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    1. Style

    Celebrities as teenagers: The fabulous haircuts and the fashion fails

    See our favourite A-listers in their awkward teenage years because, well, why not?

    By Caroline Leaper
    Published 29 March 2016 In Features

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    Leonardo DiCaprio
    Leonardo DiCaprio
    (Image credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
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    See our favourite A-listers in their awkward teenage years because, well, why not?

    Oh it's good to know that our favourite A-listers were once awkward teens just like the rest of us, isn't it?

    That even the always elegant goddesses like Angelina Jolie and Beyonce had the odd fashion fail growing up? And that, no matter how big their glam squads may be these days, stars like Katy Perry and Blake Lively have all had their fair share of dodgy haircuts, just like you and I?

    Yes from Sarah Jessica Parker to Miranda Kerr, we've scoured the Instagram throwbacks and delved into the red carpet archives to pull together the best pictures of our favourite celebs when they were teens. We're talking mullet cuts, 'vintage' fashion choices, 80s perms, the works. And that's all just on Brad Pitt.

    Do you think Leonardo DiCaprio?s mum cut around a mixing bowl to get that mop? And who told Queen Bey that those tinted shades were on trend?

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    Chart how many of our favourite A-listers had braces before they got those Hollywood smiles, and make up your own mind whether they were born with their impeccable fashion sense, or whether a super stylist or two may have helped them along the way.

    Click on to see what our favourite stars dressed like and looked like in their teenage years...

    Marie Claire Newsletter

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    Leonardo DiCaprio As A Teenager

    Leonardo DiCaprio As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

    First up, it's the A-dorable Leonardo DiCaprio, curtains and all, at the tender age of 12. Now that's what we call a throwback.

    Leonardo DiCaprio

    Leonardo DiCaprio

    Leonardo DiCaprio likes to date models - but he wants more in a girlfriend.
    (Image credit: Rex)

    Now, Leo is an Oscar-winning power player and the movie world's biggest party boy. Who'd have thought that sweet face would later become Hollywood's ultimate beardy bloke. 

    Miranda Kerr As A Teenager

    Miranda Kerr As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Newspix/REX/Shutterstock)

    This is what Miranda Kerr looked like when she was 13. What happened to her awkward phase?! Clearly born to model, this throwback shot is from one of her first Australian campaigns in 1997. She's even selling us coloured tights as a trend.

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    • hannah strafford taylor wearing a trench coat Fashion Editors and Celebrities Agree: The Trench Coat Is the Easiest Solution to Mid-Season Dressing

    Miranda Kerr

    Miranda Kerr

    Miranda Kerr Best Dressed 2014
    (Image credit: REX)

    Now, Miranda is one of the world's best supermodels, a Victoria's Secret Angel and a front row fixture at fashion week, too.

    Beyonce As A Teenager

    Beyonce As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Matt Baron/BEI/BEI/Shutterstock)

    Ohhh 19 year-old Beyonce. We definitely had a pair of rose tinted shades and wore our hair in bunches just like this.

    Beyonce

    Beyonce

    Best Beyonce P

    Now, Bey is simply Queen of the world. She slay, ok? 

    Blake Lively As A Teenager

    Blake Lively As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: REX/Shutterstock)

    You can so tell that Blake Lively was one of the 'popular girls' at school, can't you? The star started acting in her teens, and this shot was taken just after her debut show, The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants, took off in the US in 2005. 

    Blake Lively

    Blake Lively

    Blake Lively out in New York
    (Image credit: Rex Features)

    Now Blake's style is always on point. She's married to the equally hot Ryan Reynolds and the couple had their first daughter, James, in 2015.

    Brad Pitt As A Teenager

    Brad Pitt As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

    Holy backcomb. That's Brad Pitt. As in Brad Pitt! Yup, this treasure of a throwback snap is Brad with his teenage sweetheart Sara Hart at their high school prom in Missouri. We wonder what she's doing now?

    Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt

    Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt

    Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
    (Image credit: REX FEATURES)

    Brad went on to marry Angelina Jolie, one of the most glamorous actresses alive. Not bad for the mullet from Missouri, ay?

    Diane Kruger As A Teenager

    Diane Kruger As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Action Press/REX/Shutterstock)

    Oh Diane. Now that is a hairstyle worth throwing back to. Diane was voted 'Face Of The Year' in 1992. We're not 100% sure what that means, but we'll certainly help her cherish the memory.

    Diane Kruger

    Diane Kruger

    Jumpsuit

    Now Diane's style is slick and sophisticated, whether she's working it on the red carpet or just dressing up off-duty.  

    Sarah Jessica Parker As A Teenager

    Sarah Jessica Parker As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

    Before SJP was Carrie Bradshaw, she was, well, just Sarah Jessica, an unknown actress auditioning for whatever parts she could get on the theatre circuit. Here's her first headshot.

    Sarah Jessica Parker

    Sarah Jessica Parker

    Sarah Jessica Parker
    (Image credit: Globe Photos/REX/Shutterstock)

    Now Sarah Jessica Parker is a total glamazon, an award-winning actress and a style icon to thousands around the world. Not bad for the girl from Ohio.

    Kristen Stewart As A Teenager

    Kristen Stewart As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Peter Brooker/REX/Shutterstock)

    Just look at young K-Stew! Isn't she adorable? Here she is at her first premiere, for 2002's Panic Room.

    Kristen Stewart

    Kristen Stewart

    Kristen Stewart Beauty Make-Up Look

    Now, the mysterious Kristen is a bonafide Hollywood star, Chanel IT-girl and all round fashion muse. Luckily, she's ditched the curtains, too.

    Natalie Portman As A Teenager

    Natalie Portman As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: Dave Lewis/REX/Shutterstock)

    Remember when you were, like, 12, and you used to match your handbag to your outfit? That's exactly the look Natalie Portman was rocking at her first red carpet appearance for Mars Attacks in 1996.

    Natalie Portman

    Natalie Portman

    Natalie Portman

    Now, Ms Portman is a vision on the red carpet scene, usually spotted wearing Dior Couture rather than the 'self-styled' ensembles of her youth. In other words, she grew up good.

    Alexa Chung As A Teenager

    Alexa Chung As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager

    Alexa posted this epic throwback snap on her Instagram, highlighting that even the most stylish among us have a not so fashionable past.

    Alexa Chung

    Alexa Chung

    Alexa Chung

    Now Alexa is the ultimate IT girl, an ambassador for the British Fashion Council and a design consultant for brands like AG Jeans and Marks And Spencer.

    Ellie Goulding As A Teenager

    Ellie Goulding As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager

    That's Ellie Goulding!! Isn't she adorable, all gothic and skater-like with her jet hair and backwards baseball cap?

    Ellie Goulding

    Ellie Goulding

    Ellie Goulding long hair
    (Image credit: Rex)

    Now EG is a red carpet swan like the rest of them, embracing her feminine side and taking tips from her glam squad. 

    Lena Dunham As A Teenager

    Lena Dunham As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager

    We can relate to Lena's Instagram throwback on so many levels. The hoop earrings, the pink velour, the awkward pose... The art of modelling is not one that comes easy to any of us.

    Lena Dunham

    Lena Dunham

    Lena Dunham has a new BFF in Idris Elba

    Now Lena's got her pout and her fashion look nailed, doing the red carpet circuit around the world like a pro. 

    Katy Perry As A Teenager

    Katy Perry As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager

    Katy Perry's family are cartoon cute, aren't they?! We love this portrait she posted on Instagram.

    Katy Perry

    Katy Perry

    2016 Golden Globes Beauty
    (Image credit: Rex)

    Now KP oozes gorgeousness - whether she's on the red carpet or on stage.

    Dakota Johnson As A Teenager

    Dakota Johnson As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager
    (Image credit: BEI/BEI/Shutterstock)

    Dakota's mum is, of course, Melanie Giffith, which of course meant that she got dragged to all sorts of weird promo events as a kid. 

    Dakota Johnson

    Dakota Johnson

    Bafta beauty
    (Image credit: Rex)

    Now Dakota is a superstar in her own right, queen of the 50 Shades franchise and cover star for all of the world's biggest fashion magazines.

    Reese Witherspoon As A Teenager

    Reese Witherspoon As A Teenager

    celebrity as teenager

    'On the set of my second movie ever, Wildflower. Always playing a tomboy...' Reese wrote when she posted this throwback snap on Insta. We think she looks adorable.

    Reese Witherspoon

    Reese Witherspoon

    Reese Witherspoon First Oscars 2015
    (Image credit: Copyright (c) 2015 BEimages. No use without permission.)

    Reese's face hasn't changed all that much - she's still the natural beauty she was in her teens and we love her for it.

    Kendall And Kylie Jenner As Teenagers

    Kendall And Kylie Jenner As Teenagers

    celebrity as teenager

    In the not too distant past, Kendall and Kylie were tikes on the red carpet, sporting traintrack braces and stripy highlights like all good Millennials did.  

    Kendall And Kylie Jenner

    Kendall And Kylie Jenner

    Kendall And Kylie Topshop Collection

    And now they've taken over the fashion and beauty industries as a supermodel and a makeup mogul respectively. All that and Kylie's still only 18...

    Caroline Leaper
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