The 80s were a magical decade. The radio was always on and people would listen to either rock 'n’ roll or disco. Neon colors were everywhere. And a dollar could get you a lot more than it can now.
And just like any other decade, they have their own wave of celebrities. From movie stars and singers to sports stars and models, there was one thing the 80s never short of: pretty people of any category.
But, that was 40 years ago. This crop of famous people has turned out very different than they were; most of them are in their 60s already! But we can still recognize these 80s celebrities and a glimmer of their hay day nowadays. If you try really hard. Or have some photos for comparisons.
For the latter, look no further! Here are 22 of the most popular celebrities of the 80s in the hay days vs what they look like now. Enjoy!
#1 George Clooney
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Clooney began his career in television, where he rose to prominence as Dr. Doug Ross on the NBC medical drama ER from 1994 to 1999, for which he garnered two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He has received a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for acting and the other for producing.
#2 Brooke Shields
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Brooke Shields is a model and actress from the United States. She began her career as a child model, receiving critical recognition at the age of 12 for her major part in Louis Malle's film Pretty Baby.
#3 Tom Cruise
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Cruise is one of the world's highest-paid actors. He debuted as an actor in the early 1980s, with prominent parts in the comedy film Risky Business (1983) and the action blockbuster Top Gun (1985).
#4 Madonna
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Madonna is known as the "Queen of Pop" for her constant reinvention and variety in music production, composition, and visual presentation. She is the best-selling female music artist of all time, selling over 300 million albums worldwide.
#5 Tina Turner
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Tina Turner rose to notoriety as the lead vocalist of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue before starting a successful solo career. She is widely regarded as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll." Turner began her career in 1957 with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm.
#6 Michael J. Fox
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Michael J. Fox is a retired Canadian-American actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to fame on the NBC comedy Family Ties as Alex P. Keaton. He and his wife, Tracy Pollan, have four children ranging in age from 20 to 33 years.
#7 Matt Dillon
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Matt Dillon is an actor from the United States. He has won several acting awards, including Oscar and Grammy nominations. Dillon made his feature film debut in Over the Edge and went on to become a teen idol of the 80s by appearing in the film My Bodyguard.
#8 Kim Fields
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Kim Fields is a filmmaker and actor from the United States. Fields is best remembered for her appearances as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on The Facts of Life and Regine Hunter on Living Single on Fox.
#9 Oprah Winfrey
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Oprah Winfrey is most known for her Chicago-based talk program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.
#10 Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp is an actor who has received several awards, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA Awards. Before becoming a teen superstar in the television series 21 Jump Street (1987–1990), Depp made his feature picture debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
#11 Holly Robinson Peete
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Holly Robinson Peete is most recognized for her appearances as Judy Hoffs on Fox TV's 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on ABC's Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on NBC/For WB's Your Love.
#12 Rob Lowe
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Following a string of television appearances in the early 1980s, he rose to notoriety as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack, and roles in films cemented his status as a Hollywood star.
#13 Jane Fonda
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Fonda's breakout performance came in Cat Ballou (1965), in which she played a schoolmarm-turned-outlaw. This comic Western got five Oscar nominations, including best actor for Lee Marvin, and was one of the year's top ten grossing pictures. . Fonda has received several awards for her work as a cinema icon.
#14 Boy George
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Boy George, born George Alan O'Dowd, is the frontman for the pop band Culture Club. During the band's peak popularity in the 1980s, they had global smash songs such as "Karma Chameleon," "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," and "Time (Clock of the Heart)." George is distinguished for his passionate voice and androgynous looks.
#15 Ralph Macchio
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Ralph George Macchio Jr. is an actor from the United States. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three Karate Kid films and the television series Cobra Kai.
#16 Lisa Bonet
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Lisa Bonet is an actress from the United States. Lisa Bonet is her professional name. Bonet is most remembered for her role as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, for which she received international recognition.
#17 Drew Barrymore
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Drew Barrymore has received several awards, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for a British Academy Film Award and five Emmy Awards. Barrymore rose to prominence as a young actor with her performance in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.
#18 Molly Ringwald
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After a casting director spotted her portraying an orphan in a theatrical performance of the musical Annie, Molly Ringwald
was cast in her first significant role as Molly in the NBC comedy The Facts of Life. She became an 80s teen icon after starring in the popular Hughes films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1988). (1986).
#19 Whoopi Goldberg
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Goldberg began her theater career in 1983 with her one-woman play Spook Show, which went to Broadway as Whoopi Goldberg and performed from 1984 to 1985. She is one of 17 artists who have won the EGOT, which consists of an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award.
#20 Matthew Broderick
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In his breakout role, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Broderick went on to play the endearing, astute slacker Ferris Bueller. Broderick has received two Tony Awards: one for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) and one for Best Actor in a Musical for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1998).
#21 Janet Jackson
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Janet Jackson is known for her avant-garde, socially concerned, and sexually explicit music, as well as her extravagant theatrical productions. Following the release of her third and fourth studio albums, Control (1986) and Rhythm Nation (1814), she became a pop phenomenon after securing a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982.
#22 Judd Nelson
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A part of the famous Brat Pack, Judd Nelson is an American actor best known for his appearances in The Breakfast Club as John Bender, St. Elmo's Fire as Alec Newbury. He’s also starred in Billionaire Boys Club as Joe Hunt, New Jack City as Nick Peretti, Empire as Billy Beretti, and Suddenly Susan as Jack Richmond.