Daniel Radcliffe
From Harry Potter to one of Hollywood’s most adventurous actors
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CC BY-SA 3.0
via Wikimedia Commons
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CC BY-SA 4.0
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Daniel Radcliffe became one of the most recognizable children on the planet when he was cast as Harry Potter. The round glasses, school robes and youthful face defined an entire generation’s image of him. After spending a decade in the franchise, Radcliffe made a point of choosing unusual stage and screen roles that had almost nothing in common with the Boy Who Lived. His later look — often bearded and far removed from the Hogwarts styling — underlines that separation. Early premiere photos beside later appearances show an actor who quite literally grew up in front of an enormous audience.
Lindsay Lohan
From child star to Hollywood comeback
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via Wikimedia Commons
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CC BY 3.0
via Wikimedia Commons
Lindsay Lohan’s screen career began young, with The Parent Trap establishing her as a remarkably confident child performer before films such as Freaky Friday and Mean Girls made her a defining star of the 2000s. That era came with a very specific red-carpet style that is instantly recognizable today. Years later, Lohan returned to major acting projects with a more mature image and a very different place in pop culture. Her before-and-after photos are less about one makeover and more about seeing the distance between child stardom, tabloid-era fame and an adult career revival.
Vanessa Hudgens
From Gabriella Montez to stage and screen veteran
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Public domain
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Vanessa Hudgens became a household name as Gabriella Montez in High School Musical. Early photographs from that period capture the unmistakable fashion and beauty trends of the mid-2000s, when Hudgens and her co-stars were suddenly everywhere. She later moved into independent films, live television musicals, stage work and major entertainment events. Her later style is noticeably more refined and confident, making the comparison with her first years of Disney fame particularly effective. For anyone who remembers the original High School Musical phenomenon, the transformation is also a reminder of just how long ago 2006 really was.
Keep going: the transformations get even more surprising on the next page.