Graphic Designer Artfully Photoshops 30 Celebrities With Their Younger Selves

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Jennifer Aniston

Celebrities spend their whole lives in front of the camera. As a result, we get to see them change in appearance year after year. But because of this constant exposure, we often forget how different stars looked in their early years. Graphic designer Ard Gelinck shines a light on the past selves of famous people by creating playful mashups with Photoshop. In this ongoing series, he composites two images that capture the “then and now” of each person.

From television starlets like Jennifer Anniston to basketball legend Michael Jordan, Gelinck travels far and wide for inspiration. Amazingly, he manages to merge two different time periods with seamless precision, making it seem as though these photos were always meant to be united in this way. Sometimes the celebrities are depicted giving each other a hug, while in other mashups, they are simply standing side by side, like a formal portrait.

This project reveals some of the many ways celebrities have grown over the years and the ways in which they stayed the same. Taking a look at Paul Rudd, it seems he's hardly aged and is as fresh-faced as ever. On the other hand, Betty White‘s photo composite shows how the late comedian—who people often associate with her senior character, Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls—looked much younger in her early years in show business.

Check out Gelinck’s latest “then and now” celebrity photos below and find more on Instagram.

Graphic designer Ard Gelinck creates “then and now” images of celebrities.

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Robert Downey Jr.

Each mashup features a star posing with their younger self.

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Britney Spears

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Angelina Jolie

As a result, these fun images reveal the ways celebrities changed or stayed the same over the years.

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Kim Kardashian

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Michael Jordan

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Sean Connery

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Morgan Freeman

With these celebs being in the spotlight for so long, it becomes easy to miss how much their features have naturally (or unnaturally) changed with time.

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Harrison Ford

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Bill Murray

And then there are those who seemed to have discovered the fountain of youth…

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Paul Rudd

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Pink

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Alanis Morissette

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Jon Bon Jovi

Whether they've changed drastically or not at all, one thing is true: it's fun to see these side-by-side images of celebrities who have been around for a while.

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Kate Winslet

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Christina Applegate

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Sting

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Sophia Loren

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Ricky Gervais

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Will Smith

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Charlize Theron

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Jason Momoa

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Brian May

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Robert Redford

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

John Cleese

…including the ones we've lost.

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Betty White

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Marilyn Monroe

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

John Lennon

Celebrity Then and Now Photos by Ard Gelinck

Kurt Cobain

Ard Gelinck: Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Ard Gelinck.

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Margherita Cole

Margherita Cole is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and illustrator based in Southern California. She holds a BA in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from Wofford College, and an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice from Falmouth University in the UK. She wrote and illustrated an instructional art book about how to draw cartoons titled 'Cartooning Made Easy: Circle, Triangle, Square' that was published by Walter Foster in 2022.
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