From left: Yearbook photos of Bette Midler, Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg
Credit: ancestry;Paris Hilton/Instagram;Snoopdog/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
Before they catapulted to fame, many of your favorite celebrities were taking their school yearbook photos just like you
From Oscar winners to some of the biggest names in music, stars lit up the camera on picture day with their smiles
See which celebs went through their awkward phase or gave off “most likely to be famous” energy from an early age
It’s time for a massive throwback.
Before your favorite celebrities took over Hollywood or dominated Billboard charts, they were just like us — walking the halls of their school, attending class and posing for the yearly chore: the school yearbook photo.
From Academy Award winners like Tom Hanks and Viola Davis to music icons like Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey — and even a former first lady — these stars said “cheese” for some truly spectacular snaps.
These images captured some of the biggest names in entertainment during their awkward teen phase. For some A-listers, these portraits serve as photo proof they’ve been in their “most likely to be famous” phase from an early age.
Scroll down to see the best celebrity yearbook photos.
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Tom Hanks
A yearbook photo of Tom Hanks in 1974
Credit: Tom Hanks/X
It’s only natural that Hanks would go on to be the king of romantic comedies after graduating from Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., in 1974. Just look how suave he was in this senior photo that the Forrest Gump star shared on X (formerly Twitter) in May 2020.
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Kevin Bacon
A yearbook photo of Kevin Bacon, circa 1972
Credit: Kevin Bacon/Instagram
“Ah, ninth grade. Don’t miss it at all,” Footloose actor Kevin Bacon captioned a throwback photo on Instagram in May 2024 of him rocking a turtleneck and shoulder-skimming cut for his school portrait.
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Jennifer Garner
A yearbook photo of Jennifer Garner
Credit: Jennifer Garner/Instagram
Jennifer Garner proudly displays her saxophone skills to this day and is happy to share throwback pics from her marching band moments.
“Sally the sexy saxophone, she was a boss,” the 13 Going on 30 star captioned this snap on Instagram in March 2024.
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Jack Quaid
A yearbook photo of Jack Quaid, circa 2005
Credit: Jack Quaid/Instagram
“Good morning from Eighth Grade Jack Quaid,” The Boys actor captioned this pic on Instagram in February 2025, proving he’s had a killer head of hair from the jump.
This is around the age that mom Meg Ryan said she had a feeling he’d be following her and his dad Dennis Quaid into acting after seeing him steal the show in a middle-school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“I had my head in my hands and was like, ‘Oh, no. He’s good. He’s really good,’ ” Ryan recalled in a Glamour cover story in November 2023. “I leaned forward, and I see Dennis, and he’s also leaning forward with his head in his hands. I just knew.”
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Busy Philipps
A yearbook photo of Busy Philipps, circa 1991
Credit: busy philipps/instagram
Freaks and Geeks fans will love this seventh-grade throwback shot Busy Philipps shared on Instagram in May 2023, and she does, too — hence the six fire emojis.
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Paris Hilton
A yearbook photo of Paris Hilton
Credit: Paris Hilton/Instagram
Paris Hilton posted a carousel of throwback snaps on Instagram in August 2024, dating back to elementary school right up to her graduation from the “Bad Bitch Academy,” as she called it.
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Bette Midler
A yearbook photo of Bette Midler
Credit: ancestry.com
Long before she earned her diva bona fides, Bette Midler — a.k.a. the Divine Miss M — was no stranger to the spotlight, being voted “Most Talkative” and “Most Dramatic” at Radford High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, before graduating in 1963, per Facebook.
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Minka Kelly
A yearbook photo of Minka Kelly
Credit: Minka Kelly/Instagram
With her fluffy bangs and killer scrunchie game, it’s clear Minka Kelly had plenty of practice being the queen of high school well before being cast as popular Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights.
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Seth Meyers
Northwestern University’s improv group launched late-night host Seth Meyers’ career in comedy, which is how his alma mater must have known he’d have a great sense of humor about them posting his freshman and senior yearbook photos (flipped ‘do and all) on X in June 2016.
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Chris Pratt
A yearbook photo of Chris Pratt
Credit: Chris Pratt/Instagram
Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt shared this school photo as part of the “Teenage Dirtbag” TikTok trend, but we have to say he seemed much more like a clean-cut cutie than a teenage dirtbag.
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Pam Grier
A yearbook photo of Pam Grier, circa 1965
Credit: Pam Grier/Twitter
Blaxploitation icon Pam Grier shared her East High School senior portrait on X, writing, “My Big hair hid razor blades to fight off country ass girl gangs and scary hairy creatures hiding under the bed at night.”
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Michelle Obama
A yearbook photo of Michelle Obama
Credit: Michelle Obama/Instagram
To congratulate the class of 2021 on a particularly difficult school year, former first lady Michelle Obama shared a photo of herself in her graduation attire on Instagram, writing that she could relate to whatever they might be feeling.
“I am so, so proud of you,” she captioned the throwback pic. “Because after what we’ve seen this year, I know you will get through whatever life throws at you.”
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Snoop Dogg
A yearbook photo of Snoop Dogg in 1989
Credit: Snoop Dogg/Instagram
Behold Snoop Dogg, the artist formerly known as Calvin Broadus Jr. — or, as he referred to himself on Instagram in November 2019, “High school snoopy.”
The “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1989.
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Matt Damon
A yearbook photo of Matt Damon in 1988
Credit: Ancestry.com
Excuse us, is this a yearbook shot or a headshot for the Oscar-winning actor? The Rip star and producer Matt Damon has always had a Sexiest Man Alive energy. Damon’s throwback snap comes to us via Ancestry.com.
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Nick Offerman
A yearbook photo of Nick Offerman in 1988
Credit: Ancestry.com
Growing up outside Chicago, Nick Offerman attended Minooka High School, where he was reportedly president of his senior class and Drama Club.
Not only did the Parks and Recreation alum play football and the saxophone in the marching band, but he was also voted for his yearbook superlative “Most Likely to Host the David Letterman Show” — a fun fact he revealed during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in May 2025.
“I lived in a really small town in Illinois called Minooka, and there wasn’t a lot to do besides sports and band,” he told host Jimmy Kimmel. “I played in the jazz band … I was in the marching band. I was in the pit orchestra and the regular concert band.”
While becoming a late-night host wasn’t in his future, the future Emmy winner made his way to the University of Illinois and, later, began acting around the Windy City, per The News-Gazette.
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Laura Prepon
A yearbook photo of Laura Prepon
Credit: Laura Prepon/Instagram
That ’70s Show star Laura Prepon was oh-so-’90s in this throwback school photo she shared on Instagram in August 2024.
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Ellen DeGeneres
A yearbook photo of Ellen DeGeneres
Credit: Ancestry.com
By the twinkle in her eye, you can tell Ellen DeGeneres was already cracking people up in high school.
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Jimmy Fallon
A yearbook photo of Jimmy Fallon in 1992
Credit: Classmates.com
We have Classmates.com to thank for Jimmy Fallon’s epic senior yearbook photo, which puts the Tonight Show host’s growing mustache on full display.
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John Legend
A yearbook photo of John Legend in 1993
Credit: Classmates.com
John Legend, born John Roger Stephens, is truly ageless, proving that his high school self mirrors his present-day self in his cute yearbook snap.
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Anna Faris
A yearbook photo of Anna Faris in 1994
Credit: Classmates.com
Before starring in the 2000 film Scary Movie and on the CBS sitcom Mom, Anna Faris was a student at Edmonds-Woodway High School in Washington.
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Melissa McCarthy
A yearbook photo of Melissa McCarthy
Credit: Classmates.com
Melissa McCarthy has always been interested in fashion — particularly in high school, when she experimented with her style.
“I was super preppy, and by the end [of high school] blue-black hair that I’d shave in patches,” she told Anderson Cooper on his talk show, per the Daily Mail.
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Matthew McConaughey
A yearbook photo of Matthew McConaughey in 1988
Credit: Classmates.com
Surprise, surprise: Matthew McConaughey’s high school superlative (“Most Handsome”) still rings true to this day.
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Taraji P. Henson
A yearbook photo of Taraji P. Henson
Credit: Taraji P Henson/Instagram
Taraji P. Henson already had dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a high school student.
“She knew she belonged in #Hollywood right here,” the Hidden Figures actress wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram. “She just didn’t know how she was getting there but she DREAMED BIG AF!!!”
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Kate Walsh
A yearbook photo of Kate Walsh, circa 1983
Credit: Kate Walsh/Twitter
Grey’s Anatomy alum Kate Walsh took it back to her junior year in high school, posting a throwback pic of herself on X in May 2017.
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Billy Bob Thornton
A yearbook photo of Billy Bob Thornton, circa 1972
Credit: classmates.com
Billy Bob Thornton graduated from Malvern High School in Arkansas in 1973. While attending school there, he lived in a house without electricity or running water with quite a few relatives, he told The Wall Street Journal in November 2024.
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Matt Bomer
A yearbook photo of Matt Bomer, circa 1995
Credit: Classmates.com
Fact: Magic Mike actor Matt Bomer has always had a signature megawatt smile.
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus
A yearbook photo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Credit: classmates.com
Julia Louis-Dreyfus graduated from the all-girls Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Md., in 1979.
“There were things I did in school that, had there been boys in the classroom, I would have been less motivated to do,” she told Capitol File magazine in December 2011 of her high school experience. “For instance, I was president of the honor society.”
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Annette Bening
A yearbook photo of Annette Bening
Credit: classmates.com
Annette Bening graduated from San Diego’s Patrick Henry High School in 1975. The American Beauty star also studied drama while there.
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Winona Ryder
A yearbook photo of Winona Ryder
Credit: classmates.com
Stranger Things actress Winona Ryder told Interview in September 2009 that she graduated from California’s Petaluma High School with an impressive 4.0 GPA.
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Viola Davis
A yearbook photo of Viola Davis
Credit: violadavis/X
Davis started acting while attending Rhode Island’s Central Falls High School. The EGOT winner shared this throwback photo from her high school days on X in February 2017.
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Natalie Portman
A yearbook photo of Natalie Portman in 1998
Natalie Portman landed her first major role, as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, while she was attending Syosset High School in Long Island, N.Y.
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Mariah Carey
A yearbook photo of Mariah Carey in 1987
Credit: Classmates.com
Carey has been hitting high notes long before becoming the diva we know and love today. The evidence? This glam yearbook photo from her senior year at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, N.Y.
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Barbra Streisand
A yearbook photo of Barbra Streisand in 1959
Credit: Classmates.com
Brooklyn-born Barbra Streisand attended Erasmus Hall High School in the borough’s Flatbush neighborhood.
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Ice Cube
A yearbook photo of Ice Cube in 1987
Credit: Classmates.com
Ice Cube was straight outta William Howard Taft Charter High School with future N.W.A. bandmate Eazy-E.
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Susan Sarandon
A yearbook photo of Susan Sarandon in 1964
Credit: Classmates.com
Susan Sarandon (née Tomalin) attended high school in Edison, N.J., in the 1960s.
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Jerry Seinfeld
A yearbook photo of Jerry Seinfeld in 1972
Credit: Classmates.com
Jerry Seinfeld was probably the class clown when he attended Long Island’s Massapequa High School.
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Dolly Parton
A yearbook photo of Dolly Parton in 1964
Credit: Classmates.com
As you can see from Dolly Parton’s Sevier County High School yearbook photo, the country music star has always had a thing for big hair.
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Heather Locklear
A yearbook photo of Heather Locklear in 1979
Credit: Classmates.com
Before she won over America’s hearts on Melrose Place, Heather Locklear had her sights on fame.
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Cloris Leachman
A yearbook photo of Cloris Leachman
Credit: Classmates.com
The late Cloris Leachman’s vintage school yearbook photo from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa, is the throwback to end all throwbacks.
Read the original article on People