The celebrities are back in their Halloween best this year, showing off their elaborate costumes on social media in honor of the spooky holiday.
Every year, pop culture enthusiasts wait for their favorite actors and musicians to post photos of their over-the-top Halloween attire. This year was no different, with photos of celebrity costumes filling up Instagram feeds as early as last weekend, which was when many kicked off pre-Halloween celebrations.
Some stars leaned into niche costumes, while others put new spins on classic characters or referenced old roles they had.
Here are some of the best celebrity Halloween costumes (so far).
Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe was recently dubbed a “queen of Halloween” by The Hollywood Reporter following news that she put on a haunted maze experienced called MonaĂ© Manor. She showed fans why she earned the title by dressing as the titular E.T. from the 1982 classic Steven Spielberg film.
The singer-songwriter-actor showed up to “The Jennifer Hudson Show” in an E.T. mask, matching arms and the alien’s iconic glowing finger from the movie. “I never would’ve guessed I would’ve got to meet E.T.,” Hudson joked.
Heidi Klum
Monáe wasn’t the only star inspired by the Spielberg classic.
Supermodel Heidi Klum revealed her version of E.T. at her annual Halloween party. Her husband, Tom Kaulitz, was also E.T., though without some of the accessories.
Klum told Vogue she knew she wanted to be something “nostalgic” and decided on E.T. “It’s my favorite childhood movie of all time—I watched it a million times,” Klum said. “It’s a movie that inspired me to dream and imagine the possibility of life beyond Earth.”
Preparations for the costume began last November, Vogue reported.
Klum is well known for her elaborate Halloween looks. Last year, she transformed into a peacock, and the year before she was worm.
Lizzo
Lizzo had four Halloween costumes this year, including Edward SZAhands, a “face card” and an angelic character she dubbed “Hunny Bunny.” But she made the most waves for her first costume: a box of faux pharmaceuticals called “Lizzo.”
The “Lizzo” costume referenced a “South Park” episode that aired earlier this year, in which Lizzo’s name was used as the name of an Ozempic alternative. The “South Park” episode suggested that taking “Lizzo” allows a person to not care about their weight. Lizzo previously reacted to the bit and said she had become well-known for promoting unapologetic self-love.
Ed Sheeran
Singer Ed Sheeran dressed up as an artificial intelligence meme of himself, posting on Instagram a photo of his posing on a table in a fuzzy monkey outfit.
The AI-generated meme is known as “Gay Little Monkey at the Apple Store,” according to meme database Know Your Meme. While the original “Gay Little Monkey” image gained viral fame in the late 2010s, AI-generated images combining that with various celebrities began going viral in 2023, Know Your Meme reported.
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner referenced her character Jenna Rink in the movie “13 Going on 30,” which has become a popular costume in recent years among TikTok users. In the caption of her Instagram post, she celebrated the movie’s 20th anniversary, which was earlier this year.
Kerry Washington, Scott Foley and Tony Goldwyn
It was a “Scandal” reunion for Kerry Washington, Scott Foley and Tony Goldwyn, who dressed up as another popular pop culture love triangle from this year’s buzzy film “Challengers.”
Washington, who posted the image to Instagram, dressed as Zendaya’s Tashi, a tennis champion turned coach, while Goldwyn dressed as Art (her tennis champion husband) and Foley dressed as Patrick (her ex, a lower-brow tennis player who used to be partners with Art).
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton donned a black bob to emulate Mia Wallace, Uma Thurman’s character in “Pulp Fiction.” She re-created the movie poster, to much praise, on Instagram.
Tyla
Singer Tyla went back to the Stone Age for her Halloween costume. Emulating Halle Berry’s look in “The Flintstones,” she put a modern take on prehistoric times.
Coi Leray
Rapper and singer Coi Leray continued the trend of dressing up as a popular Berry character, but she chose to be Catwoman from the 2004 film of the same name.
Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey also channeled her inner Berry by dressing as the actor in the James Bond movie “Die Another Day.” Bailey dubbed this year’s holiday “Halleween.”
Chloe Bailey
Chloe Bailey dressed up as classic animated siren Jessica Rabbit from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” — who she previously said represented her inner persona.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
The actor-singer-entrepreneur and her Grammy-winning music producer boyfriend went to Wonderland, dressing up as Alice and the Mad Hatter.
Selena Gomez referenced a quote from the book in her Instagram post.