Ever wondered what your favorite celebrities looked like before they rose to stardom?
In this article, we take a delightful trip down memory lane to explore the endearing and sometimes surprising moments from the early lives of renowned celebrities.
From awkward school photos to snapshots of their humble beginnings as unknown actors or singers, we peel back the layers of time to reveal the youthful images behind the faces we now know so well.
We often develop a fixed image of famous celebrities, so seeing them as children can be a delightful shock.
While some managed to maintain their charm and beauty from a young age, others were undeniably the “ugly ducklings,” far from being the most popular kids in their high schools.
These glimpses into their past remind us that even the most glamorous stars had their awkward phases and humble beginnings.
Eminem Aged 12
Steve Jobs Aged 18
Amy Winehouse Aged 8
Sean Connery Aged 23
Lady Gaga Aged 8
George Clooney Aged 15
Angelina Jolie Aged 11
Charlize Theron Aged 14
Clint Eastwood Aged 26
Stephen Colbert Aged 22
Britney Spears Aged 11
Michael Stipe Aged 21
Leonardo DiCaprio Aged 16
Helen Mirren Aged 25
Jamie Foxx Aged 17
Beyonce Aged 7
Goldie Hawn Aged 19
Bruce Willis Aged 22
Ryan Seacrest Aged 13
Madonna Aged 7
Maggie Smith
Ian McKellen
Morgan Freeman
Colin Firth
Patrick Stewart
Judi Dench
Meryl Streep
Anthony Hopkins
Samuel L. Jackson
Bill Murray
Christopher Walken
Willem Dafoe
Bryan Cranston
Liam Neeson
Jack Nicholson
Oprah Winfrey
Larry David
Jimmy Fallon
Years before he was playing beer pong with A-list talent on late night, the talk show host was a guy with a bad haircut, questionable threads, and dreams of stardom.
In 1992, the year this was taken, the future Saturday Night Live player was an average college student, who was more interested in doing standup gigs on the weekends. Things worked out nicely for young Jimmy.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The Scream Queens star, who has been in the biz for nearly 40 years, shared her “first headshot,” which was taken during what she described as an “easier time”.
“Hated my ‘different’ name, so [I] chose my middle one,” she wrote. “Nothing came from it.” Curtis, who comes from Hollywood royalty (Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh are here parents) went on to say, “Perhaps some need to be seen, feeling as most middle/high school students feel, unseen and paling in comparison.
Happy today to know what I want and don’t want and that I have a voice and idea and I can express it”.
Chris Pratt
“The name’s Douchemaster McChest and this is my first headshot. You’re welcome.” Two long years later, the future star of Parks and Recreation landed a role in Everwoodfollowed by a part in The O.C. — and the rest, as they say, is history.
Naomi Watts
This headshot of the future Oscar nominee was taken by her brother, Ben Watts, around 1995. It led to David Lynch casting her in 2001’s Mulholland Drive. “It started with this pic,” Watts wrote.
“He searches through piles of photos and picks 3 or 4 he wants to meet. I got real lucky.”
John Stamos
And a signed one at that! Here’s the Scream Queens star giving you his best — and some awesome ’80s hair.
Adam Sandler
Behold Adam’s first headshot, which must have been taken before he landed his recurring role as Smitty on The Cosby Show in 1987-88.
Hilary Duff
The Younger star wrote “Thanks, Mom” for this glamour shot taken back in 1993. Four years later she landed her first (uncredited) extra gig in the TV movie True Women, which starred a young Angelina Jolie, and four years after that she was Lizzie McGuire.
Eva Longoria
Desperate Housewives catapulted the Texan to fame in 2004, but the newlywed was pounding the pavement for years before that.
This is her “first headshot ever,” she shared on Instagram, making it from before she landed her first TV roles — on the soap operas General Hospital (2000) and The Young and the Restless (2001).
“What up with the puffy hair?” she quipped about the pic, which showed off her “jet-black” natural hair color.
Joe Manganiello
“My old headshot from when I was 18 years old,” the Magic Mike XXL actor wrote of the 1995 gem. It was seven long years later that he got his first big part — and it was a good one, nabbing a small role in 2002′s Spider-Man.
Amanda Seyfried
The Ted 2 actress got her big break as a soap star. She played Lucy Montgomery on As the World Turns from 1999 to 2001. So this — her “first headshot/résumé” that she posted earlier this year — helped her nab that gig.
Big Love and the movie Mamma Mia! helped solidify her stardom.
(Photo credit: IMDB / Pinterest / Instagram / DeMilked / Flickr / Wikimedia Commons).
