67 Astounding Photos Of Celebrities When They Were Young

When Neil deGrasse Tyson was a jock, Betty White was a babe, and Robin Williams was exactly the man we'd all come to know and love.

Nirvana's first photo shoot as a band. 1988.Facebook

Eminem on his 18th birthday. 1990.Facebook

Peter Dinklage in high school.Vulture

Robin Williams in high school. Ranker

A 17-year-old Prince at the beginning of his career. 1975.Facebook

An 18-year-old Alan Rickman in 1964.Facebook

The Red Hot Chili Peppers performing in 1986.Facebook

Susan Sarandon in 1963.Facebook

A teenage George Clooney. Odyssey

Tom Hanks as a high school senior in 1974. BuzzFeed

Betty White at home in 1954.HuffPost

Ryan Seacrest as a teenager.Ranker

A high school yearbook photo of Amy Poehler.Gawker

Hillary Rodham (later Clinton) at Wellesley College. 1969.Lee Balterman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

High school yearbook photo of Madonna.Vulture

Bill gates at 22, arrested for driving without a license and failing to stop at a stop sign. 1977.Wikimedia Commons

A ninth grade Bill Nye in the science lab.Geekologie

Meryl Streep as a cheerleader during her junior year of high school. 1966.Wikimedia Commons

A teenage Bill Clinton shakes President John F. Kennedy's hand in 1963.Facebook

Drew Carey while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Circa 1978.Facebook

A 15-year-old Dwayne Johnson in 1987.Facebook

Samuel L. Jackson as a high school senior. 1965.Facebook

Stephen Colbert in 1984.Facebook

A 19-year-old Jimi Hendrix during his time in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. 1961.Facebook

Robert Downey Jr. in high school.Vulture

A young Bob Marley (middle) with the Wailers in 1964.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Neil deGrasse Tyson once described his high school self as “a nerd who could kick your butt."Factinate

A high school yearbook photo of Zooey Deschanel.Vulture

Steven Spielberg on his sofa in 1975.Giorgio Ambrosi/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

Michael Jordan in his college dorm room in 1983.reddit

A 28-year-old Barack Obama in 1990.Joe Wrinn/Harvard University/Corbis via Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg in his college dorm room at Harvard.YouTube

Bernie Sanders circa 1963.Politico

Diane Keaton in high school.Ranker

Jimmy Fallon in high school.InStyle

Michael and Janet Jackson.Fanpop

Larry David in 1981.ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

High school yearbook photo of Jason Alexander.Vulture

Richard Nixon at age 17 in 1930. Fox Photos/Getty Images

Gwen Stefani with No Doubt in 1987.Twitter

Matt Dillon in 1980.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

A young Mick Jagger.Twitter

A young Chris Pratt.Imgur

Drew Barrymore in 1982, as seen in E.T..Facebook

Tina Fey and her brother pose for a photo with Elvis Costello in 1986.reddit

Ben Stiller with his dad, Jerry Stiller, in 1978.Ron Galella/WireImage via Getty Images

Winona Ryder in 1986.The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

A young Liza Minnelli with her mother, Judy Garland, in 1950.Wikimedia Commons

A young Natalie Portman attending a movie premiere in 1995.Mitchell Gerber/Getty Images

Sean Penn with Nicolas Cage in the mid-1980s. Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Billy Crystal in 1980.Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage via Getty Images

Jane Fonda when she was arrested on false drug smuggling charges in 1970.Public Domain

Simon Cowell in 1987. YouTube

Michael Stipe of R.E.M. at the Hollywood Palace in 1984.Ron Wolfson/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Lady Gaga before she became famous.YouTube

Lin Manuel Miranda as a child. YouTube

Ronald Reagan as a toddler in 1914.Wikimedia Commons

Barbara Streisand in 1962.Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons

Keith Richards in 1965, just before the Rolling Stones took off in the U.S.Wikimedia Commons

Kiefer Sutherland with his father, Donald Sutherland, circa 1970. Co Rentmeester/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Glenn Beck in high school.Vulture

Scott Baio and Brooke Shields. 1980.Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage via Getty Images

Jodie Foster, with Rod Serling, on the television show Ironside in 1972.NBC Television/Wikimedia Commons

A yearbook photo of George Clooney.Paper Magazine

High school yearbook photo of Oprah Winfrey.Vulture

Louis C.K. in high school.Vulture

Jack Nicholson's high school yearbook photo. 1955.Bettmann/Getty Images

Photos of celebrities looking perfectly put together and downright glamorous are positively omnipresent in our culture. So it's sometimes nice to have proof that these celebrities too were once young, awkward, and astoundingly normal — or at least beholden to questionable fashion trends of decades past.

Whether it was the outrageous 1980s haircut Amy Poehler once sported or the hippie look you didn't know Hillary Clinton could pull off, the photos above prove that your favorite celebrities didn't always look quite like you'd think in the days before they became famous.

For one, who would've ever suspected that a certain astrophysicist was once a muscular athlete, a self-proclaimed "nerd who could kick your butt." And who would've thought that a future "Sexiest Man Alive" would leave behind one of the dorkiest yearbook photos you've ever seen.

So take some time to enjoy browsing through this gallery of vintage photos of celebrities when they were young. From the cute to the awkward to the impossibly cool, these images are sure to surprise.

If you enjoyed these photos of celebrities when they were young, next check out some captivating photos of vintage celebrity couples. Then have a look at even more old school photos from celebrities' yearbooks.