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Home / Entertainment

‘Who is that?’: Hollywood star, 80, shocks on magazine cover

Leah Goulis
news.com.au·
15 Jan, 2026 08:11 PM3 mins to read

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Candy Spelling, 80, appeared on Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine's cover, looking significantly younger. Photo / Instagram, @candyspelling

Candy Spelling, 80, appeared on Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine's cover, looking significantly younger. Photo / Instagram, @candyspelling

Firstly, let’s just say the obvious: 80-year-old women don’t normally look like this. But here we are, with one very big Hollywood name at that exact age posing as a magazine cover girl looking at least 40 years younger.

You’d be forgiven if you don’t recognise her because this isn’t how you last saw Tori Spelling’s famous mum, Candy.

Yes, it’s really Candy Spelling.

The Broadway producer, famous mum to the Beverly Hills 90210 star and widow to big-time TV producer, the late Aaron Spelling, has graced the cover of the February/March issue of Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine, where she appears to have undergone an impressive youthful glow-up.

Posing thoughtfully in her home setting with loose curls and flawlessly airbrushed makeup, the Selling Spelling Manor star attracted a truly shocked response over her cover image from those on social media.

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“Who is that?” one person questioned, before others claimed Spelling was so unrecognisable they thought she could easily pass as other – much younger – A-listers.

“I thought it was Rihanna at first,” one remarked on Instagram.

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“Looking like Trisha Paytas over here,” another remarked, highlighting comparisons between Candy and the popular influencer.

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Khloe Kardashian’s name was also thrown into the mix – all stars in either their late thirties or early forties. All nowhere near 80, which brought others to accuse the publication of either heavily editing the image or the star investing in a lot of cosmetic assistance to get to this point.

“Ummm run don’t walk to her surgeon!” someone wrote, and another applauded the team behind the star’s new look: “Whoever did her facelift … WOW!”

“Pretty f**king amazing what money can buy, chimed in another.

In the interview for the publication, Spelling celebrates her “three fascinating life chapters”, opening up about being the wife of one of the most celebrated and wanted producers in Hollywood.

“I was a young girl when I married the hardest-working television writer in Hollywood. Fortunately for me, my new husband’s talents at the typewriter were matched by his kindness and generous spirit,” she said of her late husband, who was the creative mastermind behind hits such as 90210, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty and The Love Boat.

Candy Spelling with husband American producer Aaron Spelling, circa 1990. Photo / Getty Images
Candy Spelling with husband American producer Aaron Spelling, circa 1990. Photo / Getty Images

The couple wed in 1968 and famously welcomed two children, daughter Tori in 1973 and son Randy in 1978, both whom moved on to star in some of their dad’s productions.

“When Aaron died, I not only lost my life partner, but I was also suddenly missing the force of nature who had defined me and our family,” she told the publication.

“For the first time in 38 years, I had to learn to function in the big, scary world on my own.”

Now 80 and thriving, the star did just fine on her own starring in and taking on the executive producer role on Selling Spelling Manor in 2012 before moving on to Broadway productions which earned her several Tony nominations and wins.

Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.

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