25 celebrities in bodypaint...
Body painting has thousands of years of history and is an inseparable part of many civilizations throughout the world. People have been painting her body even since before they could read and write. Even today, we can still find body paint applications embraced in many indigenous cultures as a part of traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and other expressions. In modern society, most people see body painting as body art but it has limited applications in daily life. The military world still consistently uses body painting for camouflage to blend with the surrounding environment that provides soldiers with ultimate cover and advantages on the battlefield.
Bodypainting has made its ultimate comeback in the 20th and 21st centuries when even Hollywood celebs and supermodels started to paint their bodies. The spectrum got wider as more public figures, media personalities, and artists showed more interest in women in body paint trend. Celebs and models get their bodies painted for magazines, commercial ads, philanthropic campaigns, entertainment, or even private collections. Internet and social media have globalized entertainment so we can now easily find celebs who have got bodypainting.
The celebrity body painting trend culminated when Sports Illustrated worked on their swimsuit issues. They started painting supermodels and producing really wonderful issues for the magazine. More Hollywood celebs, models, media personalities, singers, and even actresses joined sports illustrated body paint projects. We’ve listed 25 celebs who got their body painted below so you can adore and draw inspiration from them.
Demi Moore
Demi Moore could have been one of those bodypainting pioneer models in Hollywood even before it was trending among celebs. Moore's most famous body painting was in 1992 when she featured on the August edition of Vanity Fair as the cover model that’s also said to become a trendsetter of the world’s modern bodypainting. At that time, Moore was fully body painted with a pinstripe-three piece suit that took more than 15 hours in two consecutive days to complete. She was too gorgeous and definitely the main success factor of the magazine’s anniversary edition that dragged more than 100 million people seeing the cover. It was the day before the mother of three was often captured nude at the studio and by the paparazzi. Since then, the bodypainting scheme, especially among Hollywood’s influencers, shifted into what Moore had done for Vanity Fair and develop from there. That’s why, regardless of the fact that many celebs have done bodypainting, we put Demi Moore number one on our list.
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum is one of the most body painted celebs/models in the world who include appearing in sports illustrated several times in body paint. Her body was mostly body painted in swimsuits or bikinis back then. Since she’s also modelling in the real swimsuit or bikini for different magazines, people might hardly tell which one was clothed or painted. Her recent bodypainting appearance for her Halloween party was quite an attention drawer. She was actually a werewolf (a monster) and has been in several spooky resemblances but that’s mostly SFX makeup versus true bodypaint. However, her historic bodypainting appearance was for Sports Illustrated back in 2006. In the photo, Heidi’s body was in a painted one-piece bikini with a spiral tie-dye pattern which was so realistic. The artist applied the shading on the edges that make the bikini painting more realistic on her body even as we look closer at different poses in the photoshoot.
In one footage within Heidi’s short Halloween video “Heidi Does Halloween '', Heidi's upper body was transformed into a bulletin board covered in sticky notes and a wood-panelled wall. Heidi Klum is apparently very consistent in body painting and she undoubtedly has the best medium for the artwork, her gifted body.
Finn Balor
The WWE wrestler Fergal Devitt now popularly known as Finn Balor is renowned for his iconic demon looks on the ring. Devitt has actually been experimenting with diverse bodypaint themes and presentations throughout his career. The demon-look bodypainting always successfully presents his stage persona “The Demon” with a giant painting resembling the jaws of a beast or monster that mostly covers the head and half of the upper body. The white color on the jaws, red on blood and muscle, and black color as the base/background are creatively well-played around different themes by Devitt. Some themes are Jack The Ripper, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, One-Eyed Demon King, and his original Japanese character “Demon Prince ''. Not only his WWE titles, but his body painting works have been inspiring thousands of fans where some of them even put on Balor-inspired makeup or bodypainting when watching their idol on the stage.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian is one of Hollywood's biggest influencers, socialites, celebs, artists, and now a lawyer. The mother of three has gone multiple bodypainting throughout years but her most iconic appearance could have been where her body is silver painted portraying the “Art of Reality” for W Magazine. In the photo sessions, Kim was partially dipped into a silver paint bath with only her face not covered with the color. Previously, Kim posted a naked photoshoot to promote the release of her Ultralight Beams back in 2017 where she was literally covered herself head-to-toe in glitter pigments, transforming herself into the Kira Kira filter in real life. Even her simplest bodypainting appearance took on the media where she pose in a desert nude photoshoot with her body partially white-painted. Either way, Kim Kardashian’s curvaceous body took the painting works decently so all of her bodypainting appearances are always attractive whether or not you’re her fan.
Beyonce
Beyonce’s famous bodypainting appearance is for her music video titled “Already” from her last album “Black Is King” which is iconic. Beyonce appears in the video with her body vestured in the teal paint stripes while posing on a big tree. The storyline of the music video is interesting but Beyonce appearance in the striking body painting is just a steal. If we look closer to the photo that’s captured from the video, Beyonce was partially painted as she’s actually still wearing a bra but it’s also painted to match the stripes of the body. While the singer uses different costumes in the video, we should have agreed that the teal-stripe bodypainting is the most appealing appearance. In the same visual album, Beyonce also showed up once again in bodypainting with vertical green stripes. Beyonce appearances in bodypainting are major treats and inspirations for her millions of fans.
Despite ultimate success in her career, Beyonce actually has a personal interest in body painting. The singer has some appearances with body painting, but what she portrayed in her premiere album video “Lemonade” completely stands out. Laolu Senbanjo is the artist behind Beyonce’s body paints throughout the video. The singer is painted with a tribal geometric white and green pattern that’s inspired by the native African sacred ritual called Yoruba. There are multiple tracks in the video and Beyonce’s body was white-painted in different themes throughout them. Sebanjo’s work on Beyonce bodypainting not only works perfectly with the choreography but also successfully makes the singer’s body light up in the monochrome scenes. The bodypainting artist himself has praised Beyonce as a “masterpiece” referring to his outstanding works on her body. Beyonce’s body painting in the footage is also very distinctive compared to other celebs in this list and it has certainly inspired many fans.
Rihanna
When it comes to body painting, singer and artist Rihanna was once silver body-painted. Unlike Kim Kardashian who left her head unpainted, Rihana was fully silvered from top to toe. The singer looks so gorgeous in a monochrome nude photoshoot and performed different poses in the video. Her silver-painted body was professionally applied so that it could contrast the background even though they have a similar tone. It might have been inspired by silver men who you can usually find busking around the city square but Rihanna takes the silver bodypainting to the next level. Many body painting artists and photographers even collaborate to resemble Rihanna style silver body painting appearance. Rihanna also took on headlines with her reptile-inspired body paint in the “Where Have You Been” video back in 2018. it’s very exciting to see what next Rihanna will present with her body painting.
Cardi B
Cardi B was in a full tiger body painting for her music video “Twerk” which was shot in 2018. The body painting artists Christina Mendicino and Avi Ram actually took a couple of hours to transform the singer into a tiger as captured in the photo from the music video. During the scenes, the Cardi’s tiger body painting is twerked, shook, danced, champagne-splashed, and split-dropped around but it remains intact to the singer’s body. The duo body painting artists also did paint Ying Miami of City Girls that appear as a Zebra in the same video. These also tell us that bodypainting could be a tough property for actors and actresses and work like other types of costumes, even better. If you’re interested in resembling wild animals with your body, you can see Cardi B’s “Twerk” video for your reference or you can straightforwardly contact the corresponding bodypainting artist.
Jennifer Lawrence
Yes, Jennifer Lawrence ever painted her body when she was portraying Mystique in X-Men Movies. Even if you’re not a fan, you should have been familiar with the blue-skinned, red-haired mutant character in the movies. Mystique total body painting on Jennifer was actually a 7-hour makeup which was very tedious for both the artist and the actress. The blue painting on Jennifer’s body even scared medical experts who were concerned about the use of some hazardous chemicals that have bad health effects. Jennifer was taking a risk to put on the body painting for X-men scenes but it’s apparently worth it with the success of the film and she’s eventually fine after shoots. Even though the Mystique portrayal is the only time we see Jennifer with a bodypainting, that’s ultimately iconic and the movie was really good anyway.
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn was actually the first actress to portray Mystique in X-Men movies before Jennifer Lawrence and she even did more laborious body painting works. It actually took 9 hours for Rebecca’s Mystique makeup which is longer than her successor did. However, unlike Jennifer Lawrence, Rebecca Romijn was body painted multiple times. She appeared in Skin Wars season 2 as Tiger but eventually became the host of the show in season 3. Rebecca also became the face of the show in the corresponding season where she was also body painted with a surreal flame pattern. Speaking of the show, it’s actually a reality competition show for bodypainting where all models are body painted and contesting for the trophy and prize. Rebecca Romijn also appeared in sport illustrated swimsuit body paintings for a magazine before she played Mystique. The consistency of the actress in bodypainting is very inspiring for many people.
10.Paris Hilton
Who doesn’t know American socialite and model Paris Hilton? Despite the controversy, she was one of the most influential figures in the country’s entertainment industry. The socialite actually posed nude in glitter body paint that she did for Prosecco, the Italian winemaker. Paris Hilton posed as a golden girl on a dune while donning gold paint and crawling across a desert during a drought. It was for the company’s international ads so Hilton’s not only became viral but also commercial at that time. Paris Hilton was fully covered with gold paint that only bared her hair that even exuded her beauty. The picture was quite a controversy back then but time went by and the model just moved on. The golden girl pose remains the only Hilton’s appearance with a full-body painting in the meantime. We’re certainly waiting for what Paris Hilton does next with bodypainting, are we not?
11.Ronda Rousey
The retired UFC fighter and professional wrestler Ronda Rousey has some respective achievements in her career. Back in 2015, Ronda appeared in a swimsuit for SI Swimsuit Issue that made headlines of the year but she eventually came back for the next year’s issue where she appeared in a body painting swimsuit. Captured in Petit St. Vincent, the UFC fighter had to undergo a 15-hour painting session before the photoshoots. It’s reported that Rousey actually enjoyed the whole process and considered it as a fun experience despite the tedious sessions. That could have been the reason why photo results were amazing and became the masterpiece that we can actually enjoy until now. She’s really gorgeous in swimsuit body painting. Even though Ronda’s photoshoots for Sports Illustrated are a limited source to see her in bodypainting, they’re still inspiring for artists and fans.
12.Miley Cyrus
There’s something standing out in the Future’s fourth single video “Real and True” that’s starring Mr Hudson and Miley Cyrus. The video has the scenes where Miley Cyrus is wrapped in metallic body painting after being stripped down in the lab setting of a spaceship apparently for subject experiments. In the video, she only bare her face and hair to be covered with silver metallic paint. When laid in the lab, Miley is fully captured so we can practically see her whole silvered body in a humanoid appearance. If you take a look closer at the scene where she’s in face to face with Future, the silver metallic applied on Miley’s body was actually glittered and went up to the shaved area of her head. The space-themed video finally placed the single at 55 on the BillBoard hot 100, thanks to the good music and Miley’s appearance.
13.Ashley Greene
Back in 2010, Ashley Greene appeared in nothing but body painting in a daring ad campaign. We know that the Alice Cullen actress is gorgeous whatever she’s wearing so it’s very exciting to see her in body painting, right? In the photoshoot, Ashley Greene was in a two-piece bikini body painting with a purple colored fish skin pattern. Unlike Cardi B or Rebeca Romjin, Ashley wasn’t resembling any fish or mermaid as the bodypainting was clearly meant to be a bikini. There were several poses she did for Sports Illustrated and you can see both half-body and full-body poses covered with the body paint. There are at least two sets of Ashley Greene’s body painting photoshoots for the Wearing Zero campaign. In another set, Ashley’s body painting was an orange-colored one-piece swimsuit but still had the fish skin pattern. Make-up artist Joanne Gair is behind the bodypainting masterpieces put on Alice Cullen’s body.
14.Kate Upton
Kate Upton was a multi-edition Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model 2012,2013, and 2017 after her debut in the magazine back in 2011. She has appeared as a model for the magazine several times but the photoset in March 2013 titled “Wonders of the World '' is definitely worth highlighting. Instead of a bikini, Kate’s body was painted with multiple necklace-like patterns that consecutively wrap her upper body. At this point, we can see Kate covered with metallic jewellery instead of a bikini bra in a dusk beach setting. Kate Upton’s body painting debut was photographed in a two-piece blue bikini painting at a studio. The model’s last appearance in Sports Illustrated was in 2017 but she posed in a real bikini instead of bodypainting. You better check Kate’s photo sets for Sports Illustrated for more bodypainting pictures of the model. After looking at them, we should have agreed that Kate Upton is one of those wonders of the world.
15.Charlize Theron
The academic award winner Charlize Theron has a long career in film but people are always amazed how the actress is simply ageless. Her beauty was excellently preserved while her acting performance just matured. Charlize is known for her unique roles but she always proved herself as a decent actress. Besides the achievements in the movie industry, Charlize Theron also has an expanded career in modelling and once posed in bodypainting. In this photo, Charlize Theron is covered with nothing but gold paint from top to toe while posing on a chair. There is a limited source of Charlize’s body painting photos but we can obviously adore Charlize’s goldy curves in that picture. The golden body paint Charlize Theron pictures already have tributes from fan artists who have remade the pic art versions. If you’re one of her fans, you must check her bodypainting photoshoot.
16.Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj was first captured in bodypainting when she posed for Vogue back in 2012. In the photo, Nicki was wearing a red dress and sleeves with a full shade of blue bodypainting from top to toe leaving only her pink-dyed hair and lips. She’s posing elegantly on a chair with a vibrant color setup of blue tone, pink hair & lips, red dress, and grayish background that result in a striking photo result for the magazine. Nicki’s appearance was actually very special as the photos were captured for the Power Issue of American Vogue magazine. Since her debut bodypainting appearance, Nicki had been experimenting with various body painting themes and even showed up in several video footage. The singer considered bodypainting as her costume not an outfit and that’s probably why she could be so creative in her appearances. Nicki even designed the pink lipstick she’s using in that body painting picture.
17.Ariana Grande
In her music video “God is a Woman '', Ariana Grande shared an epic and powerful message about woman empowerment as well as her very first bodypainting appearance. Ariana collaborated with artist Alexa for the music video which resulted in both masterpieces in art video and big hit music. It only took 40 minutes to paint Ariana’s body and she’s actually painted on sections of her body instead of fully painted. The artist testified that it was Ariana’s genius idea to apply the setup as it just looked amazing in the video. You might have noticed and wondered how come the body paints were not diluted to the liquid where Ariana was submerged. The answer is in the liquid itself, Ariana Grande was actually having a milk bath in the video so the paints won’t get destroyed from submersion. As you might have expected, this particular Ariana’s appearance has inspired many fans to remake the body painting.
18.Jenna Dewan Tatum
Jenna Dewan Tatum literally went naked and body painted to save animals in the campaign photoshoot for PETA back in. The campaign’s tagline “ wearing exotic skins kills” was matched with Jenna in snake-like body paint in the background. The message was to educate people not to use reptile’s skin products and to promote a cruelty-free fashion industry. In the particular photo, Jenna was a woman with the body skin of a black snake along with detailed scales painted from the model’s neck to feet. Jenna’s body painting was actually a part of a bigger cruelty-free campaign where big companies like Nike, Victoria’s Secret, and H&M also signed the pledge for not selling any exotic skin and using synthetic materials instead. At this point, Jenna’s bodypainting is an impactful yet inspiring campaign and it just made a point. If you look at her poses for PETA, we could agree that Jenna Dewan Tatum is super gorgeous even without exotic skins, only paints needed.
19.Chrissy Teigen
The American professional model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen was the inspiration of John Legend’s greatest hit “All of Me”. Not only her husband, but Chrissy also inspired many people, especially fans with her body painting photo. Chrissy Teigen was body painted and photoshoot for Sports Illustrated swimsuit back in 2013 even though she actually debuted for the same magazine in 2010. She was body painted in a vibrant two-piece red bikini by Joanne Gair who also made up the model. The swimsuit painted on Chrissy was actually inspired by Kate Swim that made an original appearance on “Oscar de la Renta” but she actually did better in her body painted rendition. The painter has successfully translated the bikini designs into a bodypainting that perfectly sit on Chrissy’s body. The photoshoots took place in Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas and the man behind the camera was Walter Iooss. Unfortunately, that’s the only photo set we can find Chrissy Teigen in bodypainting.
20.Kylie Jenner
Successful model, media personality and businesswoman Kylie Jenner got her body painted for the second time to announce her birthday collection on 10th August 2021. In that photo, Kylie still wore pants but her entire upper body was painted in gold paint. The model’s lower body only received some gold splashes and melts. The nearly naked photo did spark debates and almost controversies among her fans but it’s just a powerful marketing force from Kylie Jenner. Overall, the photoshoots are professionally done but since it’s posted to promote her make-up collection, you might not find the set in any magazine. Kylie’s first appearance with bodypainting was actually her unreleased image from a former project with photographer Sasha Samsonova. She was only covered with metallic blue paint and posted the photo to Instagram instead of to any official release. Will Kylie get her body painted for the third time?
21.Lake Bell
During her directorial debut, Lake Bell posed naked with only bodypainting on the cover of New York magazine’s Fall Fashion issue back in 2013. In that cover photo, Lake’s body was actually covered with a flowery temporary tattoo that’s specially designed by her husband who is also a professional tattoo artist Scott Campbell. The former actress and now director posts entirely naked with body art for the magazine following the massively growing popularity of tattoos. Unlike other body paintings in our list, Lake was technically “body tattooed” except that the artist used temporary ink. You can not only adore the wholesomeness of the design but also the details or shading and texture of the grayish rose tattoo. Lake was 34 years at that time and promoting her directorial debut movie ”In A World” when the photos were taken. That’s the only photo of Lake Bell in bodypainting that we can adore. Would you get flower tattoos on your body like Lake Bell?
22.Megan Fox
Megan Fox is an American supermodel many men and women are obsessed with. If you’re one of them, you might have wondered if Megan Fox got body painted. Once you go online, you can easily find her portraying Super Girl in bodypainting instead of a rubber/latex costume. While Megan’s body painting portrayal of the DC’s character sparked a debate on its authenticity, we’ve confirmed that it’s actually her. Megan actually portrayed the comic version of the character where the belly is exposed instead of the live-action serial version where all upper body of the Super Girl is fully covered with the costume. In the iconic pose, Megan is shedding the black kimono outer to expose the Super Girl bodypainting costume. Whether or not you’re the character’s fan, you must probably agree that Megan looks wonderful in this particular bodypainting appearance. Besides, those are the only portrayal where we can adore Megan Fox in a body painting.
However, Megan’s body painting portrayal of the DC’s character sparked a debate about whether it’s authentic or fake. We’ve researched the photo and unfortunately, we couldn’t find convincing evidence if it’s actually her. There are no magazine, official releases, or social media posts linked to the corresponding photo so that’s probably not Megan Fox. We’ve also found some indications that the photo was cropped, airbrushed, and extensively edited to put Megan’s head on someone else’s body. Regardless of the doubt and authenticity issues, the photo still allows us to imagine how Megan might look if she actually gets her body painted and poses for us.
23.Gisele Bundchen
Brazilian fashion model Gisele Bundchen was once listed as one of the world's top-earning models by Forbes. Gisele was captured in bodypainting at least twice throughout her modelling career as far as we know. The first one is when the model debuted her catwalk when got topless with a white body painting as the cover. The second bodypainting appearance is more popular because it’s used as a part of the promotional campaign of Ipanema sandal lines that are designed and co-owned by Gisele. In that commercial photo, the supermodel was wearing nothing but a pair of green Ipanema sandals she was promoting. Her body was fully covered with greenish tattoos from her shoulder to around her ankle. She looks ultimately gorgeous posing with her blonde hair loosened down and fully tattooed body. Even though it’s for commercial use, the promotional campaigns were likely more localized so you won’t find the photo in major magazines or media.
24.Courtney Stodden
Singer, media personality, and model Courtney Stodden is renowned for her talent and beauty. Her career rocketed after competing in local beauty pageants and released her music where she consistently gained more recognition. Courtney Stodden once shocked Comic-con with the upper body in a full-body painting and cosplaying Captain Marvel complete with the red leather glove, red boots and red waist. The body paints are gold, blue, and red which are the basic colors of the character. As for cosplaying, Courtney’s bodypainting and accessories were already accurate to resemble the character but she also had a tooth bag and some fliers with her. While Courtney’s appearance at the event was stealing, she’s actually campaigning for PETA to educate people about being vegan and cruelty-free. Yes, Courtney Stodden is another PETA’s girl on our list and she indeed eventually stole attention from the crowd when appearing at giant events like Comic-con.
25.Taylor Momsen
After retiring from acting, former actress Taylor Momsen decided to pursue her music career with her band The Pretty Reckless. As for promoting her new album Going To Hell, Taylor appears in a frontal photo where her body was naked and painted with only black lines resembling a cross and an arrow. Taylor even stripped down her black cloak to reveal this symbol in one music video of the album titled “Heaven Knows”. If you take a look closer at the body painting, Taylor looks like being taped with black tape. The video is simply a more intense moving version of the album’s photo because you can clearly see the whole process of the revelation in the smoked room setting as the song reached the climax. Taylor looked hot and gorgeous both in the photo and music video but more importantly, it’s so inspiring to see how the former actress becomes so total in changing course to be a singer in a band.
