61 Celebrity Headshots From Before They Were Famous
They look like little babies!
We live in a celebrity-obsessed world; I said it. I hate to break it to you, but if you don't think you're being influenced at all times by your favorite actors, musicians, TikTok stars, and/or politicians you're sorely mistaken. Thanks to social media—Instagram, in particular—we get to keep up with our favorite people well before they achieve massive stardom. For instance, Lizzo's flute, @SashaBeFluting, had a personal 'gram even before the singer won a Grammy; the fan account currently has over 330,000 followers. But just a decade ago, you couldn't wake up and immediately see what your favorite celebrities had done right before bed. So, to remind you just how far some of your favorite celebs have come since starting their careers, we rounded up the best celebrity headshots from before they were famous. And wow! They were young. We're talking fresh-out-of-mom-and-dad's-house-young. For some stars, it was just a few short years before they hit it big, while for others it would be decades before they were household names. One thing is for sure: Our favorite films and TV shows would not be the same without them. Swipe through to see a pre-Save The Last Dance Kerry Washington and what a teenage Rita Moreno looked like before snagging her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Anita in West Side Story. And just wait until you see baby Meryl—an icon even then. (That flowing hair would inspire Miranda Priestly's entire beauty department to go long and blonde!)
Rita Moreno
Moreno stole everyone's heart as Anita in West Side Story, but the young actress had been in show business for 11 years by then. After winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, her career was catapulted into a decades long career that led to roles in the 9 To 5 TV series, Sesame Street, and most recently on Jane The Virgin and Netflix's One Day At A Time.
Cynthia Nixon
Before she had political dreams, Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon had her heart set on the big screen. Nixon began her acting career in the after-school special scene and it wasn't until twenty years later in 1998 that she landed her role as Miranda Hobbs, our favorite badass lawyer.
Penélope Cruz
The Spanish sensation was known abroad before hitting it big in the states with Vicki Christina Barcelona. You may have remembered her starring alongside Johnny Depp in Blow or with Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky in the early 2000s. Nowadays, Cruz has taken on bigger roles and collaborated with husband Javier Bardem.
Meryl Streep
Meryl now has an impressive 21 Oscar nominations, but back in 1976 she was just getting started. It was her 1979 role in Kramer vs Kramer that really put her on everyone's radar. Meryl continued to wow us as she swapped from TV to the silver screen effortlessly. Four decades later, people can rank their top five Meryl films at the drop of a hat.
Stanley Tucci
After attending SUNY Purchase, Stanley Tucci headed to Broadway and landed roles in major films like Prizzi’s Honor. Tucci received his first nomination for an Academy Award in 2010 for his chilling role in The Lovely Bones, but had been a household name long before then.
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington first started acting as a teenager in Manhattan, working with a theater group that used improv to tackle social issues. In 2001, Washington caught the world's attention in Save the Last Dance. Thanks to her award-winning performance on Scandal, the actress landed a spot on Forbes' 2018 list of the highest paid actresses in TV.
Kate Bosworth
Even though she had minor roles in Horse Whisperer and Remember the Titans, Kate Bosworth didn't get her big break until Blue Crush in 2002, when the Los Angeles native was 19 years old. How does Bosworth feel about film's sequel buzz? "I would love to do it, I really would," she said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. "That movie is still such an important part of my life and it really gave me a career in many ways."
Alexis Bledel
When a then-19-year-old Alexis auditioned for Gilmore Girls, she had no prior experience on screen. Despite her inexperience, there was something about her that made Warner Bros. cast her as one half of the Gilmore duo. "She just jumped off the screen, you know. Those blue eyes," casting director Julie Mossberg described in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Idris Elba
After earning a spot in the National Youth Music Theatre, due to a grant from the Prince's Trust, Idris Elba worked in various odd jobs in his home city of London while auditioning. The actor's first TV role was for the soap opera Family Affairs in 1997. He later became more prominent thanks to his part on HBO's The Wire.
Andie Macdowell
Her daughters, Rainey and Margaret Qualley, may be some of Hollywood’s newest stars (Margaret made her on-screen debut in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood this year), but not too long ago it was Andie Macdowell who was rising up in the industry. Macdowell landed her first role in the 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.
Allison Williams
Allison Williams may be the daughter of newscaster Brian Williams, but she still had to pay her dues in Hollywood. After growing up in Connecticut and working with an improv troupe at Yale University, Williams was cast in her breakout role as Marnie Michaels in HBO's Girls in 2010.
Naomi Watts
The actress found success in her home country of Australia with roles like For Love Alone and Flirting (which she costarred in with her best friend Nicole Kidman) in the late '80s. The actress moved to Los Angeles in 1993, but didn't attain her movie star status until her role in Mulholland Drive in 2001.
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