It's been a busy few days for Nicole Kidman. Not only was she revealed as the face of British Vogue's September issue (arguably the most important issue of the year for the fashion world), but her starring role in Troye Sivan's new music video, She's The Best, was unveiled. Catch a glimpse below...
As always, Nicole looked flawless in both the video and the magazine cover, with fans quick to draw comparisons to other iconic celebrities ranging from fellow Aussie Kylie Minogue to British legend Joanna Lumley.
As is often the case with a magazine shoot, for her first-ever British Vogue cover, Nicole was styled to look different from her usual self, with her already fair eyebrows bleached and her hair teased into an 80s-style bouffant blow-dry.
In fact, fans were puzzled by Nicole's departure from her usual look. "Is this the AI version of Nicole?" one queried, while another asked: "Is that Nicole Kidman? Looks like AI." A third simply asked: "Is this AI?"
Is being compared to AI a compliment?
Reading into this in a positive light, to be so beautiful and flawless that fans assume your image has been AI-generated is surely something of a compliment.
© Getty ImagesI am far from happy about AI changing our beauty standards (first it was filters making us feel like we're not good enough, but now we're comparing ourselves to AI-generated images…), but if people consider you so perfect that you must have been AI-generated, you must be doing something right.
But what do the people leaving comments mean when they say Nicole doesn't look real? We spoke to plastic surgeon Dr. Omar Tillo, who has been working in the field for over 20 years, for his take.
"When people describe a face as looking 'AI-generated,' they are often responding to a combination of features that feel almost too polished," he begins. "AI imagery tends to produce extremely smooth skin, very clean contours and a high degree of facial symmetry, so when we see those same characteristics in a real photograph, it can create that slightly uncanny impression."
While Nicole's Vogue cover is clearly not AI-generated, Dr. Tillo, who works at the CREO clinic, explains why her poreless, flawless image could look that way.
Why does Nicole Kidman look like AI?
"Nicole's complexion appears exceptionally uniform, with very little of the natural skin texture, fine lines, pores, and subtle tonal variation that we subconsciously expect to see in a close-up portrait," says Dr. Tillo.
"The definition around the eyes, brows, cheekbones and jaw can also play a role. When facial contours are very crisp while the skin itself is extremely smooth, you get a contrast that is commonly associated with digitally generated faces."
Is it just photo editing making Nicole look unreal?
Anyone who has worked in a magazine will know it's commonplace to subtly retouch images, from removing frizzy hair to altering colour, and Dr. Tillo notes that it could simply be subtle edits to Nicole's images that have made people assume she has been AI-generated.
"Removing or softening tiny details [such as fine lines] can make the skin appear more synthetic, particularly when combined with strong studio lighting."
© Variety via Getty ImagesDr. Tillo agrees that Nicole's bleached brows play a part, too. "Styling and makeup can change the brows, eye shape and perceived proportions of the face enough that somebody very familiar suddenly becomes harder to recognise."
This isn't the first time Nicole Kidman's brows have changed her face. Back in 2024, when she was promoting her movie Babygirl, she switched from a meticulously groomed brow look to a full, fluffy style - which "created an open, youthful look," according to brow professional Anna of Strip Hair Removal Experts.
© Getty ImagesOn the difference between using AI and a photo being edited, as has long been the norm in the magazine world, Dr. Tillo concedes: "None of this means that AI has necessarily been used, and it would be impossible to determine that simply by looking at the finished photograph. Professional lighting, makeup, lens choice, colour grading and conventional retouching can dramatically alter how a face appears."
A shifting celebrity world
As someone who has worked in the magazine and celebrity world for the best part of 15 years, I'm intrigued by how quickly the general public has become clued up to photos being generated by AI.
Even though touching up and editing photos has been commonplace for decades, we still often believe what we see in photos, comparing ourselves to picture-perfect models and influencers, despite knowing in the back of our minds that they've been digitally altered.
© FilmMagicDr. Tillo agrees that the public has become savvy (and suspicious!) regarding AI imagery, noting: "We now see AI-generated faces so frequently that people have developed an instinct for the visual cues associated with them. When a real image removes too much of the natural irregularity and texture that makes a face look human, people can recognise that something feels different even if they can't immediately explain why."
Nicole Kidman's flawless face
Anyone who has watched Nicole in Troye Sivan's new music video will be reassured that the Practical Magic star is entirely real, flawless as ever from every angle, and while she's not been created by a computer, Dr. Tillo speculates that she might have had a helping hand with her appearance.
"Nicole may well have had maintenance work including Botox, subtle dermal fillers to maintain volume through the cheeks and mid-face, and non-surgical skin-tightening or resurfacing treatments to help maintain skin firmness and texture.
"If aesthetic treatments are contributing to what we’re seeing, subtle injectables and skin-quality or tightening treatments would be more plausible explanations than assuming she has undergone major surgery, with the dramatic difference in this particular shoot likely amplified considerably by the makeup, lighting and post-production.”
© Getty ImagesWith Practical Magic 2 set to drop in less than a month, we're about to see more of Nicole's flawless face on our screens – and that's certainly something to look forward to!
