Dita Von Teese is the biggest name in the burlesque scene thanks in part to her stunning raven hair and porcelain complexion, but before her rise to fame, she was a tanned and bottle blonde all American girl.
Dita Von Teese, 40, tweeted a handful of pictures from her high school yearbook.
“Found a box of photos of me from my freshman and sophomore year in high school,” she tweeted her fans along with the snaps.
In the photos, Dita, born Heather Renee Sweet in Rochester, Michigan, has big Eighties bleach blonde hair and a penchant for the era’s fashion.
In one particular image of Dita in her younger years, she bares her midriff in a black bralet top which she pairs with voluminous parachute trousers and a matching jacket.
Her look is very reminiscent to that of Jennie Garth’s when she played Kelly Taylor in the hit TV series, Beverly Hills 90210.
Dita Von Teese as blonde girl before her transformation into burlesque brunette bombshell
Her skin tone is also very tanned, several hues darker than her current alabaster complexion.
These days Dita Von Teese stays away from the sun, recently explaining: “Alabaster skin is the perfect base for a vintage look. I’d never dream of getting a tan – I always wear sunscreen and put on a hat when I’m out in the sun.”
Back to her vintage snaps, and a very blonde Dita Von Teese is also photographed in two prom dresses.
Far from the stunning couture and vintage dresses she wears these days, her formal wear for her younger years is a poofy and frilly lavender creation which she pairs with a floral crown in her hair.
In another snap, Dita Von Teese then steers towards black velvet accessorized with pearls.
In all of the photographs it is clear that Dita Von Teese used to go for the more pared back appearance when it came to her make-up.
It is a far cry from her current look – her visage always completely made up with dark eyebrows, heavy black eyeliner and bright red lips.
Two years ago Dita Von Teese even told the New York Times Style magazine that she uses Just For Men hair dye to achieve raven eyebrows.
Dita Von Teese these days isn’t a fan of the all natural look, and the high maintenance star recently admitted that the number of beauty products that she uses regularly goes in to the hundreds.
The burlesque queen admitted she is such a beauty junkie that she couldn’t live without any of the multiple cosmetics and haircare products which she uses to achieve her glamorous retro look.
Yesterday it was revealed that Jill Kelley was taunted over her large nose in high school and vowed to get plastic surgery to make it look better.
Perhaps the episode points to an inner frailty about her looks that drove her determination to have a string of powerful men in her thrall.
Jill Kelley, the woman who is at the center of the scandal that has felled two top generals told fellow pupils when she and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, were 18, that they were “going to get a nose job and when we you do you’ll all be in awe of us”.
She was also “flirtatious”, gave boys she met a big grin and used to wear tight blue jeans which brought many an admiring male gaze.
It is not clear if Jill Kelley followed through on her promise to get plastic surgery.
The claims show that Jill Kelley’s interest in carefully crafting her image started at an early age.
Since the David Petraeus scandal broke, Jill Kelley has appeared in public “looking a million dollars”, notably in a bright yellow dress and three inch heels as she climbed into her Mercedes outside her mansion in Tampa, Florida yesterday and today in a polished pink and gold heels ensemble.
Judging by pictures in her high school yearbook, then Jill Khawam was glamorous and well aware of her charms even at a young age.
Jill Kelley got a nose job after she was taunted over her large nose in high school
In her official 1993 graduation photo for Lower Moreland High School in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Jill Khawam posed wearing a black dress and pearls around her neck with her jet black hair tumbling over her left shoulder.
Her body is turned to the left and has a radiant grin on her face
Jill Kelley, 37, has become the central figure in the scandal which has caused General David Petraeus, 60, to step down as head of the CIA and forced General John Allen to stand down from his post leading US troops in Afghanistan.
General John Allen, who is married, sent her between 20,000 to 30,000 e-mail messages, some of which were of an inappropriate nature.
Today it was revealed that Jill Kelley had access to “influential figures in the global area” before she was even out of school.
Jill Kelley, now 37, was a member of the World Affairs Council while still a student at Lower Moreland High School in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
Students were taken on trips and given the opportunity to meet dignitaries at the highest level including presidents, prime ministers and princes.
Among those who have spoken at her local branch of the respected organization include Prince Albert of Monaco, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush and Tony Blair.
General David Petraeus also made an appearance, but it was in 2010 and long after she had left school.
Jill Kelley has become the central figure in the scandal which has caused David Petraeus, 60, to step down as head of the CIA and forced General John Allen to stand down from his post leading US troops in Afghanistan.
General John Allen, who is married, sent her between 20,000 to 30,000 e-mail messages, some of which were of an inappropriate nature.
General David Petraeus’ mistress, Paula Broadwell, an Army reservist who was also his biographer, is said to have emailed Jill Kelley and warned her to back off because she was jealous, which led to the affair becoming public when the FBI got involved.
Judging by pictures in her high school yearbook, Jill Kelley was glamorous even at the age of 18 and well aware of her charms.
She posed wearing a black dress and pearls around her neck with her jet black hair tumbling over her left shoulder.
Her body is turned to the left and she has a radiant grin on her face.
Jill Kelley appears not to have been a prominent member of school but did take part in a number of activities, notably the World Affairs Council.
According to the Philadelphia branch of the nationwide non-profit organization, it was founded in 1949 to inform people of all ages “on matters of national and international significance”.
Among the other guest speakers have been Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Joe Biden, Al Gore and Donald Rumsfeld.
Its website says: “The Council provides its members and the greater Philadelphia community with access to influential figures in the global area as well as opportunities to visit fascinating destinations through its unique travel program.”
Jill Kelley, now 37, was a member of the World Affairs Council while still a student at Lower Moreland High School in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
Jill Kelley – who appears in the yearbook under her maiden name Khawam – was also a “Mathlete” and would have competed against other schools in math competitions.
She claims to have written for student newspaper Lion’s Roar which allowed students to “freely vent their creative juices”, the yearbook says.
The newspaper also started up a world news section because, according to its 1993 editor Sharon Herring, there was concern students were “lacking in their knowledge of the outside world|.
Another string to Jill Khawam’s bow was the Future Business Leaders of America whose members took part in competitions where they learned skills that would be useful at work, such as typing and accounting.
In the yearbook Stephanie Simon said: “I believe that FBLA not only exposes students to the important field of business, but it also aides the community.
“Students are able to get a taste of the real world in more ways than one.”
Jill Khawam also appears to have had a strong moral compass and was a member of SADD – Students Against Drunk Driving – another group called Students For a More Conscious Society, the student council, a community outreach program called Operation Smile and the Red Cross
Her other activities were computer club, science club, orchestra basketball, cross country running, field hockey, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field and orchestra.
Jill Khawam grew up in Philadelphia with her family, who emigrated there from Lebanon in the 1970s.
Her parents, John and Marcelle Khawam, once ran a Middle Eastern restaurant and now live in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.
In her yearbook entry, Jill Khawam’s twin sister Natalie Kwaham wears the same clothes as her sister and is also smiling.
Her activities included concert choir, the World Affairs Council and Students For A More Conscious Society.
The sisters moved to Tampa, Florida around ten years ago where they both became regulars on the social circuit.
Jill Kelley’s husband Scott works as a surgeon, while Natalie Khawam is a lawyer who specializes in dealing with whistleblowers, which has newfound irony considering Jill was the one whose contact with the FBI led to the resignation of a well-respected general and the investigation into another.
A friend, who has known Jill Kelley for almost a decade, said that the revelation that she exchanged between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of communications with General John Allen comes as a surprise.
“This has come as a complete shock. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, but no one in her circle saw this coming,” said one of her friends.
“Jill was well known for throwing parties where the military attended and she reveled in her role as honorary ambassador but sending all those emails to a general is another thing.”
Her brother, David Khawam, has also revealed their fear that she will be branded the “other woman”.
Speaking to the Today show, he said: “This is something that is going to brand her for life.
“My sister, number one, is a mother. She has three kids and is extremely dedicated to those kids.
“Number two she is a wife. She is extremely dedicated to her husband and he to her. For her to have an affair with General Petraeus is ludicrous.”
Jill Kelley regularly kept in touch with then-General David Petraeus when he became commander of the Afghan war effort, the two exchanging near-daily emails and instant messages, two of his former staffers say.
But those messages were exchanged in accounts that his aides monitored as part of their duties and were not romantic in tone, the staffers said.
David Khawam added that he expected his sister, who has hired the crisis management firm employed by Monica Lewinsky and the attorney who represented John Edwards earlier this year, to address reports about her involvement with two of the top US military chiefs.
Model Kate Upton became a household name overnight, and this year landed the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition.
But new images show Kate Upton wasn’t always so open about showing off her body.
In photos taken from the model’s high school yearbook, her celebrated body is covered with a button down shirt.
Kate Upton’s high school friends, who knew her just three short years ago as their fellow classmate, tell how her success seems to have blossomed overnight – shocking them all.
For they remember a flat-chested teenager who was “nerdy looking”.
Speaking candidly, a fellow classmate of Kate Upton’s from Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne, Florida, remembers the supermodel as a B average student who was the opposite of the “it” girl at school.
Kate Upton’ school friends remember a flat-chested teenager who was “nerdy looking”
Wearing a white oxford shirt paired with a khaki kilt as her school uniform, Kate Upton, now 20, was required to go to church services everyday and her favorite pastime was riding horses.
But while nearly every man on this planet would love to date her today, Kate Upton surprisingly didn’t have any dates as a schoolgirl.
“Kate was the bridge between the popular crowd and the losers,” tells Kate’s high school classmate.
“She wasn’t really outgoing and she definitely wasn’t the prettiest girl in school.
“She was very slim, flat chested and sort of nerdy looking – I’m not sure she ever had a boyfriend in school.”
But three years on, you can bet every guy from her high school class is kicking themselves for not jumping at the opportunity to date the world’s hottest supermodel.
“I remember Kate being in and out of class a lot, traveling and trying to make it as a model,” tells her classmate.
“She was never overly confident or annoying about it, but one day she just left school and never came back.
“It was almost like she blossomed overnight and grew into this beautiful woman, never to be heard from again.
“Now, talking to all the guys from our class, we’re all regretful that we never asked her out.”
Kate Upton’s stardom has seen her land on the cover of several big name magazines, most recently men’s quarterly, GQ.
During the shoot Kate Upton recently revealed that she endured a slight mishap.
The model explained what happened in her interview, saying: “For the GQ photo shoot, we were on the ride where the seat spins while the actual ride is spinning, and I’m wearing a one-piece.
“All of a sudden the whole entire top falls off! I’m holding myself, laughing, turning bright red, but a lot of people are watching, so they kicked us out of the Santa Monica Pier – it was so embarrassing.”
