# How to tell these often mixed up celebrities apart. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181 "2016-08-27T20:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/21 "2016-08-27T23:40:58Z")
I was gonna say Jennifer was great in The Big Chill. To be fair, I think that baby voice is their actual voices. Soooo Meg Tilly - The Big Chill Jennifer - Chucky ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/22 "2016-08-28T01:18:46Z")
Kirk Douglas - dimple in chin Burt Lancaster - lacks dimple in chin ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/23 "2016-08-28T01:24:35Z")
Marilyn Monroe - large breasts Jayne Mansfield - larger breasts Mamie Van Doren - largest breasts ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/24 "2016-08-28T01:30:02Z")
Marilyn,- deceased head attached Jayne- deceased Mamie - alive head still attached ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/25 "2016-08-28T02:14:11Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > For quite some time, possibly several years, I believed that Chelsea Handler must be one of the hardest working women in show business. Then I discovered that she is not actually the same person as Elizabeth Banks. > > I’m still not sure I could tell them apart based on looks, but I have figured out that Elizabeth Banks is by far the more prominent and prolific actress and that in every case where I wasn’t sure if an actress was her or Handler it was in fact Banks. While Chelsea Handler has done some acting she is far better known as a comedian, TV host, and writer. 2 weeks ago I watched Seth Meyers interview Elizabeth Banks, and she was weird and hilarious. It wasn’t until the end of the conversation when he went to commercial and said “Ladies and gentlemen, Parker Posey!” that I said to myself “WTF?” They are the same person with sometimes-different hair colors. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/26 "2016-08-28T02:51:20Z")
Mamie Van Doren is STILL ALIVE…? I am gobsmacked. I gotta get ahold of that head, add it to my collection. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/27 "2016-08-28T04:10:56Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I gotta get ahold of that head, add it to my collection. Bear in mind that it’s 85yo, and still attached. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/28 "2016-08-28T05:45:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Jennifer and Meg Tilly. I can NEVER remember which is which. If you see her, it’s Jennifer Tilly. Okay, this is no longer true. But Meg did take a fifteen year break from acting while Jennifer kept working. However, Meg started acting again a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/29 "2016-08-28T05:52:39Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > For quite some time, possibly several years, I believed that Chelsea Handler must be one of the hardest working women in show business. Then I discovered that she is not actually the same person as Elizabeth Banks. > > I’m still not sure I could tell them apart based on looks, but I have figured out that Elizabeth Banks is by far the more prominent and prolific actress and that in every case where I wasn’t sure if an actress was her or Handler it was in fact Banks. While Chelsea Handler has done some acting she is far better known as a comedian, TV host, and writer. > [@tenacious\_j](#): > > 2 weeks ago I watched Seth Meyers interview Elizabeth Banks, and she was weird and hilarious. It wasn’t until the end of the conversation when he went to commercial and said “Ladies and gentlemen, Parker Posey!” that I said to myself “WTF?” > They are the same person with sometimes-different hair colors. Chelsea Handler? Parker Posey? [The](http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2015/10/22/22-elizabeth-banks.w529.h529.jpg) [Elizabeth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Rachel_McAdams_3.jpg) [Banks](http://movies.mxdwn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Elizabeth-Banks.jpeg) [look-a-like](https://images6.alphacoders.com/396/396280.jpg) [is](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjEzMTcxNDU3NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTE0MzEzNw@@._V1_UY317_CR22,0,214,317_AL_.jpg) [Rachel](https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/rachel-mcadams-passengers-casting1.jpg) [McAdams](http://media4.onsugar.com/files/2014/09/17/994/n/1922398/3e728e77d06bf708_thumb_temp_image10906271410994281/i/Elizabeth-Banks-Pitch-Perfect-2-Interview-Video.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/30 "2016-08-28T06:04:13Z")
Y’all are nuts, I have no problem telling any of these people apart. Amy Adams and Isla Fisher, on the other hand… [Meanwhile…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipObSiFHpyY) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/31 "2016-08-28T06:29:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > [Meanwhile…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipObSiFHpyY) The absolute best part of that already-awesome thing is [Bryce Dallas Howard’s response](https://www.instagram.com/p/3suh74PKmO/), _posted by Jessica Chastain on instagram_. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/32 "2016-08-28T07:50:48Z")
> [@snuffleupagus](#): > > I still can’t tell Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman apart, even when they are side by side. Neither could Ian McDiarmid and his minions/patsys, which on the whole, turned out to be good for the galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/33 "2016-08-28T07:54:08Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Jennifer and Meg Tilly. I can NEVER remember which is which. Jennifer is the zaftig one with the Betty Boop voice. Who’s still making movies. Meg is the more waifish one (also more talented, IMO). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/34 "2016-08-28T08:00:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you see her, it’s Jennifer Tilly. > > Okay, this is no longer true. But Meg did take a fifteen year break from acting while Jennifer kept working. However, Meg started acting again a couple of years ago. Really? I’m very glad to learn that. I’ve had a soft spot for her ever since I first saw _Leaving Normal_. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/35 "2016-08-28T08:37:55Z")
> [@snuffleupagus](#): > > I still can’t tell Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman apart, even when they are side by side. Isn’t Keira about four inches taller than Natalie? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/36 "2016-08-28T08:42:24Z")
Fergie: The Duchess of York, also a spokesmodel for Jenny Craig. Fergie: _My humps, my humps, my lovely lady-bumps_. No wonder the Queen didn’t care for her. Doesn’t sound like a very dignified way for a member of the Royal Family to behave. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/37 "2016-08-28T09:06:29Z")
Gloria Reuben and Victoria Rowell. There are [photos](http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/2253502-gloria-reuben-ben-vereen-and-victoria-rowell-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=OCUJ5gVf7YdJQI2Xhkc2QDcLTm7Mjs1dkP8ZcIVAk676iQ8dpVAM%2F3feNYLEbWSm4q8hHc46heoIRa1JKbLUMA%3D%3D) of them together, so I know they’re not the same person, but I’m still not sure which is which. [Julia Stiles and Erika Christensen](https://shechive.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/celebrity-doppelgangers-11.jpg?quality=80&strip=info&w=500). Fortunately this isn’t much of an issue lately, as Erika’s career seems to have declined. If you see one of them in a movie, it’s a safe bet that it’s Julia. I also get Bradley Cooper and James Franco confused, although I have no excuse there because they don’t look alike. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/38 "2016-08-28T10:22:02Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > [Julia Stiles and Erika Christensen](https://shechive.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/celebrity-doppelgangers-11.jpg?quality=80&strip=info&w=500). Fortunately this isn’t much of an issue lately, as Erika’s career seems to have declined. If you see one of them in a movie, it’s a safe bet that it’s Julia. I wouldn’t say declined. Erika went to television, where she was one of the main ensemble cast of Parenthood for six seasons, from 2010 to 2015. (I still and forever will think of her as Swimfan, though.) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/39 "2016-08-28T11:16:05Z")
I guess it’s a completely different thread where I’d say that I didn’t recognize about half of the names tossed about here, let alone faces. But I’m getting from context that these folks are in movies, and I rarely watch newer movies any more. However, I do have a time telling the lesser Baldwins apart, altho I do recognize them as Baldwins. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181/40 "2016-08-28T11:30:18Z")
Noah Taylor – Australian actor who first starred in _The Year My Voice Broke_ Ben Mendelsohn – Australian actor who first starred in _The Year My Voice Broke_ Hmmm… That doesn’t help at all! They look and sound the same. How about this? I think Noah’s lisp might be slightly more pronounced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-these-often-mixed-up-celebrities-apart/764181.md?page=3)