'80s Pop Stars Who Look Nothing Like They Used To

The 1980s were a pivotal time for pop music, as the disco, adult contemporary, glam pop, and soul-infused sounds of the 1970s gave way to the new wave, synthpop, post-punk, and club music that would dominate the decade that followed. This evolution was fostered by the rise of digital recording technology that changed the way music was made and heard. However, the explosion of '80s pop into a cultural phenomenon would not have been possible without the advent of MTV and the rise of the music video. The first-ever song to be showcased on the network's airwaves was The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" — and boy, were they right.

That visual element, combined with a higher-fidelity and increasingly electronic sound, paved the way for stars like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael, and others to easily deliver their music and style to fans around the world, helping to define the '80s aesthetic along the way. 

However, the new wave and neon-infused movement that rose to prominence during the '80s is now a part of pop culture history, and the artists who made it all possible have changed dramatically over the years. In most cases, their flamboyant looks have been retired, they've aged considerably, and many of them have re-imagined themselves as both performers and people on more than one occasion. With that in mind, here's our list of '80s pop stars who now look nothing like they used to.

Many didn't quite know what to make of Boy George when he burst onto the new wave scene with Culture Club in the early 1980s. His androgynous appearance and experimental style blurred the lines between masculinity and femininity while defying the conventions of what a pop star should be. In short, his and the band's image were impossible to separate from their sound, which yielded hits including "Karma Chameleon," "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?," and "Church of the Poison Mind."

These days, George — who nearly ruined his career in a matter of seconds — is probably better known among Gen Z types for his time as a mentor on "The Voice UK." And while he continues to push boundaries with his overall aesthetic, his appearance has changed dramatically since the decade of leg warmers and Reaganomics. George's once-flowing locks are gone, as the singer was bald for years before getting hair transplants. Meanwhile, his makeup has somehow managed to grow even more garish over the years. More recently, he copped to getting a tummy tuck and using Mounjaro to accomplish a leaner appearance, as reported by Closer Weekly.

Nevertheless, George isn't sweating the aging process, saying (via Closer) in 2024: "I'm not frightened of getting old, and I think I've grown into myself. It might seem weird to say I feel sexier, but I actually do. I used to joke over the years, "Sexy at 60." That was my ambition."

In fairness, Madonna's legendary recording career spanned multiple decades, and her influence is still felt in pop music today. But her journey to becoming one of the best-selling female recording artist of all time began with the release of her 1983 self-titled debut album. Her star only shone brighter as the decade went on, as she dropped hit after hit; however, she also permeated the pop culture zeitgeist with her leading-lady looks, outrageous fashion, and overt sexuality.

Fast-forward to the 2020s, and Madonna continues to be a provocateur in the twilight of her career. However, the "Like a Virgin" singer's appearance has undergone a significant transformation; she has even dealt with rumors of plastic surgery. After Madonna's look at the 2023 Grammy Awards riled fans and casual observers alike, NPR's Julia Summers described her face as "virtually unlined and glowing, framed by barely-there brows and pillowy lips," on "All Things Considered." 

For her part, Madonna wasn't taking any guff from the people who were commenting on her looks, blasting society's treatment of more mature women via Instagram. "Once again, I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in," she wrote, as relayed by The Guardian.

Few people shaped the music of the 1980s like Genesis frontman and solo star Phil Collins. His influential use of gated reverb informed the electronic drum sound of countless '80s hits. Meanwhile, he and his band's early progressive rock stylings eventually evolved into a pure pop sound that produced mega-hits like "Invisible Touch," "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "Sussudio," and "In the Air Tonight." Collins' physical appearance has changed significantly over the years, too, as the legendary drummer/singer has aged and contended with declining health.

Gone is Collins' glorious mid-80s mullet, as the singer has been bald for a number of years. He also bears the look of a distinguished gentleman, with visible age lines and his weathered eyes often framed by eyeglasses. Sadly, Collins — whose 75th birthday was in January 2026 — has seen his medical issues and past alcohol use infringe on his daily life in a major way in recent years. "I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do. I've had challenges with my knee. I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me," he said during an appearance on the BBC's "Eras" podcast (via People) ahead of his big birthday. Although he has experienced significant kidney problems, as well as a bout with COVID-19, Collins shared that he was two years sober and doing better.

Before Phil Collins officially took the reins as the frontman of Genesis, it was Peter Gabriel who set the tone for the band during its early prog-rock days. Like Collins, though, Gabriel went on to find international pop success, even as he continued to lean hard into his flair for different experimental genres of music. His various influences and artistic sensibilities produced hits like "Shock the Monkey," "Sledgehammer," and his heart-wrenching duet with Kate Bush, "Don't Give Up." While Collins has essentially been forced into retirement due to his numerous health problems, Gabriel continues to record new music and perform in concerts around the world after a lengthy hiatus.

Gabriel embarked on a major comeback in 2023, releasing the art rock album "i/o" and touring in support of it. Then, in January 2026, he officially unveiled the follow-up album "o/i," dropping its first single "Been Undone (Dark-Side Mix)." These days, Gabriel's dark hair and clean-shaven face have been replaced with a bald head and a goatee as he has become an elder statesman of pop and rock. He's explored the concept of aging in his later work, too. "Part of it is getting older," he said of the themes explored during his "i/o"-era tour, via The Broken Spine. "Trying to simplify the things that you value, that are important, who's important, what's important in your life, those types of issues."

It's impossible to talk about the pop music of the 1980s without discussing Cyndi Lauper's seemingly sudden emergence as a cultural icon during the first half of the decade. In truth, Lauper was a bit older when she finally popped off — the New York City native was already 30 when her first top-five single, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1983. Regardless, her flamboyant personality and pixie-like style won over America's youth in short order, aided in no small part by her vibrant music videos, involvement with Vince McMahon's fledgling World Wrestling Federation, and musical connection to the Steven Spielberg/Richard Donner classic film, "The Goonies." Lauper has undergone a major transformation since her '80s heyday, while maintaining her flair for dramatic style. 

In 2024 and 2025, Lauper completed her "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" farewell tour, during which her evolution from the pop princess she once was to the '80s queen she has become was fully apparent. Amid her decision to trim her performing slate, Lauper literally decided to clean out her closet, selling off outfits from the last 20-plus years at an event on the Lower East Side. Net proceeds were set to benefit the Tides Foundation's Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund, which provides grants for the advancement of women's rights and health.

During her early days with the Go-Go's, Belinda Carlisle bore the look of a bona fide pop-punk/new wave star, and her band had the sounds to match. The all-girl rock outfit produced such mega-hits as "We Got the Beat," "Our Lips Are Sealed," and, later, "Vacation" and "Head Over Heels." As is the case with many bands, though, Carlisle eventually pursued her own success as a solo performer, shedding the rough-around-the-edges/DIY sensibilities she had in favor of a more polished presentation. In turn, she embraced big hair and more adult looks, including dresses and gowns, while going full-on pop with hits like "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" and "I Get Weak." 

Fast-forward to the 2020s and she appears to be even farther removed from her original look. However, Carlisle — who, like many of the stars on this list, continues to perform — has nonetheless managed to continue turning heads and make her supporters swoon. Following an Instagram post celebrating her 67th birthday in 2025, the comment thread was alight with sterling appraisals of her visual aesthetic. "Happy Birthday!! You don't look a day over 25," opined one fan. Another admirer wrote: "Still looking as fabulous as ever!"

Although her biggest success arguably came post-Y2K, Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue first entered the recording industry with the release of her debut single "Locomotion" — a cover of the 1962 Little Eva hit, "The Loco-Motion" — in 1987. It went on to become one of the best-selling records of the decade in the Land Down Under and eventually became a top 10 hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following year. Prior to its release, Minogue was best known as an actress, starring in the soap opera "Neighbours."

Minogue is still releasing new music and performing today — earning her first-ever U.K. Christmas No. 1 in 2025 — but longtime fans can't help but notice that her appearance has changed a lot since she first emerged into the limelight. Notably, her ginger curls have given way to golden locks, and her face has a different look. That's not to say, though, that the "Can't Get You Out of My Head" singer hasn't aged gracefully. On the contrary, her youthful appearance during a December 2025 appearance on BBC's "The One Show" elicited a strong response on social media from viewers who couldn't believe their eyes, as reported by Wales Online.

Minogue has admitted dabbling in cosmetic enhancement, telling Elle magazine in 2009 (via The Mirror) that she has tried Botox and more. "It doesn't have the stigma that it had when I was growing up. For all time, women have wanted to, for the most part, look their best ... I'm trying to be a lot more natural these day, [but] I've tried Botox, I've tried it all," she said.

Like many teen stars who have since grown up, Tiffany's appearance almost remains frozen in time. She exploded onto the pop scene in 1987 with her cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells hit "I Think We're Alone Now." She was still a little over a month away from celebrating her 16th birthday when the eventual No. 1 first entered the charts in August of that year, and while she continued to make music that resonated with her fans, it would never quite match the out-of-the-gate success her first single and fabled mall tour of the U.S. yielded. Like anyone, though, Tiffany has aged and evolved over the decades.

Now in her 50s, Tiffany is older, wiser, and more mature, and her look is vastly different compared to that of her fledgling pop star days. The shift has been so dramatic that she even questions it at times when her old fans recognize her. "I always walk away thinking, "Why do you recognize me now? I have no makeup on. My hair is not amazing,"" she told Glamour in 2023. "There've been times that I take myself through the grocery store after an interview, and I'm all zhuzhed up and thinking, "I'm something," and people just can't be bothered. ... And then I'm there literally running out to get Drano or something in my sweats with no makeup and they go, "Aren't you Tiffany?""

At the beginning of the 1980s, Pat Benatar sat comfortably at the highest point of the exquisite intersection between rock and pop music, having shaken the charts and the radio waves with her 1979 debut album "In the Heat of the Night." She began the decade that followed with "Crimes of Passion," which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The following year, in 1981, she dropped the No. 1 album "Precious Time," and followed this up with myriad other hit albums, as well as iconic songs like "Love Is a Battlefield." Meanwhile, regardless of which wild shade of eye makeup she was wearing, or whether she was rocking medium-length brown curls, a bob, long black locks with bangs, or something else entirely, her look was always on the cutting edge.

Now in her 70s, Benatar still manages to turn heads with a salt-and-pepper mane and more refined appearance that nonetheless belies her age. When stylist Jayne Matthews posted a picture of herself with Benatar post-cut on Instagram in 2025, the commenters couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Look at her!!" exclaimed one commenter, "No crazy procedures or surgeries, just badass rock confidence!" "She just gets more and more gorgeous," opined another commenter. "What an icon." We'll forgive her for her refusing to sing her biggest hit.

Playing regular gigs at the iconic CBGB venue at 315 Bowery in Manhattan's East Village, Blondie emerged from the New York City punk scene in the mid-1970s alongside the likes of The Ramones, Patti Smith, and others. What set them apart, though, was the group's pop/disco sensibilities and its alluring frontwoman, Debbie Harry. The bombshell with a big-time voice had the look of a star from the band's earliest days, winning fans' hearts as the '70s gave way to the '80s with her movie star looks and vocal performances on songs like "Heart of Glass," "Call Me," and "Rapture." Even Madonna was impressed by her, saying (via popelinedejersey), "I was inspired by Debbie Harry. She seemed very in charge of what she was doing, and she also had a sort of wittiness about her and street smarts, and I liked her. She was a role model.”

More than a half-century since she got her start, Harry has left her days as a pop star and fashion icon behind, and is firmly in her godmother era (gray hair and all). However, her eyes beam with the same confidence she projected at the top of her game, and she serves a different kind of beauty. That said, Harry hasn't been shy about dabbling in cosmetic enhancement. "It's not like I started having cosmetic surgery as a kid in school," she told Vanity Fair in 2025. "I think nowadays a lot of girls are getting cosmetic surgery when they're 10, 11 years old. God bless if it improves their lives and they feel happy. But as far as me having cosmetic surgery, it made me feel better about myself."

Decades before Taylor Swift made the jump from Nashville to the worldwide stage, Linda Ronstadt was a crossover tour de force. After becoming a star on the back of folk-country hits like "Long, Long Time" and "Different Drum" (with the Stone Poneys) during the late 1960s/early '70s, her sound and style became decidedly more mainstream during the late '70s and '80s. The latter decade saw her reach No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 twice; first alongside James Ingram with "Somewhere Out There" — the duo's anthem from the 1986 animated film "An American Tail" — and, later, with Aaron Neville on "Don't Know Much." Along the way, she famously snagged a much younger Jim Carrey before he broke out.

Now, in the 2020s, Ronstadt is years removed from recording new music and touring. Meanwhile, her signature style and raven-colored hair are gone, having been replaced by an age-appropriate look for a woman who has lived eight decades of life. That said, her music is as vibrant and relevant as ever. Thanks to its use during an emotional episode of HBO's "The Last of Us," "Long, Long Time" blew up more than 50 years after its original release. As reported by Salon, Ronstadt's name trended on Twitter following the Season 1 episode's airing, and U.S. streams of the song increased by a whopping 4,900% in a single hour.