# Is it okay to tell a stranger they look like someone famous? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070 "2010-02-23T02:32:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/61 "2010-02-24T02:54:40Z")
I have been told on a number of occasions that I resemble someone famous. A couple in a Paris outdoor cafe told me (in French) I resembled Allen Ginsburg who had recently been there for some public reading. I don’t. The only things we have in common are bald heads and beards. But several people have told me that I resemble James DePriest, who, oddly enough, was a HS classmate of mine. This would be less astonishing if he wasn’t black or I wasn’t white. In my HS yearbook we don’t look at all alike, but I have to admit a strong resemblance. I got some strange looks when I went to a concert at the Montreal Symphony the night he was guest conductor. Incidentally, I am neither flattered nor annoyed by this. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/62 "2010-02-24T03:57:58Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > I get Jerry Springer a lot. That kinda bothers me because I don’t like the guy or his show. > > Elton John as well, which, although I’m straight, doesn’t bother me in the least. > … > > Quasi I can see the Elton John but not the Jerry Springer at all. > [@Crotalus](#): > > I voted no because I have found it personally irritating when it is done to me. I have white hair. People sometimes tell me that I look like Steve Martin or Leslie Nielsen. I don’t think that there would be anything wrong with looking like either of those guys, but I really don’t think I do. > > Everyone can now go to my profile picture and come back and tell me I look like Steve Martin and Leslie Nielsen. 🙂 It’s just the white hair. You don’t look like either IMO. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’ve been compared to Jerry Garcia 🆒 and Kenny Rogers :eek: It’s the beard. Closer to Jerry I think but I can see where the Kenny would come from. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Yes. I find it annoying when people say, “You look like [insert dark-skinned female here who I look nothing like, but is very pretty, so this is their idea of a compliment, even though it’s total bullshit].” There’s a very famous woman now who I’m compared to at least once a month. I’m not sure how I feel about this considering her attractive has been subject to rigorous debate. I’m not offended because I kind of see it, even though I don’t really think we look alike, plus I don’t think she’s bad looking. I’m not getting who this might be, but FWIW from a stranger on the web, \*\*you \*\*aren’t bad looking either. Not at all. > [@faithfool](#): > > Me too. And I’ve never been mistaken for anyone famous, but wouldn’t be bothered by it no matter who it was. You look like Alice Cooper! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/63 "2010-02-24T04:01:42Z")
I was (in the past) often told by friends, acquaintances and strangers alike that I looked like Alanis Morissette. It didn’t offend, bother, or flatter me, I could see similarities - we had very similar hair at the time and we have similar face shapes. Here’s a hint which I’m sure you could figure out on your own, though: don’t tell someone she looks like “an ugly version of” a celebrity. I was in fact slightly offended to be told I look like “an ugly version of Alanis Morissette.” The comparisons stopped instantly and completely as soon as I changed my hair. I’ve also been told I look like other celebrities a few times since, but I just don’t see the resemblance. When someone tells me I look like a celebrity and I completely disagree and don’t see the resemblance at all, I can’t really take it as an insult or a compliment. In that case, I have more of a “Really? Huh. 😕” reaction. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/64 "2010-02-24T04:04:11Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > You look like Alice Cooper! 😃 See? What a wonderful compliment! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/65 "2010-02-24T04:39:50Z")
I use to get Malik Yoba when he had that tv show New York Undercover. At that time i was working plainclothes narcotics so i guess it worked. Then I got Rasaan Salaam. Yeah… you just said who the heck is that… well he was a runnng back for the Beloved (even won a heisman) but that idiot smoked himself out of football killing all of my plans… Funny the bartender at the Hard Rock in Chicago gave me and my ex free drinks all night cause he thought i was Salaam… I signed an autograph…it was the least i could do… ---
**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:** [February 24, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/66 "2010-02-24T04:51:19Z")
A few weeks ago, for the first time in about 45 years, I was told I looked like someone famous. Unfortunately He’s not that famous, because I had to look him up. Yes, there is a resemblance. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/67 "2010-02-24T11:37:00Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Everyone can now go to my profile picture and come back and tell me I look like Steve Martin and Leslie Nielsen. 🙂 No, you don’t, but they sure wish they looked like you… or, how you doin’? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/68 "2010-02-24T12:11:12Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > No, you don’t, but they sure wish they looked like you… or, how you doin’? I’m doing fine, thanks!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/69 "2010-02-24T12:32:56Z")
I used to get told that I had Liz Taylor eyes or Brooke Shields eyes/eyebrows or other things that were considered a compliment and I took it as such. But I did get offended when someone told me I looked like Mama Cass. He didn’t see it as an insult - but as I had just lost a lot of weight, I absolutely did. (I should mention that if he told me I sounded like her - as a singer - I would have loved it.) The group of friends we were hanging out with generally agreed he was a bloomin’ idiot. He was genuinely shocked when I turned him down for a date later. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/70 "2010-02-24T12:43:33Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > ETA - Shoot - I asked one question in the thread title, and another for the poll. If a mod is inclined to make the thread title “Is it okay to tell a stranger they look like someone famous?” I’d appreciate it. Changed title from “Would you be offended if a stranger told you you look like somebody famous” to the current title. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/71 "2010-02-24T12:45:59Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > In all honesty, why? I can see why the “oh so hotter” is inappropriate, but what’s wrong with the “slightly younger” part? Does it sound too much like part of a come on or something? The woman in question is only in her mid-30s or so, and I wouldn’t want her to think I was saying she looked like a [52-year old](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Kennedy). I don’t know about Shark, but my problem would be the fact that you said “slightly younger.” A 35-year-old does not think of themselves as lightly younger than a 52 year old. > [@](#): > > ((If you want to get a mod’s attention for this sort of thing, should you flag your own post..? - Thanks)) Yip. I’ve seen people flat out told to do so. In fact, I assumed you already reported it when I posted earlier. I went ahead and reported if for you. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/72 "2010-02-24T12:51:48Z")
I’ve been compared on a few occasions to the late [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen\_Gately](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Gately) and I suppose it was flattering, although childishly I wished he didn’t have to be the gay one. I’ve also been compared to Harry Kewell. I think my face is a bit odd - rather big eyes for instance, which makes people scrutinise it and draw comparisons perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/73 "2010-02-24T14:06:31Z")
I’ve gotten compared to ‘Ray Liotta’, but more often I’m told I look like somebody’s brother-in-law from Cleveland * * * On a side note, if you’re that guy, here are your messages: 1. \*Call Your Mother…! \* 2. Pay back that money you owe, you Deadbeat. 3. Your GF isn’t pregnant, she just wants to ‘keep in touch’. And know if you have a job yet. 4. The waterless cookware you sold that lady from West Orange was _terrible_ and 'You should be Ashamed, young man!!!". :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/74 "2010-02-24T14:27:16Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > A running joke in my life is that about once every two or three months someone will tell me “Has anyone ever told you you look a lot like Christian Bale?” > [@Chicagojeff](#): > > I use to get Malik Yoba when he had that tv show New York Undercover. So uhh, how y’all doin?\* > [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > II’m not getting who this might be, but FWIW from a stranger on the web, \*\*you \*\*aren’t bad looking either. Not at all. If I told you, you’d be all, “Oh yeah!” Last time I heard it was maybe three weeks ago. I’m usually around the same people over and over, so I’ve stopped hearing it so often, but if I’m in a group of five or more new people, there’s an 80% chance that I’ll hear it. \*Why is it the more time I spend on the SDMB, the more I turn into a creepy internet pervert? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/75 "2010-02-24T14:40:57Z")
When I was a teenager, I was told I looked like [Genie Francis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Spencer_and_Laura_Webber) from the Luke and Laura spasms of General Hospital in the 80’s. [Another, picture closer to that time frame](http://www.geniefrancis.com/transformint1.jpg). I could see the resemblence then and now. ( I didn’t watch GH and only watched it for The Wedding Of The Century.) AT some point in my twenties, I occassionally got that I looked like Winona Ryder. This was purely because we had similar hairstyles. I am fair skinned and blue eyed. She has soul sucking brown eyes and a bit of color to her that I could only dream of acheiving if I weren’t a vampire about the sun. Funnily enough, one of the oddest " You look like" comments, during the Winona phase, was " You look like [Ed Chigliak](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27580061@N05/3485913735/)" from Northern Exposure. I tend to use this the most in “you look like” discussions, as it always brings a chuckle. I think [I look alot like](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27580061@N05/3485913735/)[Maggie Gyllenhall](http://planetgreen.discovery.com/games-quizzes/green-celebrity/images/10a-maggie-gyllenhaal.jpg) in the eyes, skin tone, nose and chin department. Could be worse. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/76 "2010-02-24T15:09:05Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > IBut several people have told me that I resemble James DePriest, who, oddly enough, was a HS classmate of mine. This would be less astonishing if he wasn’t black or I wasn’t white. A friend of mine in college looked JUST like Keenen Ivory Wayans. He was white. I don’t remember if I told him or not. Another friend was nicknamed Snow White because she looked just like the original Disney Snow White. She was Chinese. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/77 "2010-02-25T02:35:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yip. I’ve seen people flat out told to do so. In fact, I assumed you already reported it when I posted earlier. I went ahead and reported if for you. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Changed title from “Would you be offended if a stranger told you you look like somebody famous” to the current title. Thanks to you both. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/78 "2010-02-25T03:35:17Z")
Have you ever been told you _sound_ like someone? Because a surprising number of people say I sound like Kermit the Frog. This is not a compliment, especially when I’m single. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/79 "2010-02-25T04:07:07Z")
Apparently so. I get told all the time I look like Dan Aykroyd. Complete strangers walk up to me to inform me of that. People I’ve just been introduced to and finally people who have known me for a while will, if someone mentions Aykroyd, will shout “AHA!” and inform me. To which I reply, “I’m younger, thinner and less balding. And funnier. Has anyone every told you that you look like a young Phyllis Diller?” But so many people agree that it must be true. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070/80 "2010-02-25T04:49:55Z")
I’ve gotten the following at various stages in my life: Baby Alive, Macaulay Culkin, Meg Ryan and Melanie Griffith. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-tell-a-stranger-they-look-like-someone-famous/530070.md?page=5)