History Main / BeautyInversion

* Creator/RikMayall frequently covered up his PrettyBoy / {{Bishonen}} good looks with grotesque costumes, make-up, and exaggerated expressions for several of his roles in ''Series/TheYoungOnes,'' ''Series/TheComicStripPresents'' and ''{{Series/Bottom}}''. Fellow comedian Andy de la Tour even commented "Rik was a very beautiful man, but in every character he played, he made himself ugly." (The only possible exception is his bit role in ''Film/ShockTreatment'', ready-for-his-closeup sanitarium orderly Rest-Home Ricky, who's even described as "young male intern, tall and handsome" -- but contextually that helps play into the film's mild BeautyIsBad, or at least not everything, {{Aesop}}.)

* ''Film/TheBatman2021'' uses extensive prosthetics to transform Creator/ColinFarrell into Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot, better known as [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin "the Penguin"]]. The special effects give him a more heavyset appearance along with a scarred, pockmarked face and a hooked nose that make Farrell completely unrecognizable.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Season 5 featured Jennifer Morrison in her Dark One make-up to subvert EvilIsSexy. Even after then, the stress and exhaustion Emma is going through in her TraumaCongaLine is conveyed with make-up to have her look continually weary and tired.

* In the film ''Film/EpicMovie'', this is played for comedy. Carmen Electra in the film plays a parody of Mystique, and initially looks absolutely gorgeous, especially since it basically shows off her entire naked body, only with certain placed scales to hide her nipples and private areas. Later on, she even gets a sex scene with the main character Peter, where she seductively expands her chest and ass at his request... and then he starts requesting some rather ugly and disgusting features. The absolutely stunning Carmen Electra goes from a stunning near-naked woman with a larger rack and ass, to a fat and flabby grandma with a unibrow and crossed eyes. [[FanDisservice Followed by a sloppy make out and hardcore granny sex with Peter...]]

** ''Marked Woman'' after her character has been attacked by the Mafia. The original bandaging was rather [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished small]], so she went to a doctor and had the face bandaged more realistically.

Note: This is different from HollywoodHomely, where an actor or actress will be "plained down" with unflattering clothing or hairstyle, glasses, a better-looking sibling, crippling shyness hiding their looks or so on, but the result is only (maybe) average-looking by non-Hollywood standards. A Hollywood Homely character can quite easily be changed in-story to the actor's normal appearance for a BeautifulAllAlong reveal. This trope, instead, is when the actor uses makeup or prosthetics to change the look of their face to match the expectations and image of the character.

This trope usually happens in biopics and serious dramas, and covers attractive actors playing below average-looking characters (or real people), and there is a definite effort to not only play down but deliberately counteract the actor's usual good looks. Since most Hollywood actors tend to be very attractive, it's an interesting challenge for them to portray a {{Gonk}}. Compare with UnkemptBeauty, which is more along the lines of "the less makeup you wear, the better you look."

[[folder:Comic Books ]]
* In-universe, unusually justified example: In ''ComicBook/{{Passionella}}'' by Jules Feiffer, Passionella, having achieved success as a movie star, decides to make a more realistic movie where she plays a non-beautiful, unglamorous, chimney sweep. All of her scenes in the movie are shot during the day, where all her previous glamorous roles could only be filmed at night, because she only transforms into a beautiful, glamorous movie star in the evening. She wins the Best Actress Oscar, of course.

[[folder:Film ]]

** In ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' she decided that Jane Hudson would never wash her face and only put a new layer of make-up on every day. She patterned the look off numerous homeless ladies seen on Hollywood boulevard. When Bette's daughter saw her in the make-up for the first time, she remarked "mother, this time you've gone too far." Elsewhere averted with her co-star Joan Crawford, who struggled to look unattractive. She wanted to have full hair and make-up, despite playing a wheelchair bound woman who hadn't left her room in years. This did however give the impression that Blanche had aged better than Jane, giving her sister another reason to resent her.

* Creator/TomCruise wears a baldcap and a fatsuit in ''Film/TropicThunder'' to play foul-mouthed CorruptCorporateExecutive Les Grossman. It was believed to have been Cruise’s idea to disguise himself like this.

** He had his head shaved (''by Creator/HunterSThompson'') and wore huge glasses in Creator/TerryGilliam's ''Film/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. Creator/BenicioDelToro just put up a lot of weight and a leatherman's moustache. They both looked quite unspectacular in result. But it was the brilliant acting that made them truly offputting.

* The normally ''very'' beautiful Creator/LenaHeadey sports some very nasty looking facial scars, cracked lips and bad teeth in ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' while playing former prostitute turned drug baron Ma-Ma.

* Angela Bettis as the title character in the [[MadeForTVMovie TV remake]] of ''Film/{{Carrie 2002}}''. Drab clothes, messy hair and something about not washing her face or anything definitely hid any beauty that she had, making it that much more special when [[SheCleansUpNicely she went to the prom]].

* Creator/BlakeLively, a very glamorous blonde, in ''Film/TheTown''. She plays a trashy alcoholic who layers the make-up on and looks constantly spaced out. Critics were shocked. She also did this in ''The Rhythm Section'', disguising herself as a homeless woman and adopting various other disguises. It became a RunningGag during production of the film for tabloids to report "Blake Lively looks unrecognisable..." In ''Film/TheShallows'' her character also ends up with a nasty gash along her legs, sunburn all over her body and other unsightly blemishes brought on by spending the day trapped at sea.

* Downplayed with Lizzie Caplan in ''Film/MeanGirls''. Producers were reluctant to cast her as 'art freak' Janis because of her beauty, but [[AbilityOverAppearance she gave the best audition]]. So instead of trying to dress her down, they gave her odd fashion choices, goth make-up and MessyHair. She even wears a tuxedo to the prom, subverting SheCleansUpNicely. There are fandom rumours that Janis herself is a former AlphaBitch, and Caplan's beauty is likely a contributing factor.

* Kate [=McKinnon=] is likewise a very beautiful lady. In ''{{Film/Ghostbusters 2016}}'' she's dressed down with MessyHair, constantly seen in overalls and portrayed as something of an oddball.

* In the film ''Film/EpicMovie'', this is played for comedy. Carmen Electra in the film plays a parody of Mystique, and initially looks absolutely gorgeous, especially since it basically shows off her entire naked body, only with certain placed scales to hide her nipples and private areas. Later on, she even gets a sex scene with the main character Peter, where she seductively expands her chest and ass at his request... and then he starts requesting some rather ugly and disgusting features. The absolutely stunning Carmen Electra goes from a stunning near naked woman with a larger rack and ass, to a fat and flabby grandma with a unibrow and crossed eyes. [[FanDisservice Followed by a sloppy make out and hardcore granny sex with Peter...]]
* ''Film/MortalKombat2021'' has Sisi Stringer's Mileena, who while not having the hideous shark-like mouth from the games, still makes a pretty actress monstruous through [[GlasgowGrin cheeks full of scars]] and ScaryTeeth. Stringer herself said it was easy to get into character just by following along the hour-long make-up process -- "So I’m seeing my own pretty face in the mirror and then they're just layering and layering until I turn into something that is absolutely not me!"
* In ''Film/HouseOfGucci'', the [[PrettyBoy strikingly handsome and youthful looking]] Creator/JaredLeto is unrecognizable as the overweight, balding and mustachioed Paolo Gucci, aided even further by Paolo's poor dress sense.
* While Creator/ReeseWitherspoon in ''Film/WalkTheLine'' is NOT an example, it should be noted that her Oscar win for that movie broke a back to back to back three peat of actresses (Creator/HalleBerry for ''Film/MonstersBall'', Nicole Kidman for ''The Hours'', and Charlize Theron for ''Monster'') who DID follow this trope to the T and win the Oscar.

* Creator/ElisabethShue in the MadeForTVMovie ''Amy & Isabelle''. As the intent was to make her look like a sheltered OldMaid who only leaves her house for work, she's given drab brown hair that's always tied in a PrimAndProperBun, almost no makeup and dowdy clothes to make her look slightly larger than a Hollywood actress is normally. The same film also requires the pretty Hanna Hall to spend a good chunk of the run time in a messy wig as a result of her TraumaticHaircut that isn't tidied up until the ending.

* In ''Film/Babylon2022'', Creator/TobeyMaguire as James [=McKay=] is less flattering in comparison to the rest of the cast. Even with wearing a suit, he has a pale complexion, CreepyShadowedUndereyes and crooked yellow teeth.
* ''Film/JohnWickChapter4'' sees Creator/ScottAdkins -- a quite handsome and very physically fit martial arts actor -- playing Killa, [[FatBastard a very fat and amoral crime boss]] with gold teeth, unflattering hair, and a constant coating of sweat and grease. Considering that Killa [[StoutStrength actually manages to throw down remarkably well for his size]], it's pretty easy to guess that Adkins was cast specifically for his athleticism, able to fight convincingly despite wearing fatsuit to make him look 500 pounds.

* Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter as Morgan in ''Series/{{Merlin 1998}}''. In the first act she is a homely girl with a lazy eye and pigtails, but uses magic to make herself beautiful in order to trip up Arthur. [[spoiler:At the end [[ThisWasHerTrueForm her magic slips away and she is homely again]].]]

* Most of the women on ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'' are made to look a lot uglier than they do in real life by using a combination of unflattering hairstyles and the ill-fitting prison uniforms, and they in most cases wear a minimal make-up (...which by any logic different than the Hollywood one doesn't make them ''uglier'', but rather shows their faces closer to like they really look). The most literal examples of the trope are Taryn Manning (Pennsatucky) and her character's followers, who are given meth-teeth, bad skin and perpetually messy, dirty hair.

* In ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'', the murderous, balding grey-haired and perpetually scowling Count Olaf was played by Creator/NeilPatrickHarris.
* For her recurring role as Estelle in ''Series/{{Friends}}'' June Gable wore an unflattering wig, too much jewelry and UncannyValleyMakeUp. She also affected a voice to suggest the agent had been a chain-smoker for years.

* Done to nearly everyone in ''Series/TimAndEricAwesomeShowGreatJob''. Any conventionally attractive celebrity that appears on the show will often end up being made much uglier with intentionally bad makeup, lighting and color correction (or just being directed to make weird faces through their whole scene.) Creator/JohnCReilly as the dopey Dr. Steve Brule is perhaps the most well-known example.
* ''Series/TheTerror'': While almost the entire cast go through this to some extent as they begin to suffer from starvation, lead poisoning and scurvy, Captain Francis Crozier stands out as weary, hollow-eyed, paunchy and generally pretty rough-looking from the start -- not much at all like the usual rugged handsomeness of his actor, Creator/JaredHarris. It's an unusual case, as the real Crozier had very delicate, even features that persisted even after the [[YoungerThanTheyLook premature aging]] he suffered from stress and prior polar expeditions that left him white-haired and tremulous.

** Creator/KateMcKinnon is an attractive woman in real life, but on [=SNL=], she often plays old men, old women or hideous monsters that aren't even human (like Shud the blobfish mermaid).
** Creator/CecilyStrong is one of the straight-up hottest cast-members of all time, and has played a number of characters and impressions that play on this. However, one of her most popular characters is Cathy-Anne, a middle-aged drug-addict who lives in Creator/MichaelChe's building.
* In ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' [[Series/FargoSeasonThree Season 3]], Creator/EwanMcGregor [[ActingForTwo plays both]] the successful Emmit Stussy and his down-on-his-luck brother Ray. Emmit Stussy is as sharp and handsome as, well, Ewan [=McGregor=], albeit saddled with an unflattering perm. Ray Stussy, however, is balding, portly, windburned and sickly, all of which were accomplished with two hours of makeup that ensure you can barely even tell that they're played by the same man.

* ''Series/FatherTed'': Frank Kelly was a perfectly decent-to-good-looking guy in real life. As Father Jack Hackett, he's covered in skin blemishes and sores, has a milky eye, and can't or doesn't bother shaving or combing his hair. A lot of this is either concurrent with or a result of his [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]], since in flashbacks to his sober days, he's just Kelly [[IWasQuiteALooker sans makeup and properly-groomed]].

* Vixen was goofy and cute, but when she was flown into Wrestling/AllJapanWomensProWrestling she was made into a EvilForeigner BrawnHilda counterpart of Arsion's head booker Wrestling/AjaKong when Aja could not make it to a show that had only announced "[[ExactWords A Kong]]" would appear. This eventually went full circle when both Wrestling/AmazingKong and Aja Kong would get GirlyGirl baby {{face}} gimmicks in Wrestling/FightingOperaHustle based on earlier work they did where they were not trying to look like {{wrestling monster}}s.
* Vixen's perennial rival Nanae Takahashi was also briefly turned into an Aja Kong knockoff, although this case was purely [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]] and just a one off thing.

* ''Series/{{Maniac}}'':

* When playing the androgynous Pat on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', Julia Sweeney colored her lips beige and thickened up her eyebrows with makeup to avoid any possible clues about their gender, in addition to the usual padded bodysuit and gender-ambiguous clothing.

** Mariah Carey doesn't look too good in her role as the titular character's mother in ''Film/TheButler'', either.

* Creator/JohnnyDepp had his head shaved (''by Creator/HunterSThompson'') and wore huge glasses in Creator/TerryGilliam's ''Film/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. Creator/BenicioDelToro just put up a lot of weight and a leatherman's moustache. They both looked quite unspectacular in result. But it was the brilliant acting that made them truly offputting.

* In ''Film/TheBaaderMeinhofComplex'', Creator/MartinaGedeck and Creator/MoritzBleibtreu are [[http://www.vitagraphfilms.com/images/Baader-Meinhof_Photos/Hi-Res/Baader&Meinhof.jpg noticeably made to appear grubby and unkempt]] in order to more closely resemble the real Baader and Meinhof.

* Creator/JudeLaw played a slimy, gaunt, brown-toothed, heavily balding photographer/assassin in ''Film/RoadToPerdition'' with [[spoiler:disfiguring facial scars in the end]]. Like in ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' he made himself balding, grew a big beard, and gave himself spectacles and wrinkles to make himself look older and unattractive. And in ''Film/{{Contagion}}'' he has snaggle-teeth to point out that he's the bad guy.

* Creator/GwynethPaltrow, [[http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/fat/obese/shallow.htm the actress who played her mother]], and [[http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/plain/fugly/shallowbb.htm Brooke Burns]] in ''Film/ShallowHal.'' When the movie got flak for casting such a thin woman as a heavy character, the director defended himself by noting that the concept called for her to be attractively thin through most of the movie -- Paltrow could fat up better than a heavy actress could not thin down. The result is a movie littered with bad fat jokes... about the smoking hot Paltrow.

* Creator/GwynethPaltrow, [[http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/fat/obese/shallow.htm the actress who played her mother]], and [[http://www.themakeupgallery.info/character/plain/fugly/shallowbb.htm Brooke Burns]] in ''Film/ShallowHal.'' When the movie got flak for casting such a thin woman as a heavy character, the director defended himself by noting that the concept called for her to be attractively thin through most of the movie -- Paltrow could fat up while a heavy actress could not thin down. The result is a movie littered with bad fat jokes... about the smoking hot Paltrow.

* [=AnnaLynne McCord=] in ''Film/{{Excision}}'' not only wears no makeup, but has acne scars and badly damaged hair, and looks far less attractive than the blonde bombshell that [=McCord=] is in real life.

* The evil [[TheCheerleader cheerleader]] HBIAC was nothing if not attractive, as was the dancing ho [[Wrestling/LisaMarieVaron Victoria]]. However, Victoria decided the best way to win a Halloween costume contest was to put on a fat suit and become a sumo wrestler. This was PlayedForLaughs, although the baby faces did "[[TheatricsOfPain sell]]" her "higher" weight.

* ''Series/RuyisRoyalLoveInThePalace'': [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wallace_huo.png Wallace Huo]] is made to look downright plain as [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qianlong.jpg the older Qianlong]].

* One of the earliest examples of the trope came from Kathleen Byron in ''Film/BlackNarcissus''. Her character Sister Ruth begins the film as a devout nun, but slowly suffers SanitySlippage and eventually turns into a {{Yandere}}. In the last act of the film, make-up is used to put her in the UncannyValley - giving the impression she's wearing a corpselike mask.

* Creator/JudeLaw played a slimy, gaunt, brown-toothed, heavily balding photographer/assassin in ''Film/RoadToPerdition'' with [[spoiler: disfiguring facial scars in the end]]. Like in ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' he made himself balding, grew a big beard, and gave himself spectacles and wrinkles to make himself look older and unattractive. And in ''Film/{{Contagion}}'' he has snaggle-teeth to point out that he's the bad guy.

* ''Film/MortalKombat2021'' has Sisi Stringer's Mileena, who while not having the hideous shark-like mouth from the games, still makes a pretty actress monstruous through [[GlasgowGrin cheeks full of scars]] and ScaryTeeth. Stringer herself said it was easy to get into character just by following along the hour-long make-up process - "So I’m seeing my own pretty face in the mirror and then they’re just layering and layering until I turn into something that is absolutely not me!"

[[folder:Live Action TV ]]

* Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter as Morgan in ''Series/{{Merlin 1998}}''. In the first act she is a homely girl with a lazy eye and pigtails, but uses magic to make herself beautiful in order to trip up Arthur. [[spoiler: At the end [[ThisWasHerTrueForm her magic slips away and she is homely again]].]]

* Some well-applied zombie makeup was enough to make the incredibly handsome Creator/JamieBamber look utterly horrible during a guest stint on ''Series/GhostWhisperer''. There's also his appearance on Series/{{House}}, where he starts out looking like his usual gorgeous self, but his looks worsen as his condition does--yellowing skin, bulging eyes, etc.--until finally, the sight of him laying on a bed wearing nothing but boxer shorts is completely undercut by the fact ''his skin is peeling off''. Quite jarring considering that he's usually MrFanservice in whatever he's starring in.

* Creator/RikMayall frequently covered up his PrettyBoy / {{Bishonen}} good looks with grotesque costumes, make-up, and exaggerated expressions for several of his roles in ''Series/TheYoungOnes,'' ''Series/TheComicStripPresents'' and ''{{Series/Bottom}}''. Fellow comedian Andy de la Tour even commented "Rik was a very beautiful man, but in every character he played, he made himself ugly." (The only possible exception is his bit role in ''Film/ShockTreatment'', ready-for-his-closeup sanitarium orderly Rest-Home Ricky, who's even described as "young male intern, tall and handsome"- but contextually that helps play into the film's mild BeautyIsBad, or at least not everything, {{Aesop}}.)

* ''Series/TheTerror'': While almost the entire cast go through this to some extent as they begin to suffer from starvation, lead poisoning and scurvy, Captain Francis Crozier stands out as weary, hollow-eyed, paunchy and generally pretty rough-looking from the start- not much at all like the usual rugged handsomeness of his actor, Creator/JaredHarris. It's an unusual case, as the real Crozier had very delicate, even features that persisted even after the [[YoungerThanTheyLook premature aging]] he suffered from stress and prior polar expeditions that left him white-haired and tremulous.