40 Of The Funniest Celebrity Wax Figures Ever Made
Let’s face it: waxworks can be pretty creepy. Is it the unmoving eyes? The unnaturally smooth skin? The eerie likeness of a real person frozen in time? Not every waxwork is made equal, though, and sometimes the creepiest thing about one is just how unlike its subject it looks. The following wax creations of famous people aren’t exactly uncanny... and as a result, they’re pretty unsettling — albeit highly entertaining — to look at!
1. Pamela Anderson
As with so many of the waxworks we've uncovered, this Pamela Anderson is technically well done but there’s just something not quite right about it. She looks like she might unhinge her jaw and eat you once your back is turned.
What’s strangest about it, though, is the skin tone. It looks like the artist was shooting for the stars with that signature Baywatch tan, but ended up with a botched trip to the sun beds. Factor 50 next time, eh?
2. The Rock
This wax figure of Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a The Rock, caused a lot of issues, because his skin color was all wrong. In fact, fans were so annoyed at the Musée Grévin over the waxwork that Johnson himself stepped in.
Johnson wrote on Instagram, “I’m going to have my team reach out to our friends at Grevin Museum… so we can work at ’updating’ my wax figure here with some important details and improvements — starting with my skin color. And next time I’m in Paris, I’ll stop in and have a drink with myself.”
3. William, Prince of Wales
In 2010 there had been widespread public and media excitement when William, Prince of Wales had announced his engagement to Catherine, Princess of Wales — or just plain old Kate Middleton as she had been known back then. Artist Jennifer Rubell decided to get in on the fun with a wax figure of the prince, posed just like in the engagement photo.
And this William had a replica of Kate’s new engagement ring affixed to his arm, so you could slide your finger through it and be “engaged” to the wax figure. Is it us, or is being actually affixed to a waxwork, let alone “engaged” to one, a very creepy idea?
4. Justin Timberlake
This wax figure of Justin Timberlake popped up at the Friend Movement’s 2014 Stardust Soiree at Madame Tussauds. And as most of us know, Madame Tussauds is world-famous for its waxworks and has been so for generations.
It’s made some truly incredible creations over the years, but alas, this Timberlake is not one of them. It doesn’t evoke awe, so much as “Aaargh!” We're not sure what's worse — waxy Justin's deathly complexion those spindly chairs below his bottom lip!
5. Brad Pitt
Madame Tussauds debuted this waxwork of Brad Pitt back in 2005. To be fair, it does at least look like Pitt, but there’s something so off about it that’s impossible to un-see
Maybe it’s the too-shiny face, or maybe it’s the all-too-realistic but still cold and dead eyes? This wax figure is the very definition of “uncanny valley:” that feeling you get when something looks human, but isn’t.
6. Miley Cyrus
Here’s Miley Cyrus in her Hannah Montana years… wait, that is Cyrus, right? The waxwork was made by the Museo de Cera in Madrid, Spain, but Cyrus herself didn’t go to the unveiling ceremony. Who knows, though, maybe the pop star would like this waxwork if she ever saw it?
Or maybe she’d want to take a wrecking ball to it! We can't quite put our finger on it, but there's definitely something seriously off with this Spanish waxwork creation.
7. Captain America/Chris Evans
No, this isn’t a shot from a new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie where Captain America returns as a zombie. Rather, it’s a wax figure from a museum in Madrid. And, alas, not a very good one.
Sure, you can certainly see some of Evans’ features in there, but his face looks like it has just plain melted. And what’s the deal with that chin? Better luck next time!
8. Naomi Campbell
This wax figure of world-famous supermodel Naomi Campbell looks like something straight out of a horror movie. Imagine being in a dark alley and seeing that headed right for you!
Don’t worry, though, there may yet be a happy ending for this creepy Campbell. In 2021 it appeared that the Parisian museum which housed her was taking her head off and fixing it.
9. Jennifer Lopez
There’s just something plain wrong with the eyes of this Madame Tussauds Jennifer Lopez figure. Look into them for too long and you might feel a chill run down your spine.
As it happens, J-Lo has actually been known to try and get rid of wax figures she doesn’t like! Allegedly, in the aftermath of her first breakup with Ben Affleck, she’d asked a Las Vegas hotel to remove waxworks of the two of them together.
10. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
There are so, so many things wrong with these waxworks of DiCaprio and Winslet. For a start, neither of them look remotely like themselves. In fact, it looks like someone might have repurposed old wax figures and outfitted them in Titanic costumes, so vague is the resemblance.
Still, at least they got the iconic pose right? If not for that and the outfits, though, you probably wouldn’t have guessed which celebs this pair were meant to be.
11. Jennifer Aniston
Madame Tussauds usually gets it right with its wax figures, but when it gets it wrong it gets it really wrong. Take this unsettling statue of Jennifer Aniston, for example.
Everyone was baffled when it debuted in 2014. Metro wrote at the time, “No disrespect to either, but the waxwork looks more like vocal powerhouse Celine Dion, 46, than Jennifer Aniston.”
12. Nicole Kidman
Sure, this wax figure might be Nicole Kidman, but only Kidman after one heck of a lot of plastic surgery and Botox. And she’s already said that she doesn’t like those things.
“No surgery for me,” she told Italian newspaper La Repubblica in 2014. “I did try Botox, unfortunately, but I got out of it and now I can finally move my face again.” This waxwork, on the other hand…
13. Ringo Starr
This Ringo Starr figure from the Tokyo Tower Wax Museum looks very glum indeed. Maybe he knows he doesn’t look much like the real Beatle? Or maybe he's caught wind of the fact that his entire face is seconds from melting clean off?
This picture was snapped in 2006; by 2013 the wax museum had closed. What became of this uncanny valley popstar likeness and his fellow wax figures? Sadly, we may never know for sure. We can only hope it does not return to us in our nightmares!
14. Justin Bieber
This Justin Bieber wax figure is from the Museo de Cera in Madrid, Spain, and someone has clearly put a lot of work into it. But unfortunately, it’s just plain creepy.
What’s most unsettling about it is the lipstick mark and the red patch on the neck. That just implies that someone was making out with the waxwork and kissing its cold, dead skin: ewww!
15. Ben Affleck
The “sad Ben Affleck” meme was in full swing back in 2017. There were entire blogs dedicated to the solemn expressions of the famous actor. You couldn’t spend five minutes on social media without seeing a glum Affleck face.
But did we really need a mournful Affleck wax figure to immortalize the moment forever more? Well, Boston-based wax museum called “Dreamland” certainly thought that that's exactly what we all needed!
16. Lady Gaga
This waxwork was introduced to the internet via Lady Gaga fans — and they were not impressed. To be fair, even someone who’d never heard of Lady Gaga would have been baffled by this not-quite-human-looking figure.
The horrifying statue was discovered at Peru’s Museo de Cera de Lima; hopefully it’s still there, because there would be nothing better than Gaga herself posing with it. We'll wait...
17. Harrison Ford
Who is this guy in the Indiana Jones outfit? Surely it’s not Harrison Ford? Although the actor has a few facial features in common with this waxwork, they really look nothing alike.
One can only imagine what Ford himself would be thinking upon seeing this. The Star Wars star is famously grumpy in day-to-day life, and he doesn’t care who knows it.
18. Celine Dion
This Celine Dion waxwork is, to put it bluntly, not quite right. The nose, the mouth, the oversize forehead… it’s all there, and it makes for some truly bizarre viewing.
Don’t worry, though, Dion fans. If you want to take a selfie with an accurate waxwork of the singer, there’s one at Madame Tussauds as well, and that one is apparently quite good.
19. Diana, Princess of Wales
This waxwork from the Hollywood Wax Museum is of Diana, Princess of Wales in full royal regalia, and although the tiara is lovely, the face doesn’t really look like The People’s Princess at all.
This picture is from 1998 — after Diana’s death — so chances are she never ever knew the museum was planning a waxwork of her. But it’s hard to imagine her not taking it all in good humor.
20. The Rock (again)
Johnson really doesn’t have a lot of luck with wax figures of himself. In addition to the headline-making one that gave him the wrong skin color, there was also this curious creation from the Hollywood Wax Museum in Tennessee.
The museum may be well-known, but that’s not always for the right reasons. Some visitors have complained in the past about how inaccurate the waxworks are. And, sadly, we have no choice but to agree!
21. Adele
It feels like whoever created this wax sculpture got so, so close to a completely realistic Adele and failed only at the very last second. Sadly, that just makes the uncanny-valley effect all the worse.
The creation is located at the Panoptikum in Hamburg, the oldest wax museum in Germany. You could always go visit it for yourself and see what you think? Or, keep a safe distance from eerie wax Adele. Your choice!
22. Brad Pitt (again)
Even the most famous of sex symbols will succumb to the winds of time eventually. Take this 2013-era Madame Tussauds wax figure of Pitt looking more like he does now, for example. Well, sort of. Unfortunately, it looks more like this waxy Pitt has been ravaged by a hurricane than a gentle gust!
If you’re wondering how Madame Tussauds makes its figures, according to its official website it takes “over 800 hours of molding, measuring, painting, and sculpting to make one figure.” But even then you’re clearly not guaranteed an exact replica of the person.
23. Zac Efron
This Madame Tussauds Zac Efron figure debuted at the Times Square branch of the famous wax museum back in 2009. At the time, he was still an up-and-coming teen idol, rather than the huge star he is now.
Not many people seemed overly impressed with the likeness at the time. The website Starcrush said, “He looks like a 50-year-old woman cosplaying Zac Efron because her kids saw High School Musical too many times and dared her to.”
24. Lindsay Lohan
If you want to remember what 2006 Lindsay Lohan looked like, check out this old wax figure from Madame Tussauds. Except, it doesn’t really look a whole lot like 2006 Lohan either. Oops.
It gets worse, too! Apparently, after Lohan’s arrest for driving under the influence back in 2007 Madame Tussauds put this figure in a prison jumpsuit. Now that’s just plain mean.
25. John Travolta
What’s this waxwork here? This is definitely John Travolta as Vincent Vega in the movie Pulp Fiction, right? It’s… kind of hard to tell. Let’s assume that it is, shall we?
Sadly the precise location of this magnificently bad wax figure is unknown: all we do know is that it was somewhere in California. So we don’t know what became of this melty-faced Travolta, either. Maybe it’s right behind you!
26. William (again)
There are countless waxworks of the British royal family all over the world. After all, there are so many photographs of all of them it should be easy to recreate their likenesses in wax, right? Wrong.
We present to the world this very shiny — and very un-lifelike — William figure that stood at Madame Tussauds London in 2008: it is, to be frank, just plain horrifying.
27. The Beatles
Four bad waxworks for the price of one. These were created in 1964 by Madame Tussauds and have not aged well. This image was taken in 2006 at the Tokyo Tower Wax Museum.
Ironically, this is probably the closest you’ll ever get to seeing Paul McCartney in Tokyo, because back in 1980 he was arrested and deported from Japan after being caught with marijuana at Narita International Airport.
28. Oprah Winfrey
There are quite a few Oprah Winfrey wax figures in Madame Tussauds museums around the world, but this one from Washington, DC, is surely the worst of them. Sorry, Madame Tussauds, you tried at least?
In this picture, Oprah is all dressed up to celebrate Barack Obama’s 50th birthday party. Somehow, that just adds to the sheer otherworldliness of it all. Poor Obama probably wished no one had celebrated at all!
29. Angelina Jolie
What is with this wax Angelina Jolie? Why does she look like that? Her forehead seems to be a different color from the rest of her face, which is barely Jolie’s anyway.
This waxwork was from the Hollywood Wax Museum in Los Angeles, an institution which is still there. No word on whether this Jolie “likeness” still lurks there, or if she was replaced with a better version somewhere down the line.
30. Michael Jackson
This Michael Jackson is a figure straight out of a horror movie. Look at it! Nothing about its face, from the eyes to the chin, is correct. And it looks like it’s starting to melt.
The self-styled King of Pop contributed a lot to the horror genre with his song and video for“Thriller”, but this statue of him looks like it would be more at home in the movie House of Wax.
31. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Poor Arnold Schwarzenegger. All those bad movies weren’t enough, he had to have a bad wax figure as well. This one was at, guess where, the rapidly-becoming-infamous — at least in this article — Hollywood Wax Museum.
This picture was snapped in October 2003 when the museum held an “election” and Schwarzenegger won. He would also definitely win Worst Wax Arnold Schwarzenegger if that was an award.
32. Julia Roberts
At the time this photo was taken, it was 2001 and Julia Roberts was the favorite to win the Best Actress Oscar, so the Hollywood Wax Museum gave her a little Oscar replica in advance.
That’s great, but the waxwork itself is… iffy. It sort of looks like Roberts if you squint a little, but the facial figures are all either too big or too small.
33. Ariana Grande
In 2019 Ariana Grande got her own wax Madame Tussauds figure, but fans instantly slammed it. Grande herself wasn’t impressed either, replying to a post about the figure with the words, “I just wanna talk.”
Don’t worry, though — the singer and her fans got what they wanted. In 2022 Madame Tussauds made a new waxwork of her, and it was, thankfully, much more accurate than their first attempt.
34. King Charles III
King Charles III has one of those faces that’s very hard to get right. This waxwork at the Musée Grévin in Paris, France, does not, alas, capture it. He looks almost as though he’s melting.
Still, don’t worry: long gone are the days when an enraged King wielded the power to have someone exiled or beheaded over a bad artwork. Well thank goodness for that!
35. Madonna
This Madonna, who was on display back in 2000 at the Times Square Madame Tussauds in New York City, is at least mostly recognizable as Madonna. So that’s something, at least!
The pose, though, and the fishnet stockings and the famous cone bra… that just sends the brain into shutdown mode. Because while wax models can be great works of art, they should never be sexy.
36. Sylvester Stallone
If you saw this wax figure in person, you probably wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off it. It’s a… let’s say, a fascinating take on Sylvester Stallone in Rambo.
It’s not just the weird way this Stallone is holding the rope, it’s the fact that his face and neck are so weirdly long. It looks like the actor himself might have punched this waxwork!
37. Catherine, Princess of Wales and William (again)
What on Earth has happened here? This Kate waxwork from the Polonia Wax Museum in Krakow is dressed like a princess, but it sure looks nothing like the Princess of Wales.
Her husband William, on the other hand, looks like he’s uncomfortably gritting his teeth. There’s almost nothing these waxworks got right: William also has a lot less hair these days!
38. Leonardo DiCaprio (again)
Maybe some of this is simply because we’re up so close to it, but there is something very unsettling about this wax figure of DiCaprio. You don’t want to look into those eyes too much, do you?
But it’s not just the eyes, it’s also the bags under them, and the mouth which is just a lot smaller than the real actor’s. Oh, and the wispy facial hair. Nothing seems to have gone right here.
39. Mark Wahlberg
This Mark Wahlberg was put on display at the Hollywood Wax Museum in 2002 to promote the remake of Planet of the Apes. If you had been neutral on the remake before, this tableau may just have pushed you over the edge into full-blown dislike.
Back to the waxwork, though — for starters, Wahlberg’s face looks way too small for his body. And the awkward pose he’s in certainly doesn’t help matters, either. We'd prescribe a full re-make. Sorry!
40. Cher
Okay, what’s going on here? Cher, is that you? This botched waxwork was among a bunch of wax figures from the Hollywood Wax Museum that were being auditioned off. Well, it’s supposed to be Cher, anyway.
We still have so many questions. Did anyone buy her at the auction? And if so, where did she end up? Do you know what, maybe it’s best we don’t know!