly embodied legend Ava Gardner in the film too. Along with gaining twenty pounds for the role, she spent hours getting her unique accent down. She told Hollywood, “She had a deeper voice than I have, and that was a challenge to pull that off without sounding like you’re doing a funny voice. She has an American accent, but an American accent that began Southern and then was put through various voice coaching, and she ended up with a rather unique ‘movie star accent’ that doesn’t really come from anywhere.”
Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor
You may or may not remember when Lindsay Lohan played Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime original movie Liz & Dick in 2012. But as you can see, Lohan worked hard to embody the Hollywood legend. In an interview with Good Morning America, she said, “It’s always nerve-wracking to play someone who’s an incredible force… You can never be a clone of the person so you have to bring yourself into it. I was lucky because I relate to Elizabeth Taylor in a lot of ways.”
'Liz & Dick'
Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace
Back in 2013, Amanda Seyfried played adult film star Linda Lovelace in the film Lovelace, which was all about the stars life from ages 20 to 32. “This is the riskiest thing that’s happening in Hollywood right now. The first thing you think about is that it could ruin my career,” she said to HuffPost. She really transformed herself for the role, tapping into her confidence and empathy for a role that was so 180 from her usual work.
She told Vanity Fair, “I didn’t identify with her right off the bat. I think that I just felt an intense amount of empathy. Her story is insane and tragic and, overall just very depressing. She never really got a break. Her whole life . . . people assumed a certain thing about her and just pigeonholed her as this adult-film icon. They judged her for the choices she made in life, even though she did not actually make a lot of those choices.”
Lily James as Pamela Anderson
You have to admit, the resemblance is uncanny, to say the least. Earlier in 2021, the trailer for the mini-series Pam & Tommy showed Lily James as Pamela Anderson. The series is now on Hulu, and James’ pitch-perfect transformation into Anderson is just one highly-awaited aspect of this re-telling of how Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape was stolen and distributed to the masses.
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Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter
Elle Fanning stars and executive produces the true crime mini-series The Girl From Plainville. The actress portrays Michelle Carter, the real woman who was sentenced to 2-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter after pushing her late boyfriend, Conrad Roy, to suicide through a text exchange. Her sentence was later reduced to 15 months.
Now, Fanning and the creative team behind The Girl From Plainville are bringing the story back to life with a mini-series adaptation. “The physicality that Elle found in playing Michelle — she studied all of the courtroom tapes, she studied the documentary [HBO’s I Love You, Now Die] — she really threw herself into making sure that the movement and the way she spoke was authentic, as well. So I think that in tandem with the change physically really brings it all together,” co-showrunner Liz Hannah told Entertainment Weekly of Fanning’s transformation.
'The Girl from Plainville' on Hulu
Price: $5.99/Month Subscription on Hulu
Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana
Kristen Stewart shocked the world when she transformed into Princess Diana for the 2021 film Spencer. Stewart said she was terrified to embody the role, but gave it her best shot, as she told Reuters. “Even if people hated it and it ended up being like a sort of misfire, we tried the best we could… This wasn’t something I could pass up. I had to give it a shot.”
'Spencer'
Price: $5.99/Month Subscription on Hulu
Angela Bassett as Tina Turner
Angela Bassett played iconic singer Tina Turner in the 1993 film What’s Love Got To Do With It. It ended up being one of Bassett’s most profound roles yet and, apparently, one of her most arduous. In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine’s podcast People Everday, Bassett explained, “Definitely nothing has been as difficult as Tina Turner. Nothing as difficult physically, emotionally, spiritually, or vocally. Nothing, absolutely nothing.”
Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman
Cynthia Erivo transformed into Harriet Tubman for the biopic Harriet in 2020. Not only did she transform physically, but also spiritually. In an interview with Guideposts, she said: “To really master a role, every actor tries to find a way into the character she’s playing. To play Harriet, I had to understand faith at its most elemental level.”
'Harriet' on Amazon Prime Video
Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford
We’re seeing double here — and so did everyone back in 1981 when Faye Dunaway played legendary actress Joan Crawford in the film Mommie Dearest. Despite it being one of her most iconic roles to date, Dunaway opened up to People, per ET Online, that she regretted taking the role years later. “I think it turned my career in a direction where people would irretrievably have the wrong impression of me — and that’s an awful hard thing to beat,” she said. “I should have known better, but sometimes you’re vulnerable and you don’t realize what you’re getting into.”
'Mommie Dearest' on Amazon Prime Video
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin
Jennifer Hudson transformed into powerhouse singer Aretha Franklin for the hit 2021 film Respect. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Hudson said, “You just can’t wake up one morning and decide ‘I’m gonna be Aretha Franklin.'” Hudson worked tirelessly to perform at her best throughout production.
Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe
Michelle Williams played Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, which focused on her relationship with legendary movie star Colin Clark. Williams spent months studying Monroe, reading biographies, reading letters, watching films, and more, per an archived article from Vogue. Williams was nominated for an Academy Award but lost to Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady.
'My Week With Marilyn' on Amazon Prime Video
Meryl Streep as Maggie Thatcher
Meryl Streep played former Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher in the Oscar-winning film The Iron Lady in 2011. The film won for best makeup and Streep got another Best Actress award from the Academy Awards. In this YouTube video, you can see the grueling prosthetic process to give Streep the perfect look.
'The Iron Lady' on Amazon Prime Video
Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye
Jessica Chastain upped the ante for transformation when she played the titular role of televangelist Tammy Faye in the 2021 film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Chastain even said that the heavy makeup she wore every day while filming “for sure did some permanent damage” to her skin, per the Los Angeles Times.
'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' on Amazon Prime Video
Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo
Salma Hayek transformed into Frida Kahlo for the 2002 film Frida. Hayek got an Oscar nomination for her leading role as the iconic Mexican painter and the film ended up winning for best makeup.
'Frida' on Amazon Prime Video
Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy
Natalie Portman stunned audiences when she played Jacqueline Kennedy in the 2016 film Jackie. Portman and the makeup team spent countless hours making sure every detail was perfect, from the eyebrows to the voice pitch, per People.
'Jackie' on Amazon Prime Video
Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland
It’s no wonder Renée Zellweger won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal and transformation as Judy Garland in the 2019 film Judy. Per New York Post, Zellweger worked tirelessly to emulate Garland, from singing lessons to even adding fake teeth.
'Judy' on Amazon Prime Video
Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth
The gorgeous Margot Robbie wowed everyone when she transformed into the regal Queen Elizabeth for the 2018 film Mary, Queen of Scots. Robbie had to wear layers of prosthetics and makeup, at one point having small scars and white makeup all over — so much so that it scarred her castmates. Per Harper’s Bazaar, she said, “I’d say, ‘Hey, how’s your weekend?’ But they wouldn’t even get close to me… It was very alienating. And I felt very lonely. It was an interesting social experiment.”
'Mary, Queen of Scots' on Amazon Prime Video
Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother
Spooky Queen Helena Bonham Carter embodied Queen Elizabeth I, or the Queen Mother, in the 2011 Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech. She got an Oscar nomination for her amazing role and her love of historic roles continued in the TV series The Crown as Princess Margaret.
'The King's Speech' on Amazon Prime Video
Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart
Hilary Swank is no stranger to perfectly embodying any role she’s in, and it was no different when she played Amelia Earhart in the 2009 film Amelia.
'Amelia' on Amazon Prime Video
Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Felicity Jones played late Congresswoman Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the 2018 film On the Basis of Sex. This true story showed the early life and career of Ginsburg from the 1950s to the 1970s.
'On The Basis of Sex' on Amazon Prime Video
Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen
Anne Hathaway played legendary writer Jane Austen in the hit film Becoming Jane in 2007. The movie showed the life and romance of Austen before she became a famous writer.
'Becoming Jane' on Amazon Prime Video
Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel
Audrey Tautou held nothing back when she starred as Coco Chanel in the 2009 biopic Coco Before Chanel. In an interview with InStyle, Tautou said, “I was trying to make her personality more complex than the cliché image most people have of her.”
'Coco Before Chanel' on Amazon Prime Video
Julianne Moore as Gloria Steinem
Julianne Moore embodied activist Gloria Steinem in the 2020 film The Glorias. In an interview with DuJour, Moore and co-star Alicia Vikander said they couldn’t believe that Steinem was there giving them pointers throughout production to get into the roles. “We couldn’t believe that we were sitting with Gloria Steinem, asking her questions and talking about her life.”
'The Glorias' on Amazon Prime Video
Beyoncé as Etta James
Beyoncé played legendary songstress Etta James in the hit film Cadillac Records in 2008. Director Darnell Martin told the New York Times that he was impressed with her commitment to the part: “I was surprised at how much Beyoncé threw the glamour out the window so easily and so joyfully, and embraced the unattractiveness of being strung out.”
'Cadillac Records' on Amazon Prime Video
Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball
The world saw Nicole Kidman morph into Lucille Ball in the trailer for the 2021 film Being the Ricardos. Like Kristen Stewart, Nicole Kidman had a lot of anxiety about the role as she told Variety. “I had massive trepidation about a month prior, and Aaron had to get on the phone and send me emails saying, ‘You’ve got this.'”
Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla-Perez
Jennifer Lopez made jaws drop when she channeled late singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez in the 1997 film Selena. Despite people being angered by Lopez being cast as Perez, the film ended up being a wild success.
'Selena' on Amazon Prime Video
Gwyneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath
Back in 2003, Gwyneth Paltrow played poet Sylvia Plath in the biopic Sylvia. In an interview for the Golden Globes, Paltrow talked about how much she was a fan of Plath’s work beforehand. “What I admire most about her is the poetry itself; it’s so raw and fierce and frightening, and the imagery is so powerful.”
