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{{trope}}
[[File:
The slow accretion of attractive changes to characters who are actually supposed to be fairly odd-looking, if not outright ugly. It also doesn't just mean the costume change when someone does a [[Heel Face Turn]]; here, the ''physical'' appearance inexplicably changes.
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Unfortunately very common with female characters, even ones designed to deliberately avoid this trope, once they get out of the hands of their creators.
[[Marvel Comics]] characters swing into this frequently, as mutants, some of whom are outright deformed, may or may not be drawn as "ugly" [[Depending
When
▲When [[Progressively Prettier]] appears in characters in fanart rather than in an adaptation of a show, this is called [[Self Fanservice]]. See also [[Fan Service Pack]], [[Adaptational Attractiveness]], [[Anthropomorphic Shift]], [[Unnecessary Makeover]]. If characters look better due to the artist becoming more skilled over time, it is [[Art Evolution]]. Contrast [[You Don't Look Like You]].
{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* The mascot from the confused.com adverts has has her bust size [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDzusYuobxI increased], and [[Jiggle Physics|animated]], and her waist made [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAiZ6XA910&feature=related smaller].
* Neko Musume from ''[[
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Kitano from ''[[
▲* Neko Musume from ''[[Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro]]'' was really cutened up over the years. [http://www.animenation.net/blog/2009/08/14/ask-john-how-did-kitaro-turn-moe/ An article was writen about it].
* Miranda from ''[[D
▲* Kitano from ''[[Angel Densetsu (Manga)|Angel Densetsu]]'' started out undeniably terrifying. [[Art Evolution]] happened, and he graduated to [[Ugly Cute]].
▲* Miranda from ''[[D Gray Man (Manga)|D Gray Man]]'' has an in-universe reason for this, since she originally looked like a ragged old woman, with heavy bags under eyes and a giant mess. At the time she was trapped in a [[Groundhog Day Loop]], not to mention that she was dealing with some serious self-worth issues, and after the arc is over and Allen and Lenalee help her out with both, it shows that [[Beautiful All Along|Miranda really doesn't look all that bad after all]]. Once she was upgraded to a recurring character, she was redesigned to look more gothic than old. In one one-off drawing, she's even part of fanservice.
* ''[[Naruto]]''
▲** Really, everyone in ''[[D Gray Man (Manga)|D Gray Man]]''...
▲* ''[[Naruto]]'' -- Before Gaara was rather mean and scary-looking because, well, he was mean and scary. After his [[Heel Face Turn]], he's been redesigned to look still gothic but much gentler (again, because he generally is).
* Takatsuki from ''[[Wandering Son]]'', manga to anime. Her goofy facial expressions from the manga where changed to better looking ones in the anime adaptation. In the manga itself, due to [[Art Evolution]] certain characters such as Doi, Seya, and Mako became cuter and more attractive over time; though it's justified since they're getting older.
* The entire cast of ''[[Genshiken]]'' has had this happen to them, Madarame in particular has benefitted.
* Vegeta in ''[[
* Belldandy in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' started off looking kind of plain, even a bit homely, but over the years of manga installments and various animated versions, she's been escalated through the entire appearance continuum until she became an acknowledged beauty.
== Card Games ==▼
* ''[[Magic the Gathering]]'': [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=130834 Vedalken as they looked in 2004, for Mirrodin]. [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=97077 Vedalken as they looked in 2007, for Ravnica]. Admittedly, Mirran Vedalken had been mutated by generations of [[Fantastic Drug|lymph serum]] abuse, whereas Ravnican Vedalken are [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=107321 usually] free of [[Body Horror]]. However, [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=194303 the Vedalken seen in 2010, for Scars of Mirrodin], have no such excuse.▼
== Comic Books ==
* ''The [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' has several cases of this.
** Marrow started as a creepy-looking girl who had craggy bones growing out all over her body, but after her [[Heel Face Turn]], slowly became just an attractive girl with some cosmetic-looking bone attachments. An accident which involved an exploding card, a trip through the astral plane and an alien healing device made her pretty. She went back to ugly under never explained circumstances once she was off the team.
** From the same team, Nightcrawler's original source of angst was being fairly demonic looking in a superstitious [[Ruritania
*** Even under Cockrum's art run, Kurt was often written as [[The Charmer]], so it wasn't a completely out of the, er, blue development.
** Callisto was the leader of the Morlocks, a group of mutants with extreme physical mutations. Callisto never looked nearly as inhuman as the others as was best describable as 'butch' and was implied to be living with them less due to her appearance and more due to bad experiences with people. Due to the actions of fellow Morlock Masque, she is transformed into a pretty woman ... and many years later she's altered to have tentacles of varying length and thickness in the place of arms. She at once becomes prettier and more Morlockishly inhuman.
** Skin from ''[[Generation X]].'' He was explicitly shown and stated to be ugly in his first appearances, but by the end of the series, he was looking positively suave. This has an in-universe explanation, since before the series started he was shown to be able to influence his appearance by concentrating, but doing it too much would give him migraines. Later in the series it is pointed out that his appearance has been improving because he has been learning to control his powers. He can never do anything about the unnatural gray color of his skin, but by issue 50 or even earlier it is no longer hanging off him freakishly while he is conscious.
** Rogue originally started out as a rather homely, "butch" looking woman and a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. After her [[Heel Face Turn]] she seemed to get progressively more attractive as her popularity increased, until she became the sultry southern belle she's known for being today (right around the time Jim Lee took over art chores, not-so-coincidentally). This one also has in-story explanation, since after the X-Men's rough battle with Nimrod that led to Nightcrawler and Rachel Summers going MIA, Rogue spent all night looking for them, but noticed that she looked like hell when passing a reflective window. Once the stores opened in the morning, she went to the mall for a makeover and liked how she looked. While her new clothes sadly [[Doomed New Clothes|didn't last]], she most likely got in the habit of caring more about her appearance since then.
** When Gambit was first introduced, his appearance was rather sleazy and not all that attractive. Once Marvel decided that they'd keep him on as a good guy instead of having him turn out to be a villain, however, his appearance began to improve pretty quickly.
** When [[Wolverine]] was first introduced to the X-Men, he was about 5'4", quite unattractive, and apparently didn't like to bathe. [[Ensemble Darkhorse|As]] [[Breakout Character|his]] [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|popularity]] [[Wolverine Publicity|grew]], he became less unattractive. Then the very tall and very good looking [[Hugh Jackman]] portrayed Wolverine in the X-Men movie and people seemed to forget that one of Wolverine's old nicknames was "dog face".
* Even more than the above, the classic Marvel example is the [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Thing]]. His irregular, monstrous appearance in FF #1 gradually normalized; by the second year, Ben looked like he does now. John Byrne felt that this took away from the tragedy of the character, and he had Ben regress to his original look, apparently intending it to be permanent. (Byrne's views were backed up by a fan letter complaining that the Thing was ugly now, when he used to be so ''handsome''.) Byrne ultimately restored the Thing to his iconic appearance, but would not by a long shot be the last writer to "uglify" Ben.
** The same could be said for Ben's human form. In FF #1 Ben as a normal man looked ugly since he was a more antagonistic character toward the other three members of the FF. Later in stories where The Thing,(now a more lovable character) temporarily reverts back to his old self, Ben Grimm looks ruggedly handsome.
* The classic comic book example is, of course, [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]. Drawn by Steve Ditko, Peter Parker was a skinny, thin-faced geek and Spider-Man was thin and more spider-esque. When John Romita, Sr, a former romance comic artist, took over the
** Peter does look less spindly and more conventionally attractive even towards the end of Ditko's run.
* In a similar vein to the Thing, [[Deadpool]]'s appearance was horrific when we first saw it, due to the artificial origin of his healing factor reacting with incurable cancer. Over time, it changed and simplified from "bubbles and nodules of flesh with random hair" to "flesh-coloured de-uglified Ben Grimm", and some artists go even further. In ''Cable & Deadpool'', about 75% of his skin actually looked perfectly normal, with the rest just resembling bad acne. Didn't stop people from nearly retching when they saw him on the street. This is another that goes back and forth depending on who's drawing him, since sometimes he looks alright, others he's back to his horrific look. Since his power has been described as leaving his body tissue in constant, dynamic flux, this makes sense.
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* Doris Husselmeyer of ''[[Ernie]]'' started out so ugly she gave people heart attacks and went from good-looking enough that dating Arnold Arnoldski was a step down for her to getting hit on by handsome bodybuilders on the beach. Possibly because of [[Executive Meddling]].
* In issue #1 of ''[[Strangers in Paradise]]'', Katchoo is very flat-chested and Francine's slightly overweight. By the time we come to the final issue, both women are bustier, much thinner and even have longer legs.
** Terry Moore might as well be made of this trope. Many of SIP's other minor characters got
* In her first appearance, Tabitha Smith (a.k.a. Boom-Boom, a.k.a. Meltdown) of Marvel's X-Titles was deliberately drawn to have a very plain face, and this was a plot point. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Meltdown01.jpg This] is modern Tabitha.
* Jarael from the ''[[Star Wars]]'' comic ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' is supposedly designed to defy the typical comic sexbomb and be someone who "works for a living". With some slight variation [[Depending
* ''[[Fables]]'' - Inverted with Bigby Wolf who started off looking gritty but attractive but has slowly lost most of the features of a human face. Most noticeably he no longer seems to have eyes or a mouth. Beast swings wildly in appearance from handsome to bestial depending on how much Beauty still loves him, which usually isn't much.
* [[Sinestro]], from DC Comics ''[[Green Lantern]]'' mythos, used to be drawn as a skinny guy with a huge head. As he's become more prominent recently, he's got bulkier now, and his head is average sized. Ironically, it means he's actually looking less villainous the longer he's a villain.
* In the original ''[[New Mutants]]'' run Wolfsbane had short, fuzzy, unflattering red hair (implied to be unable to grow very long at all...when she's in her human form) and a flat chest and at times would express her unhappiness at not being as beautiful as her teammate Dani Moonstar. She was (early on) depicted with a snub, almost doglike nose, sharp fangs, narrow eyes; an animalistic cast to her shape that was lost even by the end of the first issue of the regular comic. Nowadays she varies in height, often has long flowing hair and, depending on the artist, is much bustier, though her recent run in X-Factor has put her back to her original appearance. Her teammate Karma, a Vietnamese girl, was also depicted in an unflattering way compared to her more modern depictions, with a pug nose, downturned mouth and unflattering hairstyle. At least part of why Rahne looked as she did was her own powers interacting with with her ''severe'' problems concerning body image (she wants to be pretty, doesn't think she can be, thinks she shouldn't care because vanity's a sin and thus feel guilty for it, then feels guilty for that... thanks a lot, [[The Fundamentalist|Rev. Craig]].)
** Mind you, her appearance in X-Factor deviates from the standard attractive female look but is in no way ugly, she has some Annie Lennox kinda androgynous charm to it.
** When originally created, artist Bob McLeod intended Rahne to be fuller figured at 14 (issue 2), and Dani to be flat at 15. They are, too; for the first run. Rahne mostly envies Dani her long hair. '-it only grows when it's cut, and only t'this length...'
* [[Archie Comics]] enters into this in recent years with the former chubby, matronly moms of Archie & Betty suddenly getting a ''lot'' thinner, and previously hideous characters like Jughead's mom & Big Ethel getting much more normalized.
* Cleo, of ''[[Wet Moon]]'', following a recent{{when}} [[Animesque]] [[Art Shift]] has become somewhat slimmer & her facial features more anime. Considering creator Ross Campbell's love of chubby chicks, this was probably done for stricly pragmatic reasons.
* Jenny Sparks, of ''Stormwatch'' and ''[[The Authority]]'', was introduced as [[Pettanko|flat-chested]] (which had no effect on her active sex life). Whether a given artist will retain this characteristic [[Most Common Superpower|is a
* ''[[Iron Man]]'' - Happy Hogan was kind of like Mickey Rourke in reverse. He started out as an ugly-as-sin boxer (his [[Ironic Nickname]] stemming from the fact that [[Perpetual Frowner|he always seemed to be frowning]]), but as [[The Sixties]] went on, he was drawn to appear more attractive so that he actually had a prayer with Pepper Potts. Pepper herself was originally a pug-nosed, freckle-faced [[Girl Next Door]] to play up her envy of the beauty queens Tony Stark dated instead of her; she swiftly got a makeover meant to show that she was [[Beautiful All Along]], but it somehow changed her facial features drastically.
* Sensor of the
** Incidentally, since she was originally a fairly attractive (apparently) snake alien, she considered her semi-humanoid form hideous.
* [[
* ''[[Sandman]]'' - Dream started out as looking kind of old and craggy when drawn by Sam Keith (he has been around since the first sentient life in the universe, you know), but most subsequent artists have him looking more or less like Robert Smith at the height of his career. Then again, since an Endless' appearance is affected by those perceiving them, this does make a degree of sense; his siblings similarly go up and down the scale of attractiveness throughout the series. Even Despair, who's supposed to be hideous, has a few appearances in the collage art for her entry in ''Endless Nights'' that look pretty nice if you're the sort who likes women with some meat on their bones.
* [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] with Raven in the ''
* Joker's Daughter went from [https://web.archive.org/web/20130603190157/http://www.comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/5808_20060617193703_char.jpg this] to [http://www.titanstower.com/monitor/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Duela_JokersDaughter_CDown.jpg this]{{Dead link}}.
* The female Dove in ''Hawk & Dove'' has been made of this since her introduction. In her opening miniseries, [[Rob Liefeld]] infamously couldn't decide on her cup size, or even whether her costume had [[Absolute Cleavage]], but by the time of her ongoing she subverted [[Most Common Superpower]] by having merely human-sized (large b-cup, with natural tear-drop shape!) breasts, something she was self-conscious about. Virtually every artist since has drawn her with larger breasts, however. Her human form's hair color has changed recently{{when}} in ''Birds of Prey'' to match her costumed look, though this is more forgivable given that her team has two leggy blondes already.
* As pointed out in [http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics80.html this] ''Stupid Comics'' entry, the title characters of British Girls' Comic ''The Four Marys'' got prettier and more similar-looking as time went by.
* [[Squirrel Girl]] was a veritable [[Gonk]] in [http://www.the-isb.com/images/SquirrelGirl02.jpg her debut.] She's gotten [
* [[Suicide Squad|Amanda Waller]], pre-Flashpoint: [http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Amanda_Waller_(New_Earth)/Gallery?image=Amanda_Waller_001-jpg fat and menopausal]. Amanda Waller, post-Flashpoint: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130912180502/http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/tumblr_lrj8fd1iWV1qbujox-136x550.jpg not so much]. (Also possibly subjected to [[But Not Too Black]], though even her chunky middle-aged self's facial features varied with the artist.)
** It's particularly notable in that this is one instance where a character becoming
== Film ==
* ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'' has gone from skull-faced Lon Chaney to badly-scarred [[Claude Rains]] to slightly sunburnt Gerard Butler. If you watch clips from the original film on Youtube, at least one comment will say that Chaney is too ugly. In the original book, 'the Phantom' also works as a description of how his face actually looks: yellow skin, a few wisps of hair on his head, and ''no nose''. The book made it quite obvious that the phantom had leprosy... yet the most recent versions of the play, movie, and books portray him with elephantiasis... and not even the kind that you'd want to run away from
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20131021035903/http://www.headinjurytheater.com/article70.htm This article] shows the evolution of film portrayals of the Phantom over the years. From a purely technical standpoint, it makes a certain amount of sense, as that kind of makeup must be one hell of a pain in the ass. Still, it lacks a certain something in the "faithful to the original" department.
** The original Phantom looked almost undead right from early childhood, so leprosy is an unlikely candidate for his appearance. It's unlikely that it fully reflects any real deformity or disease.
** Let's not forget Julian Sands. ''Just'' Julian Sands, no mask, no makeup, no disfiguration of any kind.
* Sephiroth, as he appeared in some very early trailers for ''[[Final Fantasy VII|FFVII: Advent Children]]'', looked quite different from his final self in the movie: he appears as far less effeminate, as well as more gaunt. This was changed later in production, apparently to reflect the effeminate "allure" that director Tetsuya Nomura wished for him to express.
* [[Emma Watson]] as Hermione Granger in ''[[Harry Potter (
* While how ugly [[Jonah Hex]] is widely [[Depending
* Velma from ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' used to be kind of a dumpy girl. After the live action movie, which had an attractive woman playing her, even the cartoon versions stated being drawn more appealingly.
* The first ''[[Halloweentown (
== Folklore ==
* Succubi were originally supposed to be ugly, but have evolved to be seductively beautiful. This also tends to correspond to how the legends have evolved - initially, they were creatures who just raped men in their sleep (thus being the source of erotic dreams and nightime ejaculations). Over time, the legend changed to succubi having to actively lure their victims into intercourse - thus, depictions shifted to depict more and more attractive creatures as logically, an ugly creature would have trouble getting a willing victim.
* In [[Greek Mythology]] Medusa is turned into a hideous monster with a head full of snakes. That is, her ''face'' was so hideously ugly that she could turn people to stone by looking at them. These days, film-makers have ditched the ugly face in favor of the snake-hair and made her petrification powers the result of inherent magical powers that are based in her ''eyes''. As such, we have the likes of [[Uma Thurman]] in ''[[Percy Jackson]]'' as a gorgeous snake-haired woman, a [[Cute Monster Girl]] in ''[[Clash of the Titans]]'', and an attractive actress in the Hallmark TV movie ''The Voyage of the Unicorn'' who is simply given ''sunglasses'' in order to make her safe enough to interact with other characters. At least one source covering the original myths (Bullfinch's?) had her sisters being hideous, but she herself maintaining her mortal beauty, presumably because Aphrodite ([[Jerkass Gods|jerk that she is]]) wanted it to be more ironic. Some myths offer a compromise and state that Medusa was both beautiful and terrible at the same time. The ''[[Clash of the Titans]]'' remake follows this and has Medusa appear beautiful but then [[Game Face|change when she attacks]].
* Sirens were supposed to be bird women, but in modern times we tend to think of them as beautiful mermaids. To the point that in some languages the word for "siren" and "mermaid" is the same, so [[Sirens Are Mermaids|the two are basically equated]]. Some modern depictions of sirens still use the bird-woman rendition. [[Martin Mystery]] had an interesting interpretation of this concept. The siren could be a beautiful, [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|blue-haired]] woman one moment, a vicious ([[Creepy Awesome|but still pretty cool]]) bird monster the next.
** Even before they became mermaids, they were first depicted as birds with women's heads but then became beautiful women whose bodies as well as their voices were seductive.
== Literature ==
* [[Sherlock Holmes]] was was not described as a particularly handsome man, being tall and thin, with thin lips and a hawk-like nose. Arthur Conan Doyle thought that the contemporary illustrations of the character were too attractive, making this [[Older Than Radio]]. Over the years, Holmes has been subject to a great deal of [[Adaptational Attractiveness]], being portrayed by handsome actors such as [[Christopher Lee]], [[Rupert Everett]], [[Robert Downey, Jr.]], and
** Especially glaring in the animated series ''[[Sherlock Holmes in
** Inverted with Watson, who was something of a ladies man in the books, and was rather intelligent in his own right, was turned into Holmes' dumpy idiot sidekick in nearly all other versions thanks to the extremely inflential version played by Nigel Bruce. People accostumed to this portayal of Watson was surprised when [[Jude Law]] was cast as the Watson in the [[Guy Ritchie]] ''Sherlok Holmes'' films and played the character as smart and competent.
* Yarna d'al Gargan, the "fat, six-breasted exotic dancer" seen briefly in ''[[Star Wars]] Episode VI: [[Return of the Jedi]]'', was apparently intended to be a glaringly ugly woman. Much of the fan fiction written about the inhabitants of Jabba's palace since then has turned this characterization completely on its head. While some writers still portray Yarna as a hideous [[Abhorrent Admirer]], most other writers have treated her ''much'' more sympathetically. Illustrations of Yarna now depict her as unquestionably female (if still fat) and try to avoid making fun of her. In a story by science-fiction author [[A. C. Crispin]] called "Skin Deep," Yarna's backstory is provided: she is an Askajian, or a member of an alien species from the desert world of Askaj. Askajians are said to only ''appear'' fat because their bodies have evolved to retain large quantities of water on arid planets; this explains why Yarna is fat on Tatooine. However, on moister or cooler worlds, members of this species are much more slender. Yarna's companion in this story, Sergeant Doallyn, even feels himself attracted (yes, sexually) to her - although he is an alien himself. Yarna also talks about how much it always hurt her to hear Jabba's henchmen refer to her as fat and ugly, even if Jabba himself was attracted to her. And in another ''[[Star Wars]]'' sourcebook, it is revealed that "Yarna" means "beautiful" in Askajian.
== Live-Action TV ==
* Mary Lynn Rajskub, who portrays Chloe O'Brian on ''[[
* Already played by [[Hollywood Homely]] [[Alyson Hannigan]], Willow became steadily more attractive as ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' proceeded, partly from her character coming out out her shell and trying things other than the plaid skirt and pink sweater, and partly (probably) from [[Executive Meddling]]. While Willow certainly became more a ''colourful'' dresser her later clothes were not always particularly, well, fashionable ("How come you didn't tell me I look like a crazy birthday cake in this shirt?") which arguably is in character.
** Occasionally her later-season outfits bordered on haute couture. Dolly Parton famously said, "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap," and in Willow's case it sometimes took trendy fashion to look that eccentric.
* Roseanne from ''[[Roseanne]]''. In the show, Roseanne and Dan were hard working, blue-collar Midwesterners, and Roseanne was appropriately [http://www.watch-roseanne-online.info/img/Watch-Roseanne-Online-1.jpg unconcerned with her appearance]{{Dead link}}. By the later seasons, Roseanne the actress had several plastic surgeries, lost some weight, and began wearing more flattering hair and makeup, turning her into [https://web.archive.org/web/20200107231808/http://content2.myyearbook.com/zenhex/images/quiz68/337851/337851_res3_RoseanneConnor.jpg this]. (And this was before the final season, where everything went off the rails anyway.)
* Sam Puckett on ''[[
* Elliot from ''[[Scrubs]]'' was transformed from a [[Nerds Are Sexy|cute nerd]] to a very attractive woman, again, by [[Executive Meddling]]. It's partially from Elliot becoming more confident and comfortable with herself.
** Equally realistic is that as Elliot's salary increased, she would be able to afford better hairstylists, clothes, and makeup.
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* Rose from ''[[Two and A Half Men]]'' was first depicted as ugly woman, but the actress was too good looking, so her character was developed into a creepy stalker.
* Both Connor and Abby from ''[[Primeval]]'' were fairly unique looking when the series started out. Connor was a greasy haired nerd who dressed in a strange mish-mash of clothes and wonky hats while Abby was a bit of a punk chick who wore too much makeup. By the fourth season they had started dressing in more normal clothes and had much more flattering hairstyles. But they both kept some of their characters' original styles, just without going overboard.
* The Halliwell sisters in ''[[
** Demons as a whole got progressively prettier too, or at least progressively more human-looking. Some of the early demons were hideous or scary, while many of the later demons just looked like dark-haired people [[Hell-Bent for Leather|in leather]]. There was a justification for Cole, as he was going through the [[Heel Face Revolving Door]] and how demonic he looked depended on what side he was on, but sometimes demons just looked human with little reason.
*** There was actually something of a reason, albeit one that was never addressed directly. It was said that in the universe of the show, the stronger, more upper-level demons are usually more human-looking (since interacting with humans makes it easier to gain power, and more power makes it easier to "glamour" and pass as human.) As the Charmed Ones got progressively stronger and their reputation began to build, the stronger (and therefore, more human-appearing) demons began to be the ones who came after them.
* Topanga on ''[[
* Debra Barone on ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'' where the first season Patricia Heaton had a short, unflattering haircut and dowdy stay-at-home mom clothes. As the seasons went on her hair was longer and better styled and her makeup and outfits more flattering.
== Professional Wrestling ==
* Joanie Laurer, better known to [[Professional Wrestling]] fans as [[Chyna]], started her [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] career as a mannish-looking, Amazonian bodybuilding thug. Then she got implants, had her jawline shaved down, and some other cosmetic surgery. Then she ''kept'' getting cosmetic surgery, which turned her into what wrestling fans mostly called a "plastic train wreck". She also lost most of her muscles, which gave her body some weird proportions as the surgery had been done for her muscular physique.
* In general, WWE Divas who are brought in from the independent wrestling scene go through so many cosmetic surgeries while in the developmental leagues that by the time they actually debut in WWE, they look nothing like they used to. This is especially galling considering that some of the girls who get expensive surgery done while in developmental frequently don't get called up to WWE. Angel Williams (now TNA's Angelina Love), for example, was beloved by the fitness community for her natural abs before getting called into WWE developmental and told to soften up and get implants. Then they dropped her.
* Inverted with Molly Holly. When she was brought into WWE she was a pretty sweet country bumpkin with blonde pigtails. Then she was repackaged as a self-righteous prude where she dyed her hair brown, cut it short and started dressing in dowdy and conservative clothes. This got reversed in 2003 when she started wrestling in corsets and her hair grew out.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Eberron
* [[Zig Zagged Trope|Zigzagged]] with the Daemonettes of Slaanesh in ''[[Warhammer
▲* ''[[Magic:
== Video Games ==
* Pictured above is the eponymous character from the ''[[Max Payne (
* Kana from the [[Visual Novel]] ''[[
** Of course, the original Kana still has features that are considered attractive, at least in Japan, since she is light-skinned and very petite, making her ''[[Kawaiiko|kawaii]]''. The player character often comments on this.
* Calypso, [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Twisted Metal]]'', lost his wife and daughter in a car crash that left him horribly burned. In the original game, Calypso had a face like raw hamburger... but as it was a real person in makeup, the result was [[Special Effect Failure|kind of
* ''[[Halo]]'': [http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/File:Cortanamain.jpg Cortana] in the first game. [http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/File:Cortana2.jpg Cortana] in the second game.
* Reno in ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' at first wasn't supposed to be a pretty boy, (in contrast with Rufus for
* Some Fans of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' claim this happened with Otacon, who got progressively looked less scruffy, gained better-looking glasses, and his hair was less of a mess. His hair also goes from grey to dark brown, his eyes go from brown to blue (making him resemble blue-eyed-brown-haired Snake), and his build goes from skinny, to slim, to broad-shouldered and fit. Not to mention his fashion sense improves, from the incredibly ugly duffle coat he wears in the first, to a stylish, slimly-cut white coat partnered with black gloves in the fourth.
* In the ''[[Splinter Cell]]: Conviction'' forums, a number of fans have expressed distaste at the [[Ubisoft]]'s drastic change of Anna Grimsdottir. In the first two games, she wears glasses and has a haircut and outfit befitting an office worker or bureaucrat. She lost the glasses (sorry [[Meganekko]] lovers) and looked a little prettier in Chaos Theory but still
* ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]'' is very guilty of this for most of its roster, with Zhao Yun being a prime example. [http://www.koeiwarriors.co.uk/characters/dw3/zhaoyun.jpg The third]{{Dead link}} [
* ''[[Castlevania]]'' has an odd example with Gaibon. In its first appearance in ''[[Super Castlevania IV]]'', it was a visibly undead gargoyle, to the point that the bottom part of its chest was missing, leaving nothing but exposed ribs. When it returned in ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night|Symphony of the Night]]'', these aspects were removed, resulting in a standard gargoyle form. Still not attractive, but no longer disgusting.
** Here's a better example: You know [http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080227202206/castlevania/images/2/27/Alucard_002.jpg Alucard], the [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] son of Dracula [[Estrogen Brigade Bait|who made fangirls foam at the mouth?]] ''[http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060422222122/castlevania/images/8/80/Cv3_alucard.jpg This]'' is what he looked like a good [[Castlevania III:
* In the original Yoshitaka Amano concept art for ''[[Final Fantasy VI]],'' Setzer Gabbiani is pale-skinned and heavily scarred. In his appearance in the opening stages of ''[[
* ''[[
* Chell from the first ''[[Portal (
** Parodied in [
* Nina Cortex from the ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' series is more along the lines of [[Ugly Cute]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150322043144/http://images.wikia.com/crashban/images/5/5c/CrashTwinsanityNinaCortex.jpg in her first few appearances], but, from ''Crash of the Titans'' onward, she looks like [https://web.archive.org/web/20131115170947/http://images.wikia.com/crashban/images/9/99/Nina_01.jpg this].
* [[Pokémon Red and Blue|Red]] from ''[[Pokémon]]'', while never originally ugly, was [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Red_Green_Red.png a squat, square-faced and simply-drawn ten year old]. Thanks to the power of Sugimori's [[Art Evolution]], Red's turned [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:FireRed_LeafGreen_Red.png downright attractive in the ''Firered Leafgreen'' remakes]. His eyes are larger, he looks relatively taller, and his face is generally less aggressive.
* A male
* The hyenas in ''[[
▲* The hyenas in ''[[Digger (Webcomic)|Digger]]'' gradually become less monstrous-looking ([[Anthropomorphic Shift|and more anthropomorphic]]) as they become more sympathetic (read: ''aren't'' hunting Digger).
* Bootsie from ''[[Friendly Hostility]]'' started out skinny and awkward, but eventually ended up being acknowledged in-series as attractive. This might have something to do with her leaving behind her years as [[Dork Age|an unpopular teenager]] and growing into a more confident adult who's actually comfortable in her own skin.
* Inverted in ''[http://doodlediaries.comicgen.com Doodle Diaries]'', where Zelda starts drawing herself in a more [[Self-Deprecation|self-deprecating]] and honest way.
* Not a straight example, but Reynardine/Renard from ''[[
* Partly due to ''[[Oglaf]]'''s [[Art Evolution]] and [[Cerebus Syndrome|developing plot]], Ivan the Apprentice has gone from very awkward-looking in the early comics to quite pretty in the more recent ones.
* Looks like Zoe from ''[[Sluggy Freelance
== Western Animation ==
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== Real Life ==
* Similar to the general 'Professional Wrestling' example above, the amount of cosmetic surgeries that female porn stars go through over the course of their careers is nothing short of ludicrous. With some, comparing a photo of them at the beginning of their careers with one in the later stages is like looking at a photo of two different women. This is often done in order to extend their working careers, as pornography is particularly ruthless in throwing performers on the scrap heap once they reach a certain age and, consequently lose their appeal with a large chunk of the audience.
* Courtney Love went from [http://www.imdb.com/media/rm718707456/nm0001482 this] to [https://web.archive.org/web/20131229205358/http://www.icelebz.com/celebs/courtney_love/ this]. It's also a case of going back and forth from one extreme to the other.
* There's a miniature of [[Abraham Lincoln]], originally designed to be handed out to people, in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. where he was intentionally made considerably handsomer so as to appeal to voters. (Lincoln was considered to be so homely that he ''made fun of his own appearance'' regularly, notably when he responded to an accusation of being two-faced by saying, "If I had two faces, would I be wearing this one?") This practice may seem to be impossible nowadays, but with [[Photoshop]], you never know...
* This is very common
{{reflist}}
[[Category:The Beautiful Tropes]]
[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]
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