Everyone else can go home. Heidi Klum has once again won celebrity Halloween.
For the 25th anniversary of her annual Halloween party in New York, Klum transformed herself into a giant, bloody severed version of her own left hand – complete with long red nails, dangling tendons and replicas of her engagement and wedding rings.
The massive costume reportedly took four months to build following roughly a year of development with makeup artist Mike Marino and his team. Klum said the idea started with something extremely ordinary: looking at her own hand and wondering whether her entire body could somehow fit inside it.
Turns out, it could.
Her legs were positioned inside two of the fingers while her torso fit into the palm, leaving only parts of her face visible through the grotesquely detailed prosthetic. Klum spent about six hours getting into the final look on Halloween night.
The result was equal parts body horror, surreal sculpture and completely ridiculous commitment — exactly what people have come to expect from the woman who has turned celebrity Halloween costumes into an annual competitive sport.
And this year, nobody came close.
That’s not to say Hollywood didn’t put up a fight.
Robert Downey Jr. and Pedro Pascal had some fun with Avengers: Doomsday by switching characters. Downey dressed as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, while Pascal stepped into Doctor Doom.
Paris Hilton went nostalgic, recreating Britney Spears’ unforgettable “I’m a Slave 4 U” performance from the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.
Keke Palmer teamed with her three-year-old son to recreate Janet and Michael Jackson’s black-and-white 1995 video for “Scream.”
Tyga went full creature feature with two elaborate transformations, becoming a Martian from Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! before taking on Count Orlok from Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu.
Janelle Monáe continued her reputation as one of Halloween’s most committed celebrities with “Phish Boy,” another prosthetics-heavy creation.
Kim Kardashian kept things in the family by dressing as daughter North West, while Brandy became Barbie – a particularly personal choice, since she was the first Black woman to have a Barbie created in her likeness.
Camila Mendes and Madelaine Petsch went retro as Betty and Wilma Flintstone, while Elizabeth Gillies dug into Disney Channel nostalgia as Luke from 1998’s Halloweentown.
Usher turned Halloween into a family affair with the Raymond clan dressed as Toy Story characters, while comedian Rickey Thompson recreated Zendaya’s red-carpet look from the 2011 premiere of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
Chlöe Bailey kept it simple but instantly recognizable, turning Meg Griffin into “Hot Meg” with silver knee-high boots, a denim miniskirt, a pink bra top, and a matching cap — a glam take on the long-suffering Family Guy character.
Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle went even further back, revisiting a Season 1 Boy Meets World Halloween episode for a special installment of their Pod Meets World podcast.
Fishel returned as a maid, Strong reprised the Joker and Friedle suited back up as Batman – the exact same costumes the trio wore 33 years ago. It was less a costume recreation than a time machine for ’90s kids.
Model Alex Consani went full prosthetic comedy as one of the Thumb Thumbs from Spy Kids, complete with the red jumpsuit and oversized thumb-like features.
REELated:
Bluebella turns Sophia Hadjipantelli into Halloween Femme Fatale
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods went considerably darker for their first Halloween as newlyweds, dressing as Game of Thrones-inspired White Walkers, with Towns as the Night King and Woods as the Night Queen.
Television got into the act too.
NBC’s Today celebrated the network’s 100th anniversary with a parade of costumes drawn from its own history, while Live! With Kelly and Mark packed more than 60 looks into its “Halloween Shockin’ Eve.” Lisa Rinna even dressed as Kylie Jenner alongside producer Michael Gelman as Timothée Chalamet.
There were Marvel heroes, pop stars, monsters, Barbies and Flintstones.
But only one person looked at her own hand and thought, “I should become that.”
Heidi Klum, take your crown.
Again.
