Halloween has turned into somewhat of a celebrity dress up day, rather than the pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer it originated as. (Let’s face it, the former sounds way more fun.)
It’s the ultimate costume party, as celebrities dress up to the nines and show off their creativity with some weird, whacky and unique costume choices. We must say, they are rarely scary – and Kim Kardashian’s recent get-up definitely wasn’t.
Heidi Klum is famous for her elaborate costumes as she hosts an annual Halloween bash in New York City, and in 2013 famously went as her much-older self. This year? She’s a giant (and very realistic) peacock. Naturally.
But some of the best outfits this year have actually been celebrities dressing up, not as witches or ghosts or vampires, but as each other.
So here is a run down of the very best celebrity outfits, from Kim Kardashian’s snake dance as Salma Hayek, to Paris Hilton fangirling Britney Spears, to The Rock dressing up as David Beckham – and we must pay our respects to The Osbournes as Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori.
Kim Kardashian as Salma Hayek
Kim Kardashian went all out for Halloween this year. After dressing as a Bratz doll with her sisters, the star has now also channeled Salma Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn for her second outfit choice.
Donning the trademark bikini from the film – in which Salma definitely plays one of the sexiest characters of all time – Kim also wore the dramatic headpiece, arm bling, oh – and a live snake. Casual.
Resharing the video on her Instagram Story with a sweet message, Salma said: ‘Bravo @kimkardashian. I’m so honored.
‘You’ve brought back some wild memories … and a little PTSD. Kim wore it best.’
For the 1996 film, Salma also used a real snake – although she initially refused to dance with it, later claiming she would have been removed from the role if she hadn’t agreed to it.
She later told Yahoo! of the iconic scene: ‘It was good because I had to overcome my greatest fear. I had to go on trance to do the dance… And there was no choreography. It was improvised. Because you can’t choreograph a snake, we don’t know what she’s going to do!’
Paris Hilton as Britney Spears and Katy Perry
Paris Hilton has long championed Britney Spears, and so it makes sense the Simple Life icon, 42, opted to dress as the star for Halloween.
The new mum went for Britney’s classic flight attendant look from her Toxic music video, in which the popstar can be seen seducing the passengers and rolling around a drinks trolley.
Indeed, Paris confirmed she dressed as Britney out of solidarity since the release of the Gimme More singer’s much-anticipated memoir, The Woman in Me.
Captioning her Instagram picture in which Paris unveiled the look, she wrote: ‘Icons support icons 👑 @BritneySpears.’
But the Stars Are Blind hitmaker didn’t stop there. The champion of women she is, Paris also dressed up as Katy Perry circa the Firework star’s iconic performance in Iceland.
Last year, Katy took to the stage in a red, leather corset, with some brilliant tassled chaps, as well as a high-neck piece, and some dramatic gloves. Brilliantly, the star topped off the look with a mushroom hat, bringing some light relief to the occasion.
Paris expertly replicated the Hot and Cold singer’s outfit, even substituting out her trademark blonde locks for a brunette wig to complete the look.
Jessica Alba as Britney Spears
Of course, Britney is the woman of the moment after her book became the best-selling celebrity memoir of all time within its first 24 hours of release earlier this month.
So Fantastic Four actor Jessica Alba also opted to dress as the pop icon for Halloween, also channeling Britney’s Toxic music video with her sheer, diamond-encrusted jumpsuit.
She did a double outfit with model Kelly Sawyer Patricof, who perfectly captured Britney’s schoolgirl get-up in Baby One More Time; the song that rocketed her to fame in 1998.
The Rock as David Beckham
Halloween doesn’t get much better than Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson dressing up as David Beckham in his Manchester United football days.
The 51-year-old retired wrestler really nailed the ex-footballer’s long hair he was famous for back in the early noughties when Posh and Becks became a household name, and when he was at the height of his sporting career.
The Rock even got a personalised Beckham T-shirt for the occasion, and rocked some subtly David aviators for the costume.
He looked super into the role, as he posed for a number of costumes in an Instagram carousel, captioning it with: ‘265lb BLA-MOAN BECKHAM. #7 on the field #1 in your heart. Happy Halloween, my friends 🎃💀🥃’
Hilariously, David actually commented on the outfit mocking the obvious size difference between the two men, as he said: ‘I mean I thought I was looking in the mirror 😂 looking good man you might need a bigger jersey 😂@therock ❤️’
On his own Instagram, the former Manchester football star reposted the photos crowning Dwayne as his winner, and said: ‘And the winner is @therock 🎃 looking good man I know what I’m going as next year 💪🏼 😃.’
Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne as Kanye West and Bianca Censori
Sharon, 71, and 74-year-old Ozzy Osbourne’s joint Halloween costume is so culturally relevant, they deserve an award.
The Osbournes stars dressed up as All Falls Down rapper Kanye West and his new wife Bianca Censori.
It may look odd, what with Sharon’s seemingly naked body masked by nothing but a purple pillow and Ozzy covered head-to-toe in thick clothes, but they are actually reenacting a real photo of Kanye and Bianca.
Spiking controversy and concern for Bianca’s welfares, the pair strutted out like this back in September in pictured that circulated online.
In a sinister turn, an anonymous source has since claimed Kanye ‘controls’ Bianca, including instructing her ‘never to speak’ and telling her what she can and can’t eat, and what to wear.
Kourtney Kardashian as Kim Kardashian
Sisterly love is a brilliant thing, but sisterly mockery is even better.
Kourtney Kardashian went all-out for Halloween this year, and with surprisingly little effort managed to transform into the spitting image of her sister Kim Kardashian circa 2013.
At the time Kim, now 43, was pregnant, and wore a floral floor-length gown to the Met Gala – the calendar’s biggest fashion event.
However, the outfit didn’t go down very well with the online world, as it was heavily mocked for looking like the pattern on a grandmother’s sofa. Ouch.
It is said Kim cried the whole way home at the pointed reaction to her gown (which probably costed a lot, too).
But just when Kim thought she’d forgotten about that fateful night, Kourtney comes to the rescue as bringing her little sis firmly back down to earth.
Edward Norton and Shauna Robertson as David and Victoria Beckham
Of course there was more than one David and Victoria Beckham outfit this Halloween, what with the high-profile documentary Beckham dropping on Netflix just weeks ago.
While Britney is the woman of the hour, this pair are the couple of the hour – not to mention pure noughties icons.
We have to say, actor Edward Norton did an unbelievable job of morphing into David Beckham in a Manchester United strip, with eerily accurate facial hair, a bit of eyeliner and some crow’s feet to complete the look.
The Fight Club star even got the tattoos to match – although we reckon these are probably fake. Phew.
Meanwhile, his wife Shauna Robertson adopted a classic Posh Spice bob wig, and rocked a little leather mini-dress which was a staple VB classic of the 00s.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr as themselves
Sarah Michelle Gellar – aka, Buffy The Vampire Slayer – and her husband Freddie Prinze Jr appeared to have their Halloween outfit plans scuppered by the ongoing SAF-AFTRA strikes.
So, they went as themselves. Clever. Little effort, maximum hilarity.
‘Normally this is when we would post our Halloween couples photo, but due the ongoing strike, we had to scrap our original costumes,’ Sarah wrote on Instagram alongside a very normal-looking snap of the pair.
‘So, if you are out trick-or-treating tonight and see a very realistic Sarah Michelle and Freddie costume… it might just be us. See you next year.’
Rosalia as Björk
Now this one is pretty iconic.
Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía channelled music legend Björk’s famous swan outfit from the 2001 73rd Academy Awards.
She pictured herself in the swan-minidress, which boasted a feathery skirt, and a long swan’s neck wrapped around her torso to cover her chest.
It’s brilliant, and she really does suit it. We think 57-year-old Björk, if she’s seen it, would be proud.
The Hyperballad singer hit headlines when she wore the get-up over 20 years ago, and she’s still clearly a cultural icon today.
Kerry Washington as American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson
This is perhaps one of the most detailed Halloween costumes of 2023. Actress Kerry Washington seems to have thought of everything in her mission to dress up as US Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson.
The Django Unchained actor has included everything from Sha-Carri’s iconic ginger locks, down the specifics of her competition number. She even recreated the sports star’s iconic pointing pose in one snap.
Oh, and she also showed her appreciation for Sha’Carri by also sporting her very long nails. We love everything about this one.
Halle Bailey and DDG as Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown… and as Janet Jackson and Tupac
Halle Bailey and her rapper boyfriend DDG went all out for Halloween this year with not one, but two separate celebrity costumes.
We can’t decide which we like best, but the Little Mermaid star and the Elon Musk hitmaker really nailed dressing up as the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.
The legendary I Will Always Love You hitmaker died over 10 years ago in 2012, and she is still heralded as one of the best singers of all time.
For their costumes as Houston and Brown, Halle and DDG went super specific and recreated a few actual photos taken of the pair.
One is of Houston hugging Brown on the red carpet at a music awards, where they are both dressed in red.
Another shows the pair sitting together in a sweet embrace, looking super chilled and casual in hats – of which Halle and DDG captured every detail – as they held hands and smiled.
A separate photo sees the pair reenacting a moment captured when Houston jumped on Brown, throwing her arms around her wearing jeans and a strap top, as Brown hugged her affectionately back. Awrh.
They’ve really gone to town on everything from the yellow frame of Brown’s glasses, to the pattern on Houston’s head band. Impressive.
Houston and Brown were married for 15 years, divorcing in 2007. She died five years later from accidental drowning.
The pair didn’t stop there though, as they also dressed up as Janet Jackson and Tupac from the film Poetic Justice.
The 1993 romantic drama film saw Janet, 57, and the late rapper legend Tupac Shakur join forces.
Halle and DDG nailed their costumes of the famous film couple, with Halle in the same beret Janet wore, and DDG sporting Tupac’s signature nose stud and facial hair.
Earlier this year, a man was arrested and charged for the Hit Em Up rapper’s 1996 murder, when he was shot dead.
Taylor Lautner and Taylor Lautner as Timothée Chalamet and Pete Davidson
Taylor Lautner and his wife, er, Taylor Lautner looked fabulous all dressed up as Timothée Chalamet and Pete Davidson when they appeared on Saturday Night Live two years ago.
In the episode, the Dune actor, 27, and comedian, 29, appeared pretending to be rappers ‘Guaplord and $mokecheddathaassgetta’. It was a bit of a cultural moment, to say the least…
The couple really rocked the different looks, as the Twilight star boasted Timothée’s pink hair and all-white get up in the episode, and his wife looked as similar to Pete as she could in a bright orange tracksuit, chains, and blue hair.
Taylor (the actor Taylor) even wore the tattoo Timothée put on his cheek for the skit, as they made their way into Heidi Klum’s annual Halloween bash.
What a bunch.
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