AI Portraits Imagine How Celebrities Would Look If They Were Still Alive Today

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Princess Diana

There are many celebrities who have unexpectedly passed away, long before they reached old age. You can’t help but wonder, what would they have looked like when they were older? Well, ponder no more. With the help of AI technology, photographer and lawyer Alper Yesiltas has created a series called As If Nothing Happened that seemingly brings pop culture icons back to life. Celebrities including Heath Ledger, Freddie Mercury, and Kurt Cobain have aged in a way that appears extremely believable. The generated portraits look like they recently sat to have their pictures taken.

Yesiltas is excited by the possibilities of artificial intelligence. With it, he believes that “anything imaginable can be shown real,” and it inspired him to start experimenting with it. “When I started tinkering with the technology,” he tells My Modern Met, “I saw what I could do and thought about what would make me the happiest: I wanted to see some of the people I missed again in front of me.” Thus, As If Nothing Happened was born.

Yesiltas uses various software to create his images, ranging from Remini, an AI photo enhancer, to photo editing programs including Lightroom and VSCO. They all go into creating a portrait that feels “real” to him—as if the person has transcended his imagination and now exists in the real world. This is not an easy process, nor is it a quick one. But the results are fascinating; and if you’re a fan, they’ll make you miss the person even more.

Scroll down to see who Yesiltas brought back to life (as if nothing had happened).

There are many celebrities who have unexpectedly passed away, long before they reached old age.

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Freddie Mercury

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

John Lennon

With the help of AI technology, photographer and lawyer Alper Yesiltas has created a series called As If Nothing Happened that seemingly brings pop culture icons back to life.

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Heath Ledger

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Jimi Hendrix

Celebrities have aged in a way that appears extremely believable.

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Kurt Cobain

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Michael Jackson

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Bruce Lee

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Elvis Presley

The generated portraits look like they recently sat to have their pictures taken.

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Janis Joplin

AI Portraits by Alper Yesiltas

Tupac Shakur

Alper Yesiltas: Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Alper Yesiltas.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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