10 Celebrities With Dog Lookalikes

It’s a cliché that dogs look like their owners, but some folks don’t need to own pooches in order to resemble them. Take these celebs, for example. We were howling with laughter…

10. Cher and Afghan Hound

When God made Cher, he must’ve made her in the image of an Afghan hound. Sure, the singer cum actress born Cherilyn Sarkisian has had her share of bad hair decades – notably with her mullet-y perm of the ’80s – but with a high-cheekboned mug like hers she was destined for the center parting that brought her back in line with her canine archetype. But seriously, the cold air of the Central Asian mountains is the Afghan hound’s excuse for that fine, silky coat, so beloved of dog show judges. What’s Cher’s?

9. Shih Tzu and Pai-Mei

Canine-human lookalikes from the Orient next. Yes, here we marvel at the striking similarities between veteran Chinese actor Gordon Liu – best known to Western moviegoers for his role as Pai Mei in Kill Bill: Volume 2 (pictured here) – and the Chinese shih tzu dog breed. As depicted in the film, Pai Mei was a powerful and wise Kung Fu master, but so too was he bigoted, xenophobic and a misogynist – surely not traits the other individual with long silky flowing hair and a top knot shown here could share. Mind you, with a name like shih tzu…

8. Nick Nolte and Wet Dog

This one’s a bit unfair on the poor wet pooch which has its mug shot juxtaposed with that of the far more thoroughly soaked Nick Nolte. The gravel-voiced former People’s Sexiest Man Alive showed how far he’d fallen from grace when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in 2002 whilst also under the influence of date rape drug GHB – though Nolte claimed he had “been taking it for four years and… never been raped.” As we say, a bit unfair on the innocent pup who not only looks – and probably smells – better than our Nick but would probably scrub up reasonably well with a brush and a cuddle. One fears the same couldn’t be said for aspiring bum Nolte, who’d need at least another 48 hours under the shower to look anywhere near respectable.

7. Poodle and Tina Turner

This one really is a question of which is which. Hint: the Queen of Rock and Roll is the one on the right, sporting a wild mop of hair, while to the left, is a dolled up poodle. Or maybe it’s the other way round. And maybe it’s not a puli but a puli trimmed so it looks like a poodle. Whatever. Let’s be honest, no one gives a rat’s ass exactly what breed of dog this is. The point is it looks exactly like Tina Turner. End of.

6. Komondor and Whoopi Goldberg

We’re not sure who’s more surprised. Is it the komondor (or maybe it’s a puli; we’re not freakin’ dog breeding specialists!), who’s just glanced over its shoulder and spotted a remarkably familiar looking Whoopi Goldberg? Or is it the star of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Sister Act and other hugely forgettable ’80s and ’90s ‘classics’, flabbergasted at the fact that she’s just spied her doggy doppelganger? Either way, it’s a dread-ful situation.

5. Orson Welles and Angry Puppy

Ah, Orson Welles: master movie director, virtuoso film director… angry whelp. We didn’t even know puppies could look so pissed. We do now. Maybe it’s all an act, though. The man behind Citizen Kane – here pictured playing himself in F for Fake – was an accomplished actor, but who could simulate that scowl? Apparently an irked infant hound – it’s even got the white forehead patch resembling Welles’s shiny brow. But enough ‘Orson around…

4. Barbra Streisand and Barsoi

Known as much for her side profile as for her star profile, Barbra Streisand is that rare thing in celebrity land: a star with a snout who’s resisted the urge to go under the nose job knife. Still, with a hooter like hers she’d have never got away with it. Here she is with another creature defined by its distinctively protruding proboscis, a dog of the breed, barsoi. Barbra and the barsoi, ladies and gentlemen.

3. Rick James and Irish Water Spaniel

Ringlets like those could only belong to someone who’d go on to go places. Still, you’ve got to wonder how many cans of Jheri Curl the Irish water spaniel needed to achieve that awesome look, and more to the point whether it would ever want to go the places funk legend Rick James did before he was found dead in 2004 with a cocktail of drugs inside his body that would confound a government chemist. The singer of “Super Freak” was almost as much of a fan of hair extensions as he was of cocaine, which he famously proclaimed “a hell of a drug.” Despite being jailed for two years on kidnapping charges in 1993, the confessed crack addict still maintained loyal fans – like this lookalike wannabe mutt. You can almost hear it barking: “I’m Rick James, bitch!”

2. Brussels Griffon and Ewok

Two real cute little fur balls in this next lookalike installment – but which is which? We’ll give you a clue. Wicket W. Warwick, Ewok warrior of Star Wars fame, is the one with the opposable thumbs that allow him to grip a spear. But before you stand too much in awe of the resemblance between these two toy-like creatures, we’re going to have to spoil the fun by informing you that Ewoks were actually modeled on the dog breed that sounds like it could be a gargoyle on the EU’s HQ. So now you know.

1. King Charles Spaniel and Rosie O’Donnell

And finally, we bring you all-round big mouth Rosie O’Donnell, who, scowling the way she is in this photo, bears more than a passing resemblance to the King Charles spaniel whose jowl she seems so desperate to emulate. Perhaps the controversial stand-up comedian is jealous. That said, if such a sentiment translates into that facial expression, she’ll be being entered in dog shows before she knows it.