“When you put on the wig and put on the clothes, you walk different.”
Being a celebrity means having the freedom to be creative, whether that’s on stage, on the set of a movie or on social media. And some stars have taken that artistic liberty to the next level…by completely embodying someone else.
These celebs have taken on alter egos, allowing themselves to transform into an entirely different person. Sometimes these new personas are for special projects and sometimes they’re just an opportunity for these celebrities to be someone different than the public expects. No matter what the reason, these alternate personas have definitely made headlines.
Read on to discover these stars’ alter egos…
1. KJ Apa
KJ Apa has spent the last several months developing his alter ego Mr. Fantasy (above right) — although he’s yet to confirm that it’s him behind the persona. The Riverdale actor has been taking on the role of a British singer who just moved to Los Angeles but disguises himself in a wig and fake teeth.
Since starting to post videos on TikTok, he’s gone totally viral. He’s released several songs and even made his way into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While he’s made quite the splash, KJ has still not spoken out about Mr. Fantasy.
2. Kevin James
Kevin James may have also just taken on an alternate persona — but it appears to be a marketing stunt for his upcoming film, Solo Mio. On social media, fans began noticing that a creator named Matt Taylor (above left) bore a striking resemblance to Kevin, but Matt says he’s just a fourth grade art teacher.
Kevin hasn’t spoken out about his lookalike but fans may be able to get a glimpse of his character Matt in the film when it debuts in 2026.
3. Garth Brooks
In the late 90s, Garth Brooks created the persona of Chris Gaines, a dark-haired Australian rock star. He released an album called “Garth Brooks in…the Life of Chris Gaines” in 1999 and even appeared as the character on Saturday Night Live and VH1’s Behind the Music. He also planned to appear as Chris in a film titled The Lamb but it was never released. Unfortunately, people didn’t quite understand his alter ego and he faced much criticism.
“A lot of people misunderstood it, and my ribs are still sore from getting the s–t kicked out of me for it,” Brooks tells Yahoo! Entertainment. “I would never even really get close to it again, because it really was a really tough time for me, because of the fact that I saw for the first time that people can be focused on something way past the music. And that’s never a good thing, when music takes a backseat.”
4. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is all about being theatrical so it should come as no surprise she has her own alter ego. Back in 2010, she debuted the character of Jo Calderone (center above), a mechanic from Italy, who appeared in her “Yoü and I” music video. She also appeared as Jo at the VMAs, where she performed and presented an award to Britney Spears. Looking back, Gaga says she created the character with fashion photographer Nick Knight “as a mischievous experiment.”
“After working together tirelessly and passionately for years…Nick and I began to wonder: how much exactly can we get away with? How can we remodel the model? In a culture that attempts to quantify beauty with a visual paradigm and almost mathematical standard, how can we f— with the malleable minds of onlookers and shift the world’s perspective on what’s beautiful? I asked myself this question. And the answer? Drag,” she said in an interview with V magazine.
Years later, she updated fans to tell them that Jo “is no longer with us.”
5. Beyoncé
Beyoncé has become known for her Sasha Fierce alter ego — even though she hasn’t embodied the character in over a decade. The character, who inspired her album “I Am Sasha Fierce,” helped Beyoncé overcome nerves before stepping on stage and gave her the ability to be over the top and free from judgement.
“It’s kind of like doing a movie. When you put on the wig and put on the clothes, you walk different. It’s no different from anyone else. I feel like we all kind of have that thing that takes over,” she explained on The Oprah Show. “Usually when I hear the chords, when I put on my stilettos. Like the moment right before when you’re nervous. Then Sasha Fierce appears, and my posture and the way I speak and everything is different.”
6. David Bowie
David Bowie became known by his stage persona Ziggy Stardust in the early 1970s as a part of the release of his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Ziggy, a glamorous androgynous rock star from outer space, came to Earth ahead of an apocalyptic disaster to deliver a message of hope to humans. The over-the-top character was meant to be a commentary on celebrity worship and ended up becoming one of the musician’s most memorable eras.
I wanted to define the archetype messiah rock star, that’s all I wanted to do. And I used the trappings of kabuki theatre, mime technique, fringe New York music — my reference was the Velvet Underground…It was a British view of American street energy,” he shared in an interview at the time.
7. Nicki Minaj
Throughout her career, Nicki Minaj has crafted quite a few alter egos, most notably the loud and aggressive Roman Zolanski. Back when she introduced the character, she said he was behind her most wicked lyrics and during a performance at the Grammys, she controversially staged an exorcism.
“Roman is a crazy boy who lives in me and he says the things that I don’t want to say…He was conceived in rage so he bashes everyone. He wants to be blamed. I don’t want to blame him. I asked him to leave but he can’t. He’s here for a reason. People have brought him out and now he won’t leave,” Nicki said at the time.
8. Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid briefly embodied an alter ego named Rebekka Harajuku. During a trip to Japan, Bella donned a blonde wig for her adventures around the country — and even created an Instagram account to share photos. She racked up over 20,000 followers but her time as Rebekka only lasted a few weeks. Bella hasn’t posted on the account since 2018.
9. Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey’s British alter ego Bianca Storm made her debut in the singer’s “Heartbreaker” music video in 1999. In the video, the two argue over a man and get involved in a catfight. Looking back, Mariah said she “became obsessed” with Bianca and admitted that it’s still “fun” to occasionally embody the character to this day.
“Bianca is a character that I made up a long time ago when we were doing the ‘Heartbreaker’ video with Brett Ratner, my Aries brother,” Mariah told E! News. “We wanted to do me as the evil, you know like the bad version of me.”
10. Erika Girardi
When it comes to performing on stage, Erika Girardi leaves that up to her alter ego, Erika Jayne. The Real Housewives star has explained that the character has allowed her to fully express herself on stage, giving her “freedom” and an “escape” from her everyday life.
“Listen, I’ve been performing since I was a kid. I think there’s a little bit of Erika Jayne inside of everyone because she represents freedom, fantasy, love, escape, glitz, glamour, and fun,” Erika shared on an episode of Bravo After Hours. “And that’s how the character really has progressed.”
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