1. Naomi Grossman
Naomi Grossman is well-known by the fans of the TV show American Horror Story for playing the role of Pepper. Her character was so beloved that she was the first one to appear in two different seasons. Pepper, who is suffering from microcephaly, is sent to a mental asylum for a crime she didn’t commit in the second season, American Horror Story: Asylum. Pepper then appeared in the fourth season, American Horror Story: Freak Show, where we learn more about her story and past as she is performing in a circus freak show.
Naomi Grossman didn’t know she was auditioning for the role of Pepper. When they offered it to her, she discovered she would have to shave her head completely to play the role! It was worth it because Pepper was the role that helped her gain more opportunities in Hollywood.
2. Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway’s breakthrough role was in The Princess Diaries. She played the lead role of Mia Thermopolis, a clumsy young teenager who suddenly discovers she is royalty. She then goes through a serious and much-needed makeover that sees her losing her glasses and changing her hairstyle.
In 2012, Hathaway shot to stardom and was cast as Fantine in the on-screen adaptation of the musical, Les Misérables. In the musical based on Victor Hugo’s book, Fantine is one of the saddest characters and has a genuinely tragic life. Hathaway had to lose a lot of weight and cut her hair off for one of the scenes. She also had to sing, of course. She got rave reviews for her performance and ultimately won an Oscar for it!
3. Taryn Manning
When actress Taryn Manning was asked to play the role of Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, she was over the moon. She said she loved the concept and accepted it immediately when they offered the role. Tiffany Doggett, her character on the show, can only be described as a redneck (and proud of it).
The character Tiffany doesn’t have good looks or dental hygiene, mostly due to her drug addiction before being sent to jail. The beautiful Taryn Manning was already a well-known actress before the role of Tiffany. She acted in the series Sons of Anarchy and the movie 8 Mile.
4. Elisabeth Moss
Before she was the leading role in The Handmaid’s Tale, a lot of people knew Elisabeth Moss for her role as Peggy Olson on Mad Men. She was the secretary of Don Draper, the show’s main character. In the first season, she is frowned upon for her appearance in comparison to the other women. A lot of disparaging remarks are made both about her, and her choice of attire in the office.
In the beginning, the character of Peggy is both homely and innocent. Throughout the show, she became a real feminist who starts to denounce the double standards between women and men, not only in her firm, but also in society – which was quite brave to do in the sixties!
5. America Ferrera
America Ferrera’s breakthrough was when she got cast as Betty Suarez on Ugly Betty. Betty Suarez is an intelligent, talented, and ambitious woman, but doesn’t know much about fashion and has braces. In the show, her impeccable curriculum helps her to land a job at a famous fashion magazine, and we follow her as she tries to fit in in a world of frivolous people where everything is about appearance.
Ugly Betty made a star of America Ferrera. Still, a lot of people could only see her as the de-glam Betty Suarez. At the end of the show, Betty finally becomes the swan she was always supposed to be. People were impressed when they would see Ferrera on the red carpet because she looked nothing like her character.
6. Melissa Rauch
Melissa Rauch is an American actress. Her most famous role is, without a doubt, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory. She plays the part of a Doctor in microbiology with a high-pitched voice, and that’s a euphemism. The actress confessed in an interview that she got the inspiration for Bernadette’s voice from her beloved mother in real life.
Her mother has a very high-pitched voice too, but with a strong accent from New Jersey! As you can see, Melissa’s style and looks are very different in real life. Melissa went as far as doing an S&M inspired photoshoot with a renowned magazine to distance herself from the innocent and the good girl personality of Bernadette.
7. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron needs no introduction being one of the most celebrated and versatile actresses today. In 2003, when she was considered to be the new “It” girl in Hollywood, she was offered the lead role in Monster.
Aileen was a vicious killer with a complex personality. She was executed in 2002 for the murder of six men in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Critics raved about Theron’s sensational performance, some going as far as saying that it was one of the most exceptional in cinematic history. She eventually won an Oscar for that role in 2004.
8. Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a famous British actress known for her star role in the movie Nanny McPhee. She played the lead, Nanny McPhee, a magical nanny with a hideous face.
Although the kids that she has to watch initially try to get her fired, they are slowly won over. With every good action they do, the face of Nanny McPhee gets more and more beautiful. As you know, Emma Thompson is a lovely woman, which means there were many special effects needed during the production of the movie.
9. Thesy Surface
You may not know her name, but you have probably seen her before if you are a fan of the series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Thesy Surface plays the role of Margaret, a mute girl who is the sister of two elementary school classmates of the Sunny gang.
Thankfully for her, Margaret is only fictional, and Thesy Surface does not look like her at all in real life. Hopefully, she will get more roles where she can show how beautiful she truly is.
10. Judy Greer
The American actress Judy Greer is famous for a lot of roles in shows and movies like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Californication, Jurassic World, and as the voice of Cheryl on the animated series, Archer. Strangely, a lot of people remember her as the eccentric Kitty Sanchez in Arrested Development.
In interviews, she explained she was a late bloomer and often felt awkward and out of place. She said she had braces, frizzy hair, and wasn’t getting curvy like all the other girls. She mentioned that it was easier for her back then to play the role of the funny friend instead of the pretty one. She decided to make people laugh, and that helped her a lot in her acting career years later.
11. Vanessa Hudgens
We all remember Vanessa Hudgens getting her breakthrough role in High School Musical. But in 2013, she was cast in a completely different role in an independent movie about a young teen struggling with abuse from her mother called Gimme Shelter. In the film, she plays a young girl who spent a lot of time in foster care and is eventually reunited with her father.
Unfortunately, he rejects her after finding out she is pregnant and wants to keep the baby, and she has to make a new life for herself at a shelter for pregnant teenagers. Vanessa Hudgens had to make drastic changes in her appearance to play the part. This is not how she looks every day.
12. Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara got her big breakthrough when she got the role of Lisbeth Sanders in the American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth is a hacker with a turbulent upbringing who is eventually hired by a Swedish journalist to work with him on a murder case.
Mara had to undergo an extreme transformation to prepare for the role of Lisbeth. She had got piercings, cut her hair, and shaved her eyebrows. Her performance was well-received, landing her a lot of nominations for several awards, including for a Golden Globe and an Oscar in the Best Actress category.
13. Bette Midler
Hocus Pocus is undoubtedly one of Bette Midler’s most famous roles. In this 1993 Disney movie, the iconic actress plays the role of Winifred Sanderson, who was executed with her sisters after being found guilty of witchcraft at the infamous Salem trials. She and her sister had, however, cast a spell to allow them to resurrect if a virgin lights a magical candle. That’s precisely what happens in 1993, and the three evil witches are brought back to life, determined to capture the souls of innocent children to maintain their eternal youth.
Hocus Pocus is a cult movie for the ’90s kids. The film is hilarious and entertaining, and Bette, like the rest of the cast, is fantastic in it. Sadly, some of them might not know that Bette Midler is an accomplished singer and actress, and has done many other things with her career.
14. Drew Barrymore
This is a classic movie for ’90s teens. In this 1999 movie called Never Been Kissed, Drew Barrymore is Josie Geller, a girl who was a geek back in high school. Now an adult and working as an editor, she is being told to go undercover as a high school student to prepare a report on the lives of young teenagers. In the beginning, she is being ridiculed and rejected for her poor fashion taste, but she slowly starts to erase her bad memories and fit in.
Drew Barrymore certainly had to wear ridiculous and unflattering clothing to play the part of Josie. Everyone can relate to the movie with their own high school experience. We were all ready to make efforts to fit in and felt sad when we were rejected.
15. Cameron Diaz
Since the ’90s, everyone knows Cameron Diaz for her iconic roles in The Mask, and There’s Something About Mary. In 1999, she played a part in the movie Being John Malkovich, where she wasn’t exactly the sexy girl we are so used to. She plays the role of Lotte, a woman obsessed with her pets, who finally can explore her transgender desires when she is given a portal that allowed her to penetrate the mind of the actor John Malkovich.
This was a role so different from the charming, naive, amusing, and sometimes flirty girls she was often playing back in the ’90s. The person in charge of the makeup department for the film said it was quite a challenge to make such a beautiful woman look so ordinary.
16. Kate McKinnon
Kate McKinnon is one of the funniest women in the television and movie industry, and proved her acting talent with many unforgettable performances on Saturday Night Live. While there, she gained a reputation for her spot-on impressions of celebrities.
She has said there are many advantages to changing how you look, talk, and behave. She rose to stardom in 2016, during the US election campaign where her imitations of Hillary Clinton got her a lot of attention. She often speaks about it and how much she admires her.
17. Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix is a brilliant actor that many consider to be the most talented of his generation. His movies include Her, Gladiator, The Master, and Walk the Line. Joaquin, known for his deep voice, likes acting challenges and often plays emotionally and mentally troubled characters. The passing of his brother, River Phoenix, at a very young age, left a deep mark on him.
He finally got the recognition he deserved from his peers in 2020. The critics and the cinephiles alike unanimously praised his sensational performance and transformation in the movie Joker. The movie got him his first Oscar and another Golden Globe.
18. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep is a living legend. In 2014. she was cast in the film Into the Woods, in which she played the part of the Witch. The producers successfully turned her into a scary creature you would be afraid to meet in a forest or a dark alley somewhere. If you know her work, you know that she can be very convincing as a threatening witch.
There is a point in the movie where the witch transforms herself into a beautiful woman after the evil spell is finally lifted. That version is way closer to the legendary actress we all adore in real life. Is there anything she can’t do? She got her 19th nomination for an Oscar for Into The Woods!
19. Johnny Depp
Another actor who doesn’t need an introduction is Johnny Depp. He starred in several films like the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise, Finding Neverland, Sleepy Hollow, From Hell, Edward Scissorhands and so many more. In 2015, he accepted a role in the movie Black Mass.
He played the role of a mobster who is convinced by the FBI to become an informant. His transformation is so well executed that you can barely recognize him in the film.
20. Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek was cast in her dream role in 2002 when director Julie Taylor offered her the lead on her biopic of Frida Kahlo which was simply titled Frida. The movie retells the story of the celebrated Mexican artist and what’s more, the two women share an uncanny resemblance.
She recreated the painter’s famous unibrow with the help of the makeup artist. In an interview, she admitted she disliked Kahlo’s paintings when she was younger, but as she grew older, she started to admire the passion the artist put into her work. She was amazing in the movie.