She rose to worldwide fame as a very distinctive diva — that voice, of course, but also those curves.
Late fashionista Karl Lagerfeld infamously said in 2012 when she graced the cover of Vogue, that she was ‘a little too fat’.
Stung, Adele went on the first of many diets, and worked out with a personal trainer even though she admitted she ‘hated’ it.
By the time she released her third album — 25 — she promised she was never going to change. She told an interviewer in 2015: ‘I’m going to look like this for ever. Deal with it.’
Adele, who turned 32 this week, posed for a series of stunning photos at her LA home in which her astonishing 10 st weight loss was evident for all to see
But where is that girl now? Adele, 32 this week, posed for a series of stunning photos at her LA home in which her astonishing 10 st weight loss was evident for all to see.
The new Adele — tiny waist, endless legs — looks like a completely different person.
Her hair, once a vintage-styled long bob in a damp shade of ginger, is now glowing, blonde and grown out into a Californian beach do. She also has a suntan and perfect teeth.
Perhaps even more striking is how her new appearance has left her looking the spitting image of her new set of Hollywood friends.
As these extraordinary pictures show, from Jennifer Lawrence’s hair to Emily Blunt’s eyebrows, Adele has become a dead ringer for the bombshells in her A-list set.
So what is behind her stunning makeover, and who’s in the glam squad behind her transformation? ALISON BOSHOFF reports…
She’s glowing for a look like tanned Mrs Corden
Adele has been close to actor and chat show host James Corden since before she was famous.
Now relocated to LA like the singer, Corden and his wife Julia are a part of her inner circle.
Julia, a former charity executive, is the veteran of dozens of red carpet events with James and has developed a distinctly Californian glow — fake tan being every blonde’s best friend.
Adele has been close to actor and chat show host James Corden since before she was famous. Now both have relocated to LA, Corden and his wife Julia (right) are part of her inner circle
Adele’s deep bronze may be the work of celebrity favourite Kristyn Pradas who offers full-body contouring.
Ms Pradas says: ‘This doesn’t mean every muscle looks chiselled. It’s just about accentuating someone’s favourite features and camouflaging their less favourite.’
Another reason for Adele’s glow may be intravenous vitamin boosts.
She has been named as a client of the Drip Doctors in LA. Their Limitless drip contains antioxidants and vitamins C and B. Plus, they do house calls for the privacy-conscious.
Adele of a likeness
Their physical similarities are such that fans this week were calling for Sarah Paulson to play Adele if a biopic of her life were made.
The pair met at the birthday party of TV host Ellen DeGeneres, on whose show the U.S. actress said she’d asked to touch Adele’s voicebox to feel ‘where the magic comes from’.
‘She looked at me as if I was crazy, but let me,’ Paulson said.
Sarah Paulson (pictured) and Adele have been told they look so alike that people were calling on the actress to play the singer if a biopic of her life was ever made
Minding the gap with Ayda Field
Why the pigeon-toed pose?
Well, Adele may have realised she has finally achieved a ‘thigh gap’ — just like her very good friend and exercise buddy Ayda Field.
Actress and presenter Ayda, who is married to Robbie Williams, was Adele’s first best friend in LA when the singer went there for a couple of months with baby son Angelo in 2012.
They bonded over a shared sense of humour.
Trainer Camila Goodis said: ‘I trained Ayda and they are good friends, so I did Adele when she was in Robbie’s house. I don’t believe she liked exercise much but she has changed her lifestyle and I believe that 90 per cent [of the weight loss] was dieting.’
Actress and presenter Ayda, who is married to Robbie Williams, was Adele’s first best friend in LA when the singer went there for a couple of months with baby son Angelo in 2012
P.S. What happened to her new album?
Where is the album which was supposed to be ready for release last September?
Insiders say that it was ‘finished’ but that Adele, ever the perfectionist, then deemed it not yet right after all. Now she is telling friends to expect it this September.
The songs which she had laid down reflected her split from husband Simon Konecki, but are said to be surprisingly upbeat.
In keeping, one would imagine, with her new-found happiness.
An LBD like buddy Nicole
One is the daughter of music legend Lionel Richie and was raised in splendour, the other was raised in grotty flats by a single mum. But Nicole Richie and Adele are very close.
Richie, 37, who has two children, went on a road trip to Vegas last year with Adele to celebrate the latter’s 31st.
Adele’s dress in this week’s photo looks similar to her friend Nicole Riche’s £1,400 YSL number (pictured) although some believe it is by new label Elzinga
She’s a regular at fashion shows and went to the YSL one in Paris earlier this year, where she wore a black mini-dress.
Adele’s dress in this week’s photo looks similar to a £1,400 YSL number, although some believe it is by new label Elzinga.
Certainly, the flirty little party dress is a world away from the floor-length gowns she used to wear.
She has brows done, to be Blunt
Adele is one of the celebrity clients of Beverly Hills ‘brow whisperer’ Kristie Streicher, whose clients include actresses Emily Blunt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elisabeth Moss.
Kristie’s signature looks involve brow feathering and microfeathering, which is a subtle take on microblading, the semi-permanent eyebrow inking technique.
Microfeathering has to be done at least five times. ‘I make them go through a year-long grow-out process to see the natural brow,’ says Streicher. ‘Eyebrow hairs are like people — they can be trained to do whatever you want them to do.’
Adele is one of the celebrity clients of Beverly Hills ‘brow whisperer’ Kristie Streicher, whose clients include actresses Emily Blunt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elisabeth Moss
And it’s not just her look that’s changed
Ten stone less and counting
Adele’s weight loss astonished everyone in late 2019, when she was seen wearing a collar-bone-revealing evening gown at rapper Drake’s birthday bash. However she’s now dramatically thinner. Some suggest she’s lost 10 st.
Adele’s weight loss first astonished in 2019, when she wore a collar-bone-revealing evening gown at Drake’s birthday party
How? Well, various diets, like the Sirtfood, have been suggested, and she is said to be consuming only 1,000 calories a day.
Some online commentators believe she has had weight-loss surgery, such as a gastric band or bypass.
Adele, though, appeared to suggest that it’s all down to exercise when she wrote, ‘I used to cry, now I sweat’ underneath a picture of herself looking thin.
Pete Geracimo, her former trainer, said on Instagram this week: ‘It’s disheartening to read negative commentary and fat-phobic accusations questioning the genuineness of her amazing weight loss.
‘When Adele and I started our journey together, it was never about getting super-skinny. It was about getting her healthy. She warmed to training and made better food choices. As a result, she lost considerable weight.
‘My hope is that people appreciate the hard work Adele has done to improve herself for the benefit to her and her family. She did not lose the weight to make others feel bad about themselves. She has not changed from the Adele we grew up with. There is just a little less of her to go around.’
Twinning hair with Hollywood wedding chum Jennifer Lawrence
Adele’s go-to for her Hello song hair was Lucy Holbrook at Daniel Galvin in London, and it was also often styled for red carpet events by her make-up artist Michael Ashton.
Now though, it looks as if she may be flirting with a less ‘done’ look, with highlights and waves.
Adele recently attended Jennifer Lawrence’s wedding, which remained a secret to most, and the pair have also been seen bar-hopping together in New York as they grow close
Stylist Jenny Cho is famous for doing informal looks on Adele’s good friend, actress Jennifer Lawrence, Adele attended J-Law’s recent hush-hush wedding. Cho has said of her ‘light-handed’ touch: ‘I’ll diffuse her natural texture and only blowdry certain areas to get a look that’s not completely stiff or “done”.’
But it could be that Adele is receiving attention from Ashley Streicher, who is famous for her ‘natural aesthetic’.
An ex as a neighbour
A month after her split from Simon was announced, Adele paid £8.5 million for a second home in LA just feet from the family home, allowing the separated couple to share custody of their seven-year-old son with ease. A source said: ‘They are raising Angelo with love, warmth and real respect for each other.’
Adele is worth about £150 million, and under Californian law Simon was entitled to half that. The divorce has now been settled.
Adele paid £8.5 million for a second home in LA a month, allowing the separated couple to share custody of their seven-year-old son
New circle of party-hard pals
Ex-husband Simon, a former banker who runs a water charity, is 15 years Adele’s senior, and when they split in March last year she complained that she was becoming old before her time.
Now she is embracing her friendships with a crowd of younger, party-hard celebrities, such as Jennifer Lawrence, whom she went bar-hopping with in New York.
Other pals include music producer Mark Ronson and rapper Drake.
Adele wrote on Instagram last year: ‘For the first time in a decade, I’m ready to feel the world around me and look up for once.’ She is pictured with singer Geri Haliwell
A source said: ‘In the early days with Simon she was trying to handle being so famous by locking herself away.
‘But she doesn’t want to be so reclusive any more; she wants to socialise with her fun young friends.’
Adele wrote on Instagram last year: ‘For the first time in a decade, I’m ready to feel the world around me and look up for once.
‘Be kind to yourself people we’re only human, go slow, put your phone down and laugh out loud at every opportunity.
‘Learning to REALLY truly love yourself is it, and I’ve only just realised that that is more than enough.’