YouTube | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

10+ TV Hosts Who Looked So Different When They Were Young

"The pictures do not lie, but neither do they tell the whole story. They are merely a record of time passing, the outward evidence."

That quote didn't really have to do with much, it was just about time passing and pictures, which is what this article is about. So, you know. Had to put it in.

1. Samantha Bee

Twitter | @iamsambee

Welcome to the first installment of "Daily Show correspondents when they were young." This one isn't the best, but it certainly isn't the worst.

We'll look at John Oliver for that one.

Where is she now?

YouTube | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

She went from that girl in the picture to a woman who was a correspondent on The Daily Show, to a woman who now hosts her very own show.

Good for her!

2. John Oliver

Twitter | @iamjohnoliver

Oh wow. Yeah, John's tweet about this being the puberty "nuclear option" was [right}(https://twitter.com/iamjohnoliver/status/913836830986031105).

Poor guy, but hey: now he's an international superstar. He can put those hard years behind him.

In fact, he's more than an international superstar...

YouTube | Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

He's got an effect named after him!

Essentially, whenever he covers a subject, the public looks into it so much that sometimes it inspires the government to try and change laws!

He's come a long way!

3. Jimmy Fallon

Twitter | @JimmyFallon

Well, would you look at that kid on the far right?

He was smiling, he looks like he has a lot of friends and he's wearing a silly shirt. Not much has changed.

Now he still has a lot of friends, and they often come to his show "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

YouTube | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

They play fun games and do what people do on talk shows: talk.

4. Anderson Cooper

Instagram | @andersoncooper

The Coopers, clearly, have some pretty darn good genes.

Not only is Anderson Cooper one of the best looking TV talk show hosts in his day, but he was also in his youth as well!

See what I mean?

CNN

These days he delivers to the world the news on CNN, and we could not be happier for that.

He's one of the most trusted news men in America, and he often makes us laugh.

5. Larry King

Reddit | michaelconfoy

Woah! Who knew that Larry King got arrested?

Apparently, he was taken into custody for failing to give $5 towards the investigation of the assassination of JFK. The charges were dropped.

Criminal record aside, he had quite the career.

Hulu

Sadly, Larry passed away in January 2021 at the age of 87.

6. Seth Meyers

classmates.com

Time has been very good to Mr. Meyers, who looks about the same.

He just now has a couple of "being the lead writer on SNL" related wrinkles here or there.

7. Conan O'Brien

Twitter | @ConanOBrien

Besides some graying hair, wrinkles around the eyes, and of course that degree from the prestigious Harvard, not much has changed for O'Brien.

Except for his huge comedy career, of course.

TBS

Nowadays we see Conan O'Brien on his show Conan on TBS, but for a while, he was going to host The Tonight Show.

But of course, things changed.

8. Craig Feguson

IMDb

He certainly is a striking young man.

He's kind of got that whole "British rock and roll" look about him, which makes him look like he just walked out of an issue of Rolling Stone.

9. James Corden

Twitter | @JKCorden

He looks like quite the dapper young man, a proper British fellow. Which is perfect because he's grown into quite the dapper middle-aged British man.

One with a great voice too!

10. Ryan Seacrest

Instagram | @ryanseacrest

According to him, suits have always been a big part of his life.

Whether they're the ones he wears on the red carpet today, or the suits he was wearing as a kid.

Here he is, still wearing a suit.

YouTube | Inside Edition

But nowadays, instead of standing on what looks to be a porch, he stands on the red carpet interviewing celebrities before they go into the Oscars.

It's kind of become his thing.

11. Jon Stewart

Reddit | PsychicAtom

What a difference!

No offense to Jon, but he went from a kind of goofy looking fellow to a real distinguished-looking guy. Age did wonders for Jon Stewart for real.

12. David Letterman

YouTube | CBC News

When he was this young, people were already watching Letterman on TV.

He's definitely a legend and a name that everyone knows very well.

13. Kelly Ripa

Instagram | @kellyripa

Check out that hair! It's exploding out of her head!

This must have been the style back then, and what a style it was! Kelly should consider bringing this back.

14. Stephen Colbert

Reddit | likepeterose

What a striking young man! Seriously, whatever look he's going for (maybe a "chic Charlie Manson") he is absolutely nailing it.

Colbert has always looked good, and this is just more proof of it.

15. Chelsea Handler

classmates.com

She's had three different shows with her name in the title over the course of her career, but before all that she was rocking this awesome late '80s to early '90s look.

She's had two different Netflix shows and one of the longest spanning careers in Hollywood.

Netflix

She was even voted one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2012!

Now that's impressive.

16. Jimmy Kimmel

classmates.com

Doesn't that look like a kid who would make you laugh? This is Jimmy's high school photo, and you can see that time has been really good to this guy.

Or you could just see it for yourself.

YouTube | Jimmy Kimmel Live

Yes, there may be a little more pepper in his beard, he may have a couple of wrinkles here and there, but he's still that goofy kid from the picture before.

17. Oprah

Instagram | @oprah

Back when she was 24, only a handful of people knew her name.

She wasn't anyone, certainly not one of the richest people not only in America.

But now, not only is she rich, but she's one of the most powerful women in the world.

Instagram | @oprah

She ran her talk show for years, sure, but the real money came with the channel, the endorsements and all the other shows she's produced over the years.

18. Wendy Williams

Instagram | @wendyshow

Before she was getting herself into controversies on her show, she was this bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young woman.

Her big dreams definitely got her far!

19. Katie Couric

classmates.com

This woman has been all over the news world, but it all started right here.

It makes you wonder if she knew she was going to become as big as she did.

But big she became.

She's been on NBC News, she's been on CBS News, and she's been on ABC News.

If your news station has a three-letter studio name in their title, you've probably seen Katie Couric on it.

20. Ellen DeGeneres

FOX

Here we see a young comedian ready to start one of the most influential careers of all time.

Not just for women in the medium, but for another underrepresented group as well.

The LGBTQ community!

Instagram | @theellenshow

Since that picture she's not only gotten a haircut, she's become the queen of daytime TV, she's started a beautiful family with Portia de Rossi, and she's apparently gotten a couple of dogs.