Fox News Stars Who Have Drastically Transformed Their Appearance

Since its origins in 1996, Fox News has seen its fair share of stars come and go, but for those who have stuck around, some of their most well-known faces have undergone quite the transformation. Whether it's just because they've grown older in the spotlight, have spent most of their career on-camera, or frequently changed up their style, many of the network's hosts look dramatically different from their earlier years. While there are plenty of differences, we would be remiss not to point out one constant -– and that would be the Fox News preference for blondes. Jonathan Chait wrote for New York Magazine that "the quintessential Fox News image is going to include a blonde anchor for the same reason the quintessential fraternity image will have beer and the quintessential French image will have a guy wearing a beret."

Despite the stereotypical throughline with the female host's hair color, many of the newscasters have changed their style to reflect the changing times, while others have used more drastic (and potentially invasive) methods to make sure that they look camera-ready as the years have progressed. These Fox News stars have become such fixtures on television that every different length of their hair, penciling of their eyes, or a suspicious bit of cosmetic surgery has been documented — allowing us to chart the dramatic before-and-after of their public personas.

Perhaps no one has undergone a more dramatic transformation than Dana Perino. The co-anchor of "America's Newsroom" and co-host of "The Five" on Fox News, viewers at first grew accustomed to seeing her on television as George W. Bush's White House press secretary. Perino was only the second woman to ever hold the role in America and led with a haircut and look that matched the seriousness of the job. With her blonde hair cut short below her ears, Perino appeared with relatively little makeup whenever she took to the Briefing Room to update America.

But after Bush's administration came to a close, Perino first joined Fox News as a contributor in 2009, then became a regular co-host of "The Five" in 2011, and finally received her show called "The Daily Briefing With Dana Perino" in 2017. Perino's appearance has gone through almost as many changes as her career, with the host now regularly seen with longer blonde hair and far more makeup than she ever wore as the press secretary, with her heavily done eyelashes opting for an attention-grabbing look. And for further proof of just how much makeup she wears on camera, she has also taken to Instagram to post her makeup-free look for all to see. Of course, while Perino may look perfectly put together when cameras are rolling, she's not immune to the occasional tacky fashion decision when left to her own devices.

If there's one thing on which viewers are going to fixate, it's a hairstyle. In 1996, Martha MacCallum served as an anchor for local station WBIS and reported the news with a shorter, lightly curled look. In a video on YouTube of her early work, MacCallum can be seen wearing an outfit, hairstyle, and even makeup, which were very much of the time. We also couldn't help but notice her carefully manicured eyebrows, which put together gave her entire appearance a highly polished look — making us wonder what the young MacCallum would think of her older self's makeup-less social media appearance.

MacCallum has since let her hair grow into a more modern style that while different, fits in perfectly with the blonde lengths and looks of other hosts on this list. With shoulder-length hair and a more muted lip color, she has certainly aged into her role as a veteran newscaster. It probably helps that she now has even more resources at her disposal, as evidenced by the Daily Mail reporting on MacCallum's hair and makeup team putting in the work for Election Night 2024, with her telling the outlet that "big days call for big hair." Even despite her inability to escape plastic surgery rumors, some users in the comments section of her early days thought that MacCallum's transformation had been for the better. One user posted, "Wow they frumped her up on this station ... She's smoldering HOT now on Fox." But some missed her shorter hair, posting, "It's about the outline of the face and the short chopped-off hair that I love the most. You can grow it out longer but I don't like hair that is too long."

Harris Faulkner has such a defined appearance that the Fox News host once sued Hasbro over producing a toy hamster that she believed was so similar to her likeness that it "caused substantial commercial and emotional damage to Faulkner." (via Hollywood Reporter). The copied look in question had to do with her mascara-heavy, long-lashed eyes that have remained a constant throughout her career. While it's not the worst thing that has happened to her, we'll add it to the list of tragedies that have befallen Faulkner. Strangely, despite her willingness to lawyer up to protect her appearance, Faulkner is also one of Fox News' more mercurial hosts in that she has been known to switch up her look over the years.

As the host of "The Faulkner Focus" and co-host of "Outnumbered," Faulkner has debuted several looks that prove that she can and will transform at will. Most dramatically, she attended the Fox Patriot Awards in 2023 with a hairdo that was ultra-short and dyed blonde, proving that even Faulkner couldn't resist the network's preferred color, even if she was only trying it out. She credited her location for the look, writing, "Love you Nashville for the inspo for some denim and sparkle vibe." On Instagram, she then proceeded to let the curls fly the following year at the 2024 Fox Nation Patriot Awards where her hair cascaded well below her shoulders, going in yet another direction than her usual look. Faulkner has proved that she has an iconic look (worth suing over) while still giving us dramatic new takes throughout her stunning two decades-long transformation at Fox News.

Before Fox News, Ainsley Earhardt began her professional career as a local news anchor in her home state of South Carolina, but in 2005, it was her on-camera tapes that got the attention of Fox News. As for what Fox saw, Business Insider reported that her former mentor Deborah Knapp said, "It's a rare quality to connect with people like she does. And the way she appears is exactly who she is. Ainsley is just full of goodness. I think people pick up on that, and people are attracted to that." That connection can be seen in an old photo uploaded to Facebook by "Fox and Friends," where Earhardt's signature bright smile and blonde hair are on display, while her face is filled out and natural looking.

Today Earhardt looks a little more battle-tested. After appearing on Fox News for almost two decades, the Earhardt of today is older and far more done up. Similarly, her wardrobe has undergone a radical upgrade, even if some of her outfits completely missed the mark. As for what others think of her appearance, in a piece written by Elle, an attendee at Earhardt's book signing told her mother that "[Earhardt] looks like Barbie," a telling comparison to a doll who has both radically changed and remained the same over the years. Later, in response, Earhardt told the interviewer, "I enjoy makeup and having someone who does my hair. What female wouldn't? But I want that little girl to see it is hard work, it is being kind, it is knowing who you are. It's taken me a long time to get here." Perhaps it has, but we couldn't help but notice that Earhardt looks quite a bit different than that little girl who started putting in the work.

In some sense, Sean Hannity's transformation makes sense, given that he holds the record for the longest-running primetime television host in cable news history -– and he's been at Fox News since 1996. Appearance-wise, Hannity's transformation has been an impressive fight back against age. Hannity entered the network as the self-proclaimed "most talked-about college radio host in America" (via Washington Post) –- at least according to an ad he put out for himself in "Radio and Records" magazine. Once on Fox, he was positioned opposite his liberal co-host Alan Colmes on their show "Hannity and Colmes," and the dark-haired, slimmed-down conservative quickly became a fixture, with his fiery gaze transforming along with the network's political leanings.

Since then, his brown hair has gone grey and he has some noticeable wrinkles, but he actually appears to have bulked up a bit, with both his frame and face filling out. While we might usually attribute that to some cosmetic fillers, it likely has more to do with his disciplined, military-like lifestyle. He told the Daily Mail that, "I live my life like a Marine during the week. I get up, I work out, I read, read, read. I write, write, write. I do three hours of radio." Then he added that he also practices various forms of jiujitsu, kempo, and street fighting, which could explain some of the age-defying nature of his physical transformation. However, there was one aging-related rumor Hannity could not run away from — that was that he was caught wearing a toupee on television when viewers noted the strange shape of grey that seemed to be masquerading as his hair. Sadly, hair loss is one battle that jiujitsu is not going to help him win.

She may not be with Fox News anymore, but Megyn Kelly became a star under the tutelage of the network. Not only has she drastically changed her appearance since first gracing television, but she's also publicly spoken about work that she has (or has not) had done. In a clip from "The Megyn Kelly Show," Kelly proudly announced to plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn that she definitely uses Botox, but is "very anti-filler," saying that "it just goes wrong too often." And while Kelly claims Botox to be the extent of her facial alterations, there are plenty of rumors about more intrusive work being done on her face, though there is no confirmation that Kelly has gone under the knife. However, in speaking to The Sun, Dr. Richard Westreich, also a plastic surgeon, gave his certain opinion that "Megyn unequivocally and 100% has had a rhinoplasty."

In comparing the 2009 picture on the left to the 2024 picture on the right, it is pretty obvious that the structure of her nose looks dramatically different. No longer thin with a slight pinch, it looks more full –- and if we're being completely honest, looks like it was straightened out. We also can't help but see the Botox at work, with Kelly's face incredibly staving off any sign of a wrinkle (kudos to her makeup artist too). And while Kelly said that she is staunchly anti-filler, we can't help but notice how full and healthy her face looks in comparison to her earlier self. Sure, miracles can happen, but we would wager that a little plastic surgery is far more likely.

Bret Baier's transformation had us blinking twice to make sure we weren't hallucinating, because he looks both wildly different and eerily the same. And the primary suspect in his altered appearance is his eyebrows. Originally full and relatively flat, in recent photos Baier's eyebrows have a distinct lift on the outer edges, implying that there has likely been some facial manipulation. But besides that, there is also the fact that Baier looks surprisingly unchanged by the passage of time, which could imply the use of fillers or Botox to keep gravity from doing its thing.

Baier did officially comment on allegations in 2018, posting on X, "Never had any plastic surgery. But thanks for watching." However, it is worth noting that the photograph on the right is from 2019 — and a lot can change in a year. Still, the internet was quick to point out that Baier's villainously arched eyebrows matched fellow conservative star Matt Gaetz, who was nearly unrecognizable after some obvious plastic surgery. One user on X made a pretty good guess about the facial similarities between Baier and Gaetz, posting, "That's what happens when everyone goes to the same surgeon." Given the number of Fox News stars and their habit of dramatically changing their appearance, we don't think that plastic surgeons will be going out of business any time soon.