Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Let's talk about these celebrity yearbook photos.

Here they are. [broken link removed]

The link is from Ann Althouse (my mom), who says:

Fascinating to see those who were always great looking, those who were always bad looking, and — most interestingly — those who looked awful in high school and got much, much better, the most extreme example of which is [George Clooney.]
I'd say the most extreme example is Russell Brand.

A female friend on Facebook says Angelina Jolie is "the most naturally striking" of the bunch — followed, oddly, by Michael Stipe.

I add that Charlize Theron, Dolly Parton, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, and Whitney Houston are all in the running for cutest. Great glasses on Charlize Theron.

Conversely, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, and Tom Cruise are strikingly plain next to their adult selves.

How is it that Tom Hanks is so unmistakable, when his face is actually very bland? I couldn't name a single distinctive feature of his.

Fascinating contrast between the two Bushes.

Young Bush Senior looks like young Robin Williams, and they both seem like they could have played the dad in Back to the Future (George McFly).

George Michael looks like Maeby on Arrested Development.

James Hetfield looks like a brilliant caricature of himself.

Kurt Cobain looks eerily wholesome.

3 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

I think some of the women need to grow into their features. The features are too extreme in some cases and overwhelm the face. With more maturity, it works just find.

I thought Kim Bassinger looked pretty bad and thought there's no way this one turned beautiful, then laughed when I scrolled to the name.

I think George W. Bush looks great, and when I saw the picture, I said out loud: "You can see why he got into a lot of trouble." (Meaning before Laura made a gentleman out of him.)

John Althouse Cohen said...

George W. Bush is your example of how women supposedly civilize men?!

Richard Lawrence Cohen said...

I thought Clooney the teenager looked handsome. It's just that styles were different then. The hair and glasses hid his natural features.