Listicle: 10 glow-ups that gave audiences a pleasant surprise

We watched child genius Alex Dunphy grow up on Modern Family. She went from bespectacled nerd who ratted out her siblings, to gorgeous slay queen who turned heads. As Winter,26, grew older through the course of the show, she got braces, lost them, and puberty did what puberty does, pushing her into the spotlight for reasons that had nothing to do with her acting. It’s led her to take a break from the screen and become a mental-health advocate.

The 31-year-old British actor broke into the scene as a teen, in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). He played the petulant, selfish and arrogant little brat to perfection. His brows were almost as famous as he was. But when Marvel came calling last year for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he went from cocky little boy to ripped young man as Adam Warlock. Twitter called it the “Marvel glow-up”. We aren’t complaining.

Watch Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films and you’ll feel sympathy for the bumbling little orphan, terrified of his grandmother, left behind at Yule Ball. Watch the actor now, and you’ll feel some very different emotions. Those chiselled cheekbones and that sexy stubble can give the Harrys and the Cedrics of the wizarding world a run for their money. Watch him in the 2020 comedy Baby Done.

She’s the spooky little boy from Ram Gopal Varma’s Vaastu Shastra (2004); she’s also Shah Rukh Khan’s spiky haired son in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006); and the curious little boy in My Friend Ganesha (2007). After years of being mistaken for a boy due to her on-screen roles, Channa has finally come into her own as a stunning young lady playing lead roles on Girls Hostel, Kota Factory, Hostel Daze, and Mismatched.

He shot to fame for dating Taylor Swift in 2015 and 2016. But DJ Calvin Harris, 40, took the world by surprise only in 2022, when he emerged all bronzed up after the pandemic. He went from dorky, toothy brunette, to a tanned, smouldering hunk. TV presenter Vic Hope says she turned him down when he first asked her out several years ago. She married him last year. Shows it’s never too late to bring your A-game.

Eleven from Stranger Things had a great start on screen. Audiences loved the bald little girl with superpowers (and scowl and nosebleed). The British actor, 20, began turning heads as an adult after making red-carpet appearances in gorgeous gowns, and launched her own make-up line in 2019. She’s been open about growing up in the spotlight, showing off acne breakouts on Instagram and shutting down trolls who sexualise young girls. That’s a glow-up done right.

Not all transformations are grunge-to-glam. Efron, 36, got his big break as the star of High School Musical in the ’00s. Blue eyes, smooth skin, wide grin, perfect hair – he looked like he was minted in a Mattel factory. While most actors stick to what works, he chose to become the bronzed and intense hottie in The Iron Claw (2023) and Firestarter (2022) and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) in which he played the serial killer Ted Bundy.

Who doesn’t remember Ishaan Awasthi, the buck-toothed cutie from Aamir Khan’s tear jerker Taare Zameen Par (2007)? The underdog, 27, who taught us that every child is special, took a break from acting to focus on studies. He returned in 2016, in the anthology series Yeh Hai Aashiqui all sharp features, perfect smile and glowing, almost unrecognisable. He was last seen in last year’s sports drama Hukus Bukus.

Before Euphoria, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dune, it would have been easy to dismiss Zendaya as too tall, too scrawny. She’s worked both criticisms to her advantage, picking red-carpet looks to match the themes of the films she’s promoting (stylists now call it method dressing), wearing archival fashion, making the most of her angular features and owning every look. All at just 27.

The 35-year-old former skipper of the Indian national cricket team, and national hottie had humble beginnings. A quick Google search reveals older images, when Kohli, bubbling with raw potential and talent, had a chubby face, unkempt brows, but the same sharp gaze. With time, not only did the athlete power through the rungs of the cricketing world, he’s muscled up, settled on a fine beard and gained a tonne of rizz.