The Aussie and international celebrities who transformed their lives this year
Whether it was a haircut that broke the internet or happily getting plastic surgery, 2023 was the year of transformation for celebrities. See the stars who overhauled their lives.
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Whether it was a haircut that broke the Internet like Harry Styles, becoming a parent like Rebel Wilson, happily getting plastic surgery like Sia, or undergoing a fitness overhaul like Jackie O Henderson and Shannon Noll, 2023 was the year of transformation for celebrities.
Here’s a list of both Australian and international stars who overhauled themselves - in the most part, for the better.
SIA
Aside from banging out catchy tunes like Unstoppable and Chandelier, Australian singer-songwriter Sia is also known for never showing her face.
At least, she was. In October this year, the fresh-faced performer took to the stage to present an Outstanding Achievement in Medicine award to Doctor Ben Talei at the 2023 Daytime Beauty Awards, crediting him with her transformation.
“I’m a pop star that normally hides my face and doesn’t lie about s**t. I got an amazing facelift from Dr. Talei,” the 47-year-old said. “He is incredible, and he is doing so much good work - and not just for the pop stars of the world.”
She then went a step further and revealed she had had liposuction.
“Had to take a medication that made me put on a lot of weight that I just can’t shift with exercise or thyroid meds so I went in for lipo,” the “Unstoppable” singer tweeted.
Sia, whose surname is Furler but who goes by her first name only, has often spoken about the need to conceal her face due to both privacy and self-esteem.
“I don’t want to be famous or recognisable,” she said. “I don’t want to be critiqued about the way that I look on the internet.”
After years of wearing wigs to cover her face, it’s obvious the musician is feeling fantastic after her facelift, which is all that matters.
“People go, ‘You look nice’. I’m like, ‘Dr. Ben Talei, face lift’ for anything you could ever want,” she gushed. “I love him, I can’t say enough good about him.”
JACKIE “O” HENDERSON
After picking up some unhealthy lifestyle habits during lockdown - which, to be honest, who didn’t? - radio host Jackie “O” Henderson signed up to weight-loss program WW. She went on to lose 10kg but admitted to falling back into old habits.
“I did the first year and my goal was to lose 10 kilos, which I did. When I got to the 10-kilo mark I went, ‘Whoo pizza, let’s start eating, I’ve been so good I need to reward myself’,” she said. “And of course, you don’t stop rewarding yourself.”
In November last year, Henderson took time off from her very popular KISS FM radio show with co-host Kyle Sandilands to recover from exhaustion and Covid.
She returned to her radio show at the beginning of this year well-rested and happy, and since then has lost almost 20 kilos. The 48-year-old attributes her weight loss to eating healthily, exercising regularly and dropping alcohol.
More importantly, she is the happiest she’s ever been. “There’s this fine line between saying, ‘It doesn’t matter what you weigh’ [and] knowing that certain weights affect my energy and motivation and health,” she told Stellar magazine. “I knew I needed to lose weight to feel better, not look better.”
REBEL WILSON
If 2020 was Rebel Wilson’s Year of Health, then 2023 was her Year of Motherhood. The Australian actor welcomed her little girl Royce via surrogate in November 2022 and has spent most of this year in a new parenthood haze.
“I thought I was going to be a strict parent. And everyone’s like, ‘No, no,’ I’m, like, so soft. Because I just melt every time I’m with her,” the 43-year-old said.
“The look Royce gives me and I give her… we’ve only maybe not seen each other for 45 minutes. And she’s smiling like it’s the best thing that’s happened in her life that you’ve walked into the room. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, Roycie!’ And I just give her the biggest hugs.”
Earlier in the year, Wilson revealed on the Life Uncut podcast that she had tried surrogacy before but “sadly the embryo miscarried, which is really, like, you get so excited when it takes and luckily I didn’t make it public because that would have been even worse because you’d have to say it didn’t work out. It was really sad.” It’s no wonder the actor calls Royce her “miracle”.
She and her fiance, Ramona Agruma, are open to having a second child in the future. “It’s just like, well, is that possible? I have to do IVF,” she said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
CHRISSIE SWAN
Media personality Chrissie Swan doesn’t want to talk about “the size of my a**e”, as she so delicately put it in a magazine interview.
“I’m not going to tell you what I eat in a day. Because I’ve read those stories and they make me feel bad about myself,” she said.
Swan has lost an estimated 90 kilos since the lengthy lockdowns in Melbourne, which was the catalyst for her health kick.
“We couldn’t go out to dinner, we couldn’t go to a friend’s house, they couldn’t come to us, we couldn’t go outside five kilometres. All we could do was walk, and so that’s what I did,” she explained. Swan now loves walking so much that she does it for hours at a time.
The television presenter also gave up alcohol after realising it contributed to her feelings of anxiety and sleeplessness.
“I really noticed a huge difference in my day-to-day positivity and ability to deal with the pandemic and the ongoing changes to literally every part of our lives if I’m clear minded, and for me it’s been fantastic, a fantastic choice,” the 49-year-old said.
“I have never been happier or more centred. It is actually great and I don’t think you can feel that way until you have done the years. I wouldn’t be 20 for quids.”
CASEY DONOVAN
After announcing she weighed less than 100 kilos for the first time in her adult life last year, singer Casey Donovan admitted on her social media she was looking and feeling her “best self”.
“I’m feeling as healthy as ever,” she proudly proclaimed.
Like Chrissie Swan, Donovan began her health reset by walking during the lockdown period.
“I like to focus on one thing at a time, because my life is so manic and I’m doing lots of things all of the time. So I like to focus on walking - walking is always good and will always be your best friend,” the 35-year-old said. She has since lost 15 kilos.
Hot on the heels of her lifestyle transformation, Donovan launched her debut fashion range for plus-size fashion label Taking Shape in August this year, revealing she had always wanted to be part of fashion.
“I’m just in a really great space. I’m enjoying life,” she told a publication earlier this year. “Yes, we all have lows, highs, ups, downs, in-betweens, but it’s learning how to deal with those and grow - because we never stop growing.”
SHANNON NOLL
For anyone else, posting a gym selfie to social media might be annoying - but Australian Idol superstar Shannon Noll is quite possibly the exception.
The “What About Me” singer has been happily posting selfies to Instagram showing off his buff arms and ripped physique since March this year.
“I’m loving being back in the gym! My body is responding really well! Thank goodness for muscle memory!” he wrote enthusiastically.
Fans promptly began calling him “Swollsie” in the comments section, leaving some very appreciative (read: thirsty) feedback.
In November, he posted yet another picture from the gym, looking even more fit than ever.
“Dropped a few kilos last week after having the flu!” he wrote alongside the bare-chested photo. “Back training this morning though, not 100% yet but much better than last week!”
Once again, his fans arrived in droves to tell him how great he looked with even fellow Australian Idol superstar Guy Sebastian moved to comment.
“Mate, you’re killing it!” Sebastian wrote. “Looking huge.”
JAMES STEWART
In what has become a rather familiar story, Home And Away star James Stewart admits he “ate his way through Covid”, weighing 101 kilos at his heaviest.
He wrote on social media earlier this year that it was only when he couldn’t keep up with his young daughter Scout that he knew things had to change.
“I was sluggish… wore baggy shirts and didn’t feel great,” he wrote. “The thing that got to me the most is I couldn’t keep up with my kid… now she has trouble keeping up with me! Haha!”
After dropping 12 kilos, the actor revealed the key to his body transformation: a total booze ban and diet overhaul.
“No one wants to hear it, but most of the work is done in the kitchen and at the bar,” the 48-year-old said.
“Because everyone doesn’t mind doing a little bit of exercise – it doesn’t matter what it is. The hard part is the food.”
Since losing the weight, Stewart says he feels much healthier, both in body and mind.
“I feel good about myself,” he wrote on Instagram. “A better man, a better husband, a better father.”
SAM MAC
After an eight week body transformation, Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac turned his self-described “dad bod” into “fab bod”.
The 42-year-old posed confidently on the cover of Men’s Health earlier this year after working out intensely with celebrity personal trainer Jono Castano.
“It’s hard to hide it when there’s a bit of flab down there. I wasn’t overweight, but I could see that there was flab there. There were too many naan breads,” Mac said about his journey to better health.
“It was a little confronting even for me to see because I hadn’t really looked down for a while.”
Mac revealed that becoming a father to his daughter Margot in late 2022 was part of his motivation to get to his fittest self.
“Wowsers! That’s really me!” he wrote on Instagram alongside the reveal of his cover. “I’m absolutely honoured to grace the cover of Men’s Health and absolutely gutted they included my ‘before’ shot on that same cover (gutted being the appropriate term).
“I wanted to show people (particularly new dads) that if you truly apply yourself, you can start seeing results reasonably quickly.”
JULIA MORRIS
After splitting from her husband of 16 years, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Outta Here! co-host Julia Morris did what many people do when going through significant change: she cut her hair.
Like Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in Sliding Doors, Morris gave herself a fun and fresh pixie cut.
However, her bosses at Channel 10 were reportedly not impressed with the comedian’s new do - in fact, they were apparently “horrified” that she 1) cut her hair in a way that was not “feminine and appealing” 2) did not tell them she was going to cut her hair (aka she did not ask their permission).
Heaven forbid.
The 55-year-old dyed her hair blonde to match her new co-host Robert Irwin, though.
Hopefully, she asked permission this time.
OSHER GUNSBERG
Poor Channel 10. Not only did they have to contend with Julia Morris transforming her hair, they also had television presenter Osher Gunsberg doing the same.
The 49-year-old caused a ruckus when he dyed his hair peroxide blonde ahead of his many hosting duties, including The Bachelors and Masked Singer.
The all-round good guy revealed that a meeting was called after he dyed his hair during Masked Singer.
“Come on, it’s just hair. Hair does not pay my mortgage. Hair does not employ me. I’d like to think what comes out of my mouth pays me,” he said.
“No one cares if [Masked Singer panel] Abbie or Chrissie or Mel change their hair every single episode, I got a haircut halfway through the season and there was a meeting!”
JESSICA MAUBOY
Singer Jessica Mauboy was a copper-haired vision at the Aria Awards this year, delighting her many fans.
The Australian Idol alum and The Voice judge fittingly debuted her daring new red hair on the red carpet, pairing it with a black mini-dress and coat, bright red stockings, heels and clutch.
It was a bold look for the singer, who is normally a brunette.
“So happy to be back at the Arias,” she wrote on Instagram, alongside stunning photos of her new hairdo. “And for this year I wanted to bring a feminine look with an edge, so big shoutout to my creative team.”
Go team!
HARRY STYLES
It’s not every day that you can say your hair broke the internet, so kudos to singer and actor Harry Styles for doing just that.
Known for his sense of style and great set of pipes, the 29-year-old is also known for his thick, luscious head of chocolate brown hair.
After all, it’s how we differentiated him from the other One Directioners, right? Right?
So when he emerged with a buzz cut in October, the fans went crazy. Many expressed they were in “mourning” for the Harry Styles that used to be.
“He’s not Harry Styles anymore,” wrote several people on social media.
Luckily, many others saw the beauty in the musician’s freshly-shorn head.
“I’m happy he did what he wanted without caring what other ppl think,” one wrote.
Yes, hopefully there were no emergency meetings or permissions to be had…
ROBERT IRWIN
Seemingly in the blink of an eye, wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin went from adorable two-year-old toddler to now 19-year-old heart-throb.
And just when Australia had gotten used to him gushing about his girlfriend Rorie Buckey and looking model-like on the cover of magazines, he has recently been announced as the co-host of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here! alongside Julia Morris.
Which means that Irwin is now a bona fide television presenter to boot. This could be the start of (another) amazing career.
“I can’t wait to plunge back into the incredible African jungle and introduce our celebrities to the magnificent wildlife that call the jungle home,” he said.
“Crikey! This is going to be a wild ride!”
NATALIE BASSINGTHWAIGHTE
Following the end of her 12 year marriage to fellow Rogue Traders bandmate Cameron McGlinchey, Natalie Bassingthwaighte revealed she had found new love with “a woman who makes my heart smile and makes me happy.”
Bass, who has a daughter with McGlinchey, was initially “terrified” to announce her same-sex relationship publicly and sought advice from her ex on what to do.
“I rang Cam and I was hysterical,” the 48-year-old told Stellar magazine. “And he said, ‘It’s OK. This is your truth and you now have to sit in it and stand in it and own it.’ So to have that support from him has been nothing short of beautiful, and I’m very grateful for it.”
In November this year, Bassingthwaighte shared pictures of her and her new partner, Pip Loth, on Instagram.
“Now I can speak from my own mouth, on my own truth, and that feels rewarding. I’m OK. Everything is OK, and everyone is OK,” she said. “We’re in a good space. It feels liberating.”
Originally published as The Aussie and international celebrities who transformed their lives this year
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