Ariana Grande
From Victorious newcomer to global superstar
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CC BY 2.0
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CC BY 3.0
via Wikimedia Commons
Before the stadium tours and chart records, Ariana Grande was known to television audiences as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s Victorious. Her bright red hair and playful styling were a major part of that character’s image. Once Grande’s music career exploded, her own visual identity became far more polished and recognizable, from her signature ponytail to major fashion campaigns and movie premieres. She eventually returned to acting on a much larger scale with Wicked. Comparing her Nickelodeon-era photos with her later appearances shows just how far her career — and public image — traveled.
Selena Gomez
From Wizards of Waverly Place to actress, producer and singer
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CC BY-SA 4.0
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Selena Gomez grew up in front of the camera. Her breakout as Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place made her one of Disney Channel’s biggest names, and her early red-carpet appearances captured a distinctly teenage era. Gomez later built a career that stretched far beyond children’s television, including music, film, producing and acclaimed adult comedy. Her styling became more sophisticated with each stage. The contrast between photographs from the late 2000s and later festival or awards appearances is especially striking because audiences have watched almost the entire transformation happen in public.
Emma Watson
From Hermione Granger to international public figure
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CC BY-SA 4.0
via Wikimedia Commons
Emma Watson was only a child when the world first saw her as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Over the course of eight films, audiences watched her grow from a school-age newcomer into a young adult. After the franchise ended, Watson moved into very different projects, fashion campaigns and public advocacy. Her later appearance is naturally more polished than the early Potter years, but the biggest difference is how completely the image of the young Hogwarts student gave way to an adult public figure with her own identity outside the franchise.
Keep going: the transformations get even more surprising on the next page.