From Samantha Armytage to Karl Stefanovic: Celeb makeovers that stunned in 2019
From Tziporah Malkah to Samantha Armytage, this has been a year where celebrities have transformed right in front of our eyes.
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From Tziporah Malkah’s loss, to Angie Kent’s glamorous makeover as The Bachelorette, 2019 has been the year celebrities have transformed right in front of our eyes.
There was Samantha Armytage’s Weight Watchers body makeover and Matt Agnew’s evolution from nerd – to leading man – on the latest series of The Bachelor. And of course all eyes will be on Karl Stefanovic – and his suits – when he makes his long-awaited return to the Today show next month.
These are the celebrity transformations that made our collective jaws drop in 2019.
SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE
Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage revealed she had lost 10kg in four months with her reported six-figure deal as an ambassador for Weight Watchers.
Armytage, 43, revealed she was feeling “absolutely fantastic” after shedding the kilos via a calorie-controlled diet, along with regular workouts of boxing and weight training.
“Do you know what? My weight is already scrutinised,” Armytage told The Australian Women’s Weekly.
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“I understand there will be more scrutiny that comes with this … but the paparazzi are always already trying to take pictures where there is a fat roll showing,” she added, speaking about her WW deal.
Armytage revealed her makeover was not just about looks, but also about self-confidence.
“You see, I’ve discovered the meaning of life and I’m now on the verge of greatness. Because I really don’t care what people think of me anymore,” Armytage wrote in Stellar earlier this month.
KARL STEFANOVIC
Perhaps in preparation for his return to Today hosting duties in January, Karl Stefanovic has been focused on an image overhaul.
This year, the Gold Logie-winner was often snapped walking with his believed-to-be-pregnant wife, Jasmine Yarbrough, in Sydney.
Stefanovic had a lot more time on his hands this after being sidelined by Nine for most of 2019 – except for hosting This Time Next Year – in the wake of his dramatic exit from Today more than a year ago.
Stefanovic is due to front the new-look Today show with new co-host, Allison Langdon, from January 6.
“Going back to the Today Show is not something that I thought would come up again,” Stefanovic said in a statement, about his return to the plum TV role.
“I thought my time was up but then when I was sounded out about it, it got me thinking. It’s a big job with enormous pressures and I know only too well some of those pitfalls, but it is also without question the best live job in Australia.”
TZIPORAH MALKAH
Ex-model and reality TV star Tziporah Malkah said she is happiest she’s ever been since losing 50kg in one of the most dramatic body transformations of 2019.
The former fiancee of billionaire James Packer used hypnotherapy to shed the kilos, gaining self-confidence in the process.
“I’m getting so much more attention from males and females, I’m getting hit on by everyone and I flirt with everyone too so it’s great,” Malkah said.
“I am the happiest. I don’t have millions of dollars anymore, I don’t own anything anymore. I don’t have the money I used to have but I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
After shedding the kilos, I’m A Celeb star Malkah – formerly known as Kate Fischer – underwent a tummy tuck operation to boost her results.
“I had a tummy tuck just for the shape because I am older and had loose skin,” she said.
“You know what? I’ve been thinner, younger and better looking before and absolutely miserable … I feel sexier now.”
BACHELOR AND BACHELORETTE
It was the year of the understated makeover – aka a subtle glow up – for the leads of Australia’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
Former Gogglebox star Angie Kent debuted a more polished style – complete with sequined gowns – as she fronted the 2019 series of The Bachelorette.
“I am not going to lie, I have dabbled in Botox,” she admitted to The Daily Telegraph.
“I love me some Botox and I have suffered with acne scars so I am all about getting skin treatments but don’t expect me to get a boob job. I am quite happy with my little breasts.”
And Bachelor Matt Agnew swapped astrophysics for reality TV, and his academic demeanour had for a leading man look during his turn on the show.
Though his relationship with series winner Chelsie McLeod ended within months after filming ended.
REBEL WILSON
Australian comedy star Rebel Wilson has continued her gradual slimdown, showing off a thinner frame as she continues making moves in Hollywood.
While shooting the upcoming movie Cats, due out on Boxing Day, the former Jenny Craig ambassador said she had lost more than 3kg because of the “high temperature” on set.
“I lost eight pounds (3.6kg) shooting my number in four days,” Wilson told Entertainment Tonight.
She explained that the on-set temperature was set to high because: “One, because there’s a lot of physicality … but also, they heated up the set very high, to almost 100 Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius), so that we could never cool down.
“These people are like, the best dancers in the whole world, so they can’t cool their muscles down or they could get an injury and they’d be out of the film.”
LINCOLN LEWIS
Australian actor Lincoln Lewis debuted his new body in a Men’s Health makeover after a catfishing ordeal which saw him pack on the pounds.
Lewis revealed he had “constant spiral” and “heavily broken” after his image was used by an online catfish, tricking multiple women into thinking they were dating him.
The former Home And Away star overhauled his body during Men’s Health’s 12-week challenge, shedding 12kg and showing off his ripped body on the front of the magazine.
Opening up on Instagram, Lewis wrote it had been a “big deal” for him to reveal his personal struggles.
“For a decent amount of time I’d been stuck in a constant spiral that had left me pretty heavily broken … it got to the point where mentally and emotionally most of the time I felt broken but always made sure to put a smile on every time I’d step outside,” Lewis wrote on social media.
He revealed he had been “eating like sh*t” and “let myself go big time” but has since turned his life around through fitness.
MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT STARS
The cast of MAFS really nailed the post-reality TV makeover this year, particularly contestants Jules Robinson and Elizabeth Sobinoff.
Robinson shed kilos ahead of her real-life wedding to MAFS groom Cam Merchant, joining Weight Watchers for her pre-wedding slimdown.
“I haven’t obsessed about losing weight, I’ve just been doing my thang day by day and now seeing and enjoying the results!,” the 37-year-old said, of her reported 10kg weight loss.
“I love having a womanly figure and I’ll always have curves.
“But I also recognise the importance of being at a healthy weight, especially at this important stage of my life.”
Meantime, after being cruelly fat-shamed by her MAFS “husband” Sam on the show, Sobinoff embarked on her own body transformation. during her time on Married At First Sight.
Viewers were left fuming when groom Sam Ball described Sobinoff as a “bigger” girl on Nine’s reality series.
A few months after the show wrapped, Sobinoff showed off her dramatic weight loss and makeover, which included a more natural makeup and hair look.
PAULINI
She made a return to TV in 2019, as The Spider on The Masked Singer. And with it, Australian Idol alumn Paulini showed off a noticeably slimmer frame.
“I work out so much and I try and eat as healthy as possible,” the singer, 37, said in an interview with Now To Love.
“I try to keep away from the more Fijian foods that I used to eat before because it’s quite carby. I enjoy muy Thai boxing and I love keeping active and I find it helps me mentally and physically.”
Paulini had been the victim of fat-shaming during her previous stint on Idol. “When we did the Young Divas, I did lose a lot of weight while I was doing that, but it wasn’t a healthy way of losing it,” Paulini said, according to the lifestyle site.
“But now I’ve learnt more about nutrition and I love being active. It relaxes me and focuses me and it’s good for my head.”