Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton has certain features that make her recognizable in all movies, except for Trainwreck. Even fans failed to recognize her, as she had an extreme makeover done: long wavy hair, intense makeup, and a bronzed tan.
Tilda played the role of Dianna in the 2015 romantic comedy movie. Her portrayal was so perfectly done that it was impossible to recognize her. As far as we can tell, she looks amazing either way.
Cameron Diaz
Retired actress Cameron Diaz is well-known for playing roles of charming and good-looking blonde characters, like The Mask and Charlie’s Angels. But in 1999 she played Lotte Schwartz in Being John Malkovich.
In the film, Cameron looks unrecognizable. We are used to seeing the actress always stunning. In this movie, she looks exhausted, with messy red hair and no makeup. It looks like another version of herself.
Charlize Theron
Short wavy hair and makeup make huge differences in a person’s face. Charlize Theron played Megyn Kelly in Bombshell (2019), a Fox News reporter. The Fox News scandal went on the big screen thanks to Charlize and co-stars Margot Robie and Nicole Kidman.
The makeup team did wonders with Charlize’s character. The actress is flawless and stunning, but some work had to be done to complete the character’s look. Charlize wore colored contacts and eyelid prosthetics.
Ariel Winter
Remember Alex Dunphy from Modern Family? Alex was the nerd character with straight, long hair, glasses, and no makeup. She even dressed nerdy, as she didn’t care about fashion trends.
The actress who played the role of Alex is Ariel Winter. If you compare both photos, it seems that someone entered the beauty salon and had an extreme makeover done. Alex is beautiful, but Ariel looks outstanding.
Francesca Curran
Hair, make-up, and face tattoos certainly turn someone into somebody totally different. This is the case of beautiful actress Francesca Curran playing Helen in Orange Is the New Black. Don’t get me wrong; beauty is on the inside, but Francesca looks unrecognizable in this role.
Her character Helen is still beautiful, but compared to the actress who likes to put makeup on and have her hair done, they look as if they weren’t the same person.
Delphine Chanéac
Delphine Chaneác underwent a significant transformation to play the role of Dren, a human/animal hybrid created by two scientists. The 2009 horror and science-fiction film Splice resembles the story of Frankenstein.
The French actress, model and DJ is unrecognizable in this alien-like role: wide-set eyes, bald, and textured skin. Makeup artists did a great job on her.
Naomi Grossman
Naomi Grossman is well-known for the disturbed character she played in the series American Horror Story. Naomi played Pepper, a microcephalic woman that lived in the 20th century.
The beautiful actress had to have her head shaved for the role, apart from undergoing huge transformations in her eyebrows, teeth, and skin. Naomi’s role in the series is the biggest role she ever played.
Bette Midler
Playing the role of a woman who’s not in her right mind is not easy at all. Makeup and hair won’t be enough, as you need to show yourself as a lunatic. Actress Bette Midler excelled at doing so in the film Hocus Pocus.
The 1993 Disney movie featured three witch sisters who died centuries ago and were brought back to life. Bette’s role as Winifred Sanderson was iconic. Her portrayal was hilarious.
Hannah Murray
Hannah Murray’s performance on Game of Thrones is remarkable. She plays the role of an abused girl who falls in love with Sam. In the series, she always looks deteriorated and unclean.
However, Hannah is lovely in real life. The British actress has shiny orange hair, a fierce look and a beautiful smile. She always shows off her incredible looks on the red carpet. Sam, you got the best chic.
Rooney Mara
Actress Rooney Mara has gone through an extreme makeover to play Lisbeth Salander in the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The 2011 movie is based on the novel written by Stieg Larsson.
In the film, Rooney had a peculiar haircut, dark eyes, and piercings all over her face. After all, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards for such an incredible performance in the movie.
Madeline Brewer
Sometimes it’s hard to tell whose actress is behind such a good makeup and production team. Madeline Brewer plays Janine Ofwarren on the booming series The Handmaid’s Tale, where she is barely recognizable.
Madeline had to play the role of a disturbed girl with a disfigured face. Her role had one eye removed, so she is almost unidentifiable after that scene. In real life, the actress is nothing but splendid.
Vanessa Hudgens
Charming Vanessa Hudgens jumped into fame with her role in Disney’s film High School Musical. After watching her in a sweet loving character like Gabriella Montez, it was hard to tell who she was in the movie Gimme Shelter, given the huge transformation she underwent.
Vanessa played the role of a homeless teenager in the 2013 film. She had to play a pregnant teen with countless problems with her family. The actress had to have an emo haircut, wore piercings, and always bare a negative attitude.
Amy Sedaris
Mouth acting is fundamental in some roles. Rami Malek wouldn’t have got it perfect if it wasn’t for his mouth acting while playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. The same situation applies to Amy Sedaris.
Amy played Jerri Blank in Strangers With Candy. Her character had straight short well-arranged hair, 80s makeup and a peculiar face she makes with her wide mouth and her teeth out. It’s all about mouth acting!
Claire Foy
Everybody loves royals, so everybody watches the hit series The Crown. The first and second seasons were centered on the young Queen Elizabeth II stepping into her father’s shoes and leading the country and the Commonwealth.
The beautiful Claire Foy plays the role of the Queen, always looking flawless from head to toe. Her portrayal is so perfect that she looks like a completely different person when you see her on the red carpet. Her being unrecognizable means that she did an amazing job.
Uzo Aduba
Orange is The New Black inmate Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” is a character played by Uzo Aduba. The actress had her hair arranged for the series, apart from looking serious and fierce.
After comparing Uzo in real life to her portrayal in the series, we see two different women. In fact, they look like distant cousins: on the left, the rich cousin who is managing her business; on the right, the shady cousin who got herself in jail.
Linda Cardellini
When looking at these photos, anyone would claim that these women are two sisters with opposite personalities. But they are the same person. On the left, Velma Dinkley is the character played by Linda Cardellini. On the right, we see Linda on the red carpet.
Clothes, hairstyle, glasses and makeup can definitely turn a person into someone totally different on the outside. Linda had to play a nerdy role for the movie Scooby-Doo, and she did an excellent job.
Kaitlin Olson
Makeup and makeovers aren’t the only reason for not recognizing an actress. This is a case where you find it hard to tell who the actress is because of the huge change of personality and lifestyle, as is the case of Kaitlin Olson.
Kaitlin plays Deandra Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Kaitlin has a beautiful smile, long straight hair, and always looks incredible. On the other side, we see a drunk and rude character who has no intention of taking care of herself.
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks looked hardly recognizable when she played Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games. The makeup and hair team’s work was magnificent. Pale white skin, eccentric makeup, big hair arrangements were some of the particular aspects of this high-society role.
Effie Trinket always wears outstanding but quite bizarre outfits in the movie. When comparing photos, it seems like she was another person. In real life, Elizabeth is a beautiful blonde.
Thesy Surface
Having a unibrow makes someone totally unrecognizable, no exceptions. Thesy Surface appeared on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Margaret McPoyle. Let’s not give all the credit to the eyebrows, as Thesy did an excellent performance on the show.
The splendid actress played the role of a person who doesn’t shave or shower nor take care of herself. It’s easy to say that real-life Thesy is exactly the opposite of the character she played.
Lena Headey
Lena Headey doesn’t look much like a Lannister, but she certainly looks like someone who pays her debts. Lena plays Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. Blonde long hair, evil look, always searching for more power, these character's features have nothing to do with the actress.
Her performance in the HBO series is outstanding. Real-life Lena has short brunette hair, several tattoos on her back and a friendly smile. The exact opposite of Cersei.
Lizzy Caplan
Janice Ian is an unforgettable character on Mean Girls. Behind those dark eyes and straight emo hair, you will find beautiful actress Lizzy Caplan. The movie is about to enter its 20th birthday, but the actresses still look just like teens.
Lizzy and the role she played in the film have absolutely nothing in common on the outside. The only feature they share is the intense green eyes. Lizzy is not so mean after all.
Elisabeth Moss
A bun and some old-fashioned clothes make a huge difference for a person to be unrecognizable. Beautiful Elisabeth Moss played Peggy Olson in the series Mad Men. Her character was an innocent secretary who looked nothing like the actress in real life.
In real life, Elisabeth has always put on makeup, in addition to wearing tight clothes to show off her incredible body. The difference with the character she played is so huge that producers asked her to fit more in the role of a naive woman.
Julie Lake
Actress Julie Lake looks like an angel, but the role she plays in Orange Is the New Black is anything but heavenly. Julie plays Angie in the Netflix series, a role that doesn’t match the real look of the actress.
Julie played an inmate on the show, so she had her teeth colored, a tired look on her face and messy hair. If it wasn’t for the intense green eyes she has, no one would ever recognize her.
Melissa Rauch
It’s amazing how a person can turn unrecognizable with a pair of nerdy glasses and out-of-style clothing. This is the case of Melissa Rauch for the role she played in the series The Big Bang Theory.
Melissa played Dr Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, a nerdy doctor that speaks with a high-pitched voice. The actress and comedian did such a great job that she looks nothing like her real-life self.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga’s face is always recognizable, no matter how she disguises herself. The singer and actress has a unique face and such a distinguishable attitude that you won’t ever mistake her for another person. However, she got away with it once.
The Grammy award winner played Scathach in the sixth season of American Horror Story, a witch with red, messy hair and dark, twisted eyes. Gaga was so into the character that it’s hard to recognize her.
Tori Spelling
The stunning Tori Spelling is unrecognizable in her role on Saved by the bell. Tori always wears tight clothes that show off her amazing figure, has long blonde hair, and never goes out without makeup.
Violet Bickerstaff is the naive character she played on the 1989 sitcom. The actress and the character don’t share anything at all on the outside. Violet always dresses nerdy, wears glasses and has braids.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep appeared in countless films. Over the years, Meryl has gone through different Hollywood genres. She isn't the kind of actress who repeatedly appears in the same movie genre.
The talented actress played The Witch in the 2014 movie Into The Woods. Fans barely recognized Meryl with long blue messy hair and dark, twisted eyes. Her performance gave creeps, which means she did a great job.
Nicole Kidman
We’re used to seeing Nicole Kidman in blonde hair, big shiny eyes and a beautiful smile. When she played Virginia Woolf in the film The Hours, we got to see a completely different version of herself.
The 2002 drama movie tells the story of three women who have something in common: Virginia Woolf’s novel. Kidman plays the role of a brunette writer, a feature that makes our elegant blondie unrecognizable.
Kate McKinnon
We all have fun when watching Kate McKinnon performing on Saturday Night Live. Kate plays different characters on the show, most of which are well-known celebrities. One day she played Justin Bieber, and she was barely recognizable.
The comedian actress had a messy look for the role, with short, chaotic hair, an “I don’t care” attitude and a cigarette in her hand. Her impersonations go beyond the ordinary.
Taryn Manning
Rotten and missing teeth, dark hair, and no makeup were some features that made Taryn Manning hard to recognize in Orange Is the New Black. The beautiful blonde actress played an inmate in the series.
Tiffany Doggett was a woman from Pennsylvania who called herself redneck. The makeup and hair team did an excellent job with her transformation, and Taryn gave a great performance too.