Many dream of looking like celebrities. They become one because they have something that gives them the “it factor.” Celebrities like Ariana Grande, a famous singer and actor, have an angelic, youthful look that many attempt to replicate. People will even attempt to look like someone they admire. On the other hand, people try to look like celebrities to gain fame, like Ashley Leechin, who gained followers just by looking like Taylor Swift.
No one person will look unique; people are meant to look like strangers in one way or another. You can see a random person on the street and think, “Wow, they really look like Elizabeth Olsen,” or walk into a coffee shop, and the cashier resembles Timothée Chalamet. This has led people to obsess over their celebrity doppelganger. Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an excellent example; they use the very slight resemblance of Maya Rudolph, actress and comedian, to Vice President Kamala Harris to make comical political skits.
Social media has brought out the need to look like someone famous. You’ll open up a TikTok videos comment section on a girl’s lip singing to a popular song, and someone will comment, “You look so much like Billie Eilish it’s scary”. Or see comments under a guy’s video saying, “At this point, this is Michael B Jordan.” It pushes people to change their entire presence to look like someone who is socially accepted or attractive to most people. People try to change everything about themselves to look like celebrities because it makes them more “attractive” or “likable.”
Funny right? The funniest thing that has come out of wanting to look like a celebrity has been the look-alike contests. So many have been done with Dolly Parton, Harry Styles, and more. The most recent one has been the Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest in New York City on October 27th of this year in Washington Square Park, Put together by Youtuber Anthony Po. Hundreds attended, ranging from his “look-alikes” who dressed up in his style or character he’s played, such as Willy Wonka or his character from Dune, Paul
Atreides, or even those just simply interested in seeing the contestants and the winner. They set a grand prize of $50, won by Miles Mitchell, who dresses as Willy Wonk. They set a panel of judges such as Chloe Forero, Amber Alexander, Benoftheweek, Yujnhamm, and Tamiromari. This event led to countless memes on TikTok, a few arrests, and the real Timothée Chalamet to show up to see what the contest was about.
The real question is why people want to look like someone else deeply. There’s such a pride to look like someone you see on TV, but why? Why do people get cosmetic surgery or do their makeup differently to resemble Adriana Lima? Or Madison Beer? Why is there such a push in society to look like someone that’s not yourself? These are all questions that may have arisen after realizing how much inspiration celebrities, in reality, give to so many.
