Let’s be honest: There’s something inherently creepy about wax figures. Whether they’re spot on perfect or shockingly bad, it feels like they may come to life at any moment and kill you. With a new statue at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, Rihanna is back in the wax figure conversation. Like all things RiRi, the internet absolutely has opinions on her new figure. While you’re deciding where you stand, take a look at our roundup of the best and worst Black celebrity wax figures.
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Rihanna
At this point Rih has enough wax figures to start her terrifying, yet fierce, bad girl army. The newest addition is located at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong and is wearing a matching FENTY orange dress and trench coat. It’s based on a look the Grammy winner wore in February 2020 to the launch of FENTY at Bergdorf Goodman in New York.
Lil Wayne
The Hollywood Wax Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. did not do rap legend Lil Wayne any favors with its figure. It looks nothing like him. It’s more like they had an old Steph Curry one in the storage room and tried to repurpose it. The “A Milli” artist weighed in on the creation, posting, “Sorry wax museum but dat shit ain’t me! You tried tho and I appreciate the effort.” Yeah, they need to go back to the drawing board on this one.
Dwayne Johnson
The Rock was involved in creating his Madame Tussauds figure, which is why it looks just like him. The Musee Grevin in Paris clearly went a different way, leading to widespread internet mockery of its figure. It looks like they started out doing Mr. Clean and tried to turn it into Dwayne Johnson. The man himself had to weigh in on Instagram, writing, “I’m going to have my team reach out to our friends at Grevin Museum, in Paris France so we can work at ‘updating’ my wax figure here with some important details and improvements- starting with my skin color.” Come on guys, he’s the biggest movie star in the world! Do better.
Beyoncé
Madame Tussauds New York is celebrating Queen Bey’s record-breaking Renaissance tour with a new wax figure featuring her iconic 2018 Coachella Homecoming look.
Billy Porter
The Emmy winner’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York is identical to the Pose star and showcases his memorable blue jumpsuit and curtain from the 2020 Grammys.
Tupac Shakur
Fresh off being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Tupac is being celebrated at home, in Oakland, Calif. With the return of his wax figure to Madame Tussauds San Francisco. The rap legend’s figure was one of the first added to the Northern California location in 2014 and has also been featured in the Hollywood museum. When it was originally created, the figure took artists six months to bring to life.
Kamala Harris
Vice President Harris’ term is full of firsts. Though we’re betting that being the first US Vice President with a wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York was probably not on her radar.
Kamala Harris’ Wax Figure
Dwayne Johnson
The Rock looks like he was chiseled out of actual stone, so it makes perfect sense that he has four wax figures. They are featured at Madame Tussauds New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Orlando. They look so much like him, I’m waiting for one to hit a Rock Bottom on somebody.
Dwayne Johnson’s Wax Figure
Lil Nax X
While no wax figure can imitate Lil Nas X’s effervescent personality, his statue is a spot on replica of the Grammy-winner. In fact, it was so well done, he pranked his friends by using the figure to FaceTime them.
Lil Nas X’s Wax Figure
Rihanna
The “Diamonds” singer has multiple wax figures at various museums around the world. Her newest one, based on her 2018 Met Gala look, can be found at Madame Tussauds New York. She will also have a figure based on her Super Bowl LVII look revealed later in the year at Madame Tussauds Orlando.
Rihanna’s Wax Figure
Angela Bassett
Honestly, if Angela Bassett ever needs to take a break from photo lines or has to do a dangerous stunt on 9-1-1, she can just send in her figure. The resemblance is spooky.
Angela Bassett’s Wax Figure
Jennifer Hudson
The EGOT-winner’s statue is at Madame Tussauds New York – Times Square. The talk show host participated in a “sitting” where “more than 200 measurements were taken to capture the singer and actor’s exact features.” Having her involvement in the figure’s creation certainly made all the difference.
Jennifer Hudson’s Wax Figure
Beyoncé
There’s only one Beyoncé. However, this version from Madame Tussaud’s Berlin is probably the best figure we’ve seen of Queen Bey.
Beyoncé’s Wax Figure
Nicki Minaj
When Nicki Minaj’s wax figure was unveiled in 2015 at Madame Tussaud’s Las Vegas, fans were immediately upset about the fact that a Black woman was put in a questionable position. Mirroring a scene from her “Anaconda” video, she was on all fours, with her butt in the air. The pose inspired visitors to take sexually suggestive photos. Turns out Nicki was in on the whole process and was fine with the figure.
Nicki Minaj’s Wax Figure
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is one of the most beautiful women in the world. Seems like it would be a slam dunk to make her look gorgeous. Somehow Musee Grevin in Paris managed to mess it up.
Naomi Campbell’s Wax Figure
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson had several different looks in his long career, so there have been countless figures made of the superstar. The more recent ones seem to look more like him, as artists always had problems with his darker skin tone.
Michael Jackson’s Wax Figure
Lizzo
The Grammy-winner just unveiled her figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas in January, The interactive display is based on her 2019 BET Awards performance and sits on top of a giant wedding cake.
Lizzo’s Wax Figure
LeBron James
Let’s be honest: LeBron totally wishes he had the hair his wax figure at the Museo de Cera in Mexico City has.
LeBron James’ Wax Figure
Al Roker
This statue of America’s favorite weatherman isn’t that bad, but no wax figure will ever capture Al Roker’s infectious positivity and enthusiasm.
Al Roker’s Wax Figure
Serena Williams
This is very close and Serena seems happy with the finished product. But, if I’m being honest, the Madame Tussauds New York figure looks more like Venus than Serena.
Serena Williams’ Wax Figure
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Madame Tussaud’s London has a whole Royal Family display. When they decided to step down as senior royals, the museum removed Harry and Meghan from the attraction. However, in 2022 the couple was back in the picture. It’s always something with those royals.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s Wax Figures
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