Updated June 25, 2021 45.4K votes 9.0K voters 710.4K views
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Vote up the most surprising onetime goths.
The words "goth" and "celebrity" go together like black lipstick and a smart suit. In other words, it's an unexpected combination. You wouldn't think there would be that much crossover between the mainstream glamor of the ultra-famous and the moody cool of the goth aesthetic. It's not often you see a celeb strut the red carpet in the darkest makeup imaginable and a leather corset. No one's wearing a cape made out of spider webs or sporting gigantic spiked hair - at least not with enough frequency for it to become a trend.
But if you look back at some celebrities' earlier days, you're bound to uncover some edgy, gothy, punk rock wardrobe choices. Some celebs who went through a major goth phase probably won't surprise you - Winona Ryder was known for her "unconventional" appearance - while others will definitely come as a shock. Who knew Ivanka Trump had such a rebellious streak in her youth?
These famous people who used to be goth may have outgrown that phase of their lives, but the memories live on forever.
Christina Hendricks is best known for her role on Mad Men, so you probably associate her with that sophisticated '60s aesthetic. So it may come as a surprise that, in high school, Hendricks was pretty darn goth.
Elizabeth Hurley definitely had a punk phase, as she told Hello!in 2015:
When I was a teenager, I had pink hair, a nose ring and ripped up clothes. I wasn't rebelling against anything though, it was just fashion. Plus, I really loved the music and still often have the Clash blasting.
Taylor Swift has assumed many identities: country gal, sneaker-clad high schooler, pop star, snake queen... But before her music career took off, Swift went emo.
In 2006, Swift had a Myspace page full of pictures that perfectly encapsulated the aesthetic of the era, right down to her very interesting style choices. What would the music world have been like if Swift had leaned into her goth-adjacent tastes?
Age: 33
Birthplace: Reading, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Credits: The Hunger Games, San Andreas, Valentine's Day, Hannah Montana: The Movie
Back in the day, young Ivanka Trump attempted to shed her privileged upbringing by becoming goth – by listening to Nirvana!
Yes, the '90s grunge band Nirvana. They are certainly not goth (and definitely not "punk," as she calls them), but don't tell Trump. She talks about her "wild" younger days in Ivana Trump's book Raising Trump:
One day after school, I dyed my hair blue. Mom wasn’t a fan of this decision. She took one look at me and immediately went out to the nearest drugstore to buy a $10 box of Nice’n Easy.
That night, she forced me to dye my hair back to blond. The color she picked out was actually three shades lighter than my natural color... and I have never looked back!
Age: 41
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
Credits: The Apprentice, Born Rich, 15th Annual Miss Teen USA Pageant, Sex and the City: A Farewell
Melissa McCarthy's comedic skills don't exactly mesh with the stereotypical goth persona. But back in her high school days, McCarthy ventured over to the dark side.
Winona Ryder has earned some goth credentials for her film roles, but she was just as moody off-screen.
After Beetlejuice came out, Ryder became inextricably associated with the goth aesthetic, as she told the Daily Beast:
Beetlejuice was big... It was almost pre-goth, in a way. But we didn’t know that was going to be a big movie at all. And I was in high school when it came out, so I thought I was in this movie and it’s doing things and people are going to be nicer, and they were calling me a ‘witch’ and ‘a weirdo’ and throwing candy corns at my head! It was like I couldn’t win.
Age: 51
Birthplace: Minnesota, United States of America
Credits: Edward Scissorhands, Black Swan, Girl, Interrupted, Dracula
