Celebrity Doppelgangers on YA Covers

Thanks to November 12th’s Top Ten Tuesday and some long-standing issues of my own, I’ve noticed that more and more YA cover models seem to resemble celebrities. Has anyone else noticed this? Is this planned to help get people to pick up this books? Pure coincidence? Am I seeing things that other people don’t!? Regardless, I want to share these covers with you so we can rant/rave/gripe about them together!


  

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Hey, that cover model totally looks like…! Emilie de Ravin

I honestly SWORE that this cover model WAS Emilie de Ravin when I first saw the cover and Googled to try to prove it. No one confirms nor denies, but the resemblance is UNCANNY. I may still think it’s her…..


  

Just One Year by Gayle Forman
Hey, that cover model totally looks like…! John Mayer
Also noticed by… Maggie from Just A Couple More Pages


  

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Hey, that cover model totally looks like…! Angelina Jolie
Also noticed by… Amy from Tripping Over Books


  

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
Hey, that cover model totally looks like…! Maggie Grace

Okay, okay, I know we can only see part of her face, but still! Resemblance?!


Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame
Hey, those cover models totally look like…! Dakota Fanning, a young Winona Rider, Whitney Port, and Warren Kole


   

The upcoming release Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens
Hey, that cover model totally looks like…!
 Blake Lively


   

Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan
Hey, that cover model totally looks like…!
 Casey Wilson


Okay, ALL I see are celebrities here. Was this intentional? Did everyone in this time period look like a famous person? I just can’t help but see the similarities!

[bctt tweet=”Have you noticed any celebrity doppelgangers on book covers? Here are a few @bookaddictguide spotted!” via=”no”]

So what do you think — Is it just me or are more and more YA covers featuring celebrity doppelgängers? What do you think of my match-ups? Any ones that I missed?

Hi, I'm Brittany!
Hi, I'm Brittany!

I'm an avid reader, candle-maker, and audiobook lover! Here you'll find book reviews, fun blog posts, and my other loves of photography & craft beer!

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64 thoughts on “Celebrity Doppelgangers on YA Covers

  1. Nicole

    These are creepily accurate. I always thought Rose on the cover of Vampire Academy looked so much like Angelina Jolie but I didn’t peg the other ones before. I can totally see it!

    Reply
  2. Alexa S.

    Whoa. The similarities between the celebrities and the covers are SO interesting! I’m particularly blown away by the first comparison, as I only really see it now that you’ve pointed it out. It’s so intriguing to really look at these covers with people on them and try to see if they remind you of celebrities. I might have to start doing that now!

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks, Alexa! This was so much fun to put together! I even found a few that I didn’t notice upon first glance 🙂

      Reply
  3. Miranda @ Tempest Books

    Hahaha this is a great post! I can’t believe I never noticed that the model from Where She Went looks that much like Emilie de Ravin. That’s crazy. And I totally always thought that the guy on Just One Year looks like Penn Badgley (Dan on Gossip Girl).

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks so much! This was a lot of fun to put together and OMG the cover for Where She Went! I honestly thought it WAS Emilie De Ravin. I googled to try to prove it hahahah
      Ohhh Just One Year totally does look like Penn Badgley too! Good call 🙂

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thank you!! I almost didn’t notice that one at first but the more I looked, the more I noticed it! 🙂

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Totally!! I think it took me a while to see but then when I did, I couldn’t UN-see Angelina Jolie! Haha 🙂

      Reply
  4. Misti

    Your a mind reader! I always thought the girl on the cover of Where She Went looked exactly like Emilie. Great minds think alike. 😉 Thanks for the other postings too. I can totally see the resemblance on the rest.

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks so much for commenting! Where She Went always bothered me because all I could see was Emilie! I even Googled to see if it really WAS her. I was that convinced!

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks so much for commenting!!! The John Mayer one… I can’t UNsee him now haha! I actually thought that cover model looked SO familiar but it wasn’t until the other day that I realized she reminded me of Casey Williams! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Becca F

    I really thought I was the only one who saw Angelina Jolie on the cover of VA! I LOVED this post! I never noticed celebs lookalikes on these covers, but now that you pointed it out, I can’t get them out of my head! You are so right! I hope to see more posts like this bc I just got a kick out of it! Thanks!!! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thank you so much! I was a blast to put this together and I loved hearing from people about ones they had noticed that I didn’t! 😀

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks so much! It was a blast! It was so interesting hearing other ones that people noticed that I hadn’t too!

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Oh good! I’m glad I’m not the only one!! I felt like it was a stretch since there’s not a lot of her face on the cover, but seriously. All I see is Maggie Grace!

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Ooooh an interesting question! That would be an awesome discussion post (which if you want it, have at it!)
      Seriously. Willem = John Mayer. Someone else said Penn Badgley and I totally see that too!

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      I’ll have to look up what Martie looks like so I can compare!! 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment!

      Reply
  6. Kay @ It's a Book Life

    I was actually just thinking of this yesterday when I saw the cover of Where She Went (Which I have yet to read but I hope to this year). The chick on the cover looks seriously scary close to Emilie de Ravin. I swear it has to be her too! Other than that book though I don’t think the others ones look too similar. Great fun post!

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      I actually Googled to see if it WAS her haha! I really wanted it to be because the resemblance was just too freaky! Thanks for commenting 🙂

      Reply
  7. Jessica

    Loved this post! You did a really amazing job at choosing these lookalikes! I’ve noticed a few of these already (such as Vampire Academy) but I hadn’t noticed some! Very interesting post!!

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun digging them up — I even surprised myself with what I found once I really started to look!

      Reply
  8. Natalie

    Every time I look at VA I think that it has got to be Angelina Jolie on the cover!!! And I’d never really noticed these other ones before, but WOW, you’re right!! So many celeb dopplegangers out there on book covers!

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Right!? I never realized how many there are out there! I even found a few more putting this post together. It’s so weird! But fun!

      Reply
  9. Betty

    haha! this is awesome!! seriously— they REALLY look alike!! funny you used angelina jolie– when i read VA for the first time, mr. betty called that one! he said “that totally looks like a young angelina jolie.”!
    maid of secrets is scary similar— practically identical!!!

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thank you!! I can’t UNsee Angelina anymore and Maid of Secrets! I actually didn’t find that one until I was almost done with the post and I was like, “I KNOW she reminds me of someone but who?” And then it hit me!!!

      Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Haha yes!! I actually thought it was her for a while. I had to Google to prove it wasn’t (although I was trying to prove it WAS haha)

      Reply
  10. Leanne @ Literary Excursion

    Wow those covers do totally look like the celebrities you put beside them! I’m usually not a fan of having photos of real people on covers anyway, so I can share in your problem with having them taken one step further to famous people. I think they’ll definitely get more sales just because of the cover being a reminder (if not a dead ringer) of someone familiar.

    I see Gayle Forman is already a repeat offender, so I wonder how many of her other books do this.

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      I’m half and half about people on the covers… I like when they’re exactly how I picture them but half the time the cover model influences me and other times it’s not even close to what the character does look like!
      Thanks for commenting! 🙂

      Reply
  11. Sandra @ Tea Between Books

    I actually never noticed that but they do! Apparently there are at least 3 [?] people in the world that look exactly like you (I feel so sorry for those who look like me, poor things) so it shouldn’t be that surprising but I really didn’t notice that. Only Vampire Academy, I always thought the first cover model looked like a younger Angelina Jolie but that’s an exception. The cover model for Faking Normal also looks a bit like Lindsay Lohan to me (the younger one, not the current one oh my). I actually don’t like that many covers with people on them so I can’t recall anything 😮

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Oh my gosh. Three people who look like me!? That’s so scary! But I also want to meet them haha!
      Oh, I can totally see the girl on Faking Normal looking like Lindsay Lohan too! Good call 🙂

      Reply
  12. M T McGuire

    What a smart post! I’m thinking that a lot of celebs start out doing modelling work before they hit the big time, if these are all stock photos, could they be the real deal, taken a long time ago? I’m guessing the terms of the contracts they’d signed would mean they couldn’t have the photos pulled if they wanted to.

    You never know, right? 😉

    Cheers

    MTM

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks so much for commenting!
      I actually tried to Google & prove that the girl on Where She Went WAS an old photo of Emilie de Ravin but I couldn’t come up with anything. Guess not! But I keep pretending that it is because the resemblance is just uncanny!

      Reply
  13. Cee

    This is such a clever idea! I loooveee it! 😀

    Every time I see the cover of Where She Went, I think “oh hey, it’s Emilie de Ravin” because it looks exactly like her! Nobody can tell me it’s not her! I am cackling at the John Mayer comparison. I did not see it (and I still don’t see the resemblance other than the hair), but I will forever associate the cover model with John Mayer. Thank you very much. *sideeyes you and Maggie*

    The cover model on Shout Out by Kody Keplinger looks exactly like Liv Tyler! And the one on Lauren DeStefano’s Wither cover looks like Mandy Moore. 😀

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks, Cee! I totally agree. That will always be Emilie de Ravin to me!
      Oohhhh I have to check out the ones that you mentioned! I’m not familiar with Shout Out and now I need to do a side-by-side of Wither & Mandy Moore 🙂

      Reply
  14. Lisa @ Lisa Likes Books

    You’re so observant. I would never (and in fact haven’t) notice any of these similarities. I will never be able to unsee Emilie on the Where She Went cover. So similar. I totally 100% agree about Casey Wilson on the cover of Maid of Secrets as well. Like, are we sure that ISN’T her? Haha.

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      I can’t un-see Emilie either! I’m almost convinced it’s her haha! I almost missed Casey Wilson! I can’t un-see her anymore either! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Alice in Readerland

    This is such a cool post! 🙂 I totally thought the girl on Where She Went was Emilie too.
    I also think the girl on the cover of Time Between Us looks a bit like Keira Knightly.

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

    Reply
    1. Brittany Post author

      Thanks, Alice! It was a ton of fun.
      Oooh she does look like Kiera Knightly! I thought she kind of looked like Minka Kelly (from Friday Night Lights) but not quite enough to make the comparison for the post.
      Thanks for commenting!!!

      Reply

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