Celebrity5 min(s) read
Published 11:16 05 Aug 2026 GMT
Remember the woman who went viral in 2017 for looking like a corpse version of Angelina Jolie?
Well, it turns out she looks nothing like that and never really did - although most people would have found that pretty obvious from the start.
Sahar Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, is a 25-year-old Iranian woman who became one of the most talked-about people on the internet after posting a series of photos on Instagram that made her look like Jolie had been dug up and reanimated.
Sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, a skeletal face that launched a thousand headlines about 'botched plastic surgery' and '50 operations gone wrong'.
None of that was true. She used makeup and Photoshop - pretty simple really when you think about it.
However, the Iranian government didn't see the funny side, and what happened next was about as far from funny as it gets.
In October 2019, when she was 18, Iranian authorities arrested her as part of a crackdown on social media influencers.
She was charged with blasphemy, inciting violence, encouraging youth corruption, and gaining income through inappropriate means.
Iran has some of the strictest internet censorship laws in the world and routinely targets people who are seen to be promoting things it doesn't like.
In December 2020, she fell foul of those strict rules and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
10 years, all for posting edited photos of herself on Instagram.
While inside, she caught Covid-19 and was reportedly put on a ventilator.
Her lawyers pushed for her release on medical grounds.
A judge refused that appeal, leading Iranian journalist and women's rights activist Masih Alinejad to publicly call on Angelina Jolie herself to intervene, writing that Tabar's mother 'cries every day' for her daughter.
She was eventually released on bail in mid-December 2020, having served around 14 or 15 months.
Alinejad confirmed the news on Twitter: "Today Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online and was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure."
After her release, Tabar appeared on Rokna, an Iranian state-owned media channel, and showed her real face for the first time.
People were genuinely shocked.
She looked like a completely normal young woman.
She had no skeletal features, no sunken cheeks, and - crucially - nothing remotely zombie-like.
Again, most people figured that way before, but it's still a bit of a shock.
She explained on the programme that her mother had told her to stop posting the images but she hadn't listened.
"Sometimes the words of a stranger or a friend can be more important than those of a parent," she said.
She described her posts as a 'vulgarity' that helped her become famous, but said she would not be going back to Instagram.
"I would not even put Instagram on my phone anymore," she said.
The interview left viewers stunned.
"Omg it was makeup thank god," one wrote. Another said: "Wow! It's so sad what lengths people would go to for fame. They should have tackled her body dysmorphia rather than an uncalled-for prison sentence."
For the most part, no.
In a 2017 interview with Russian outlet Sputnik before her arrest, Tabar had already admitted the images were created using makeup and digital editing.
She said she did it to 'amuse' herself.
"Now I can see that I have something in common with her, but I amuse myself, and to look like someone is not my goal," she explained.
"Over time I post a photo, I make my face more fun and funny. It is a form of self-expression, a kind of art."
She did have some cosmetic work done.
A nose job, lip fillers, and liposuction have all been confirmed.
But the full zombie look that went viral was makeup, lighting, and Photoshop.
The '50 surgeries' story that circulated at the time was never true.
She deleted her Instagram profile in 2019 before her arrest.
Iran has since banned Instagram entirely, along with Facebook, X, and most other major Western social media platforms.
Tabar has not returned to public life in any significant way since the Rokna interview.
She would now be 25 years old.
Whether she is still in Iran, still subject to the conditions of her bail, or has moved on entirely from the persona that made her famous and then cost her over a year of her life is not publicly known.
What is known is that an 18-year-old girl posted some edited photos of herself on Instagram, went viral, and was arrested by her own government for it.
She spent over a year in prison, caught Covid, came out the other side, showed the world her real face, and said she was done with social media for good.
The photos were fake, but the prison sentence was very real.
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Published 10:37 07 Oct 2019 GMT
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Published 14:56 26 Oct 2022 GMT
It appears that a 21-year-old woman who became known on social media as the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie' looks like any ordinary young woman - despite previous claims that she underwent surgery to achieve a gaunt, ghoulish appearance.
She made headlines in 2020 after it was reported that she had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in her native Iran over her social media presence, which involved her sharing photos of her distorted face online.
Per The Guardian, the sentence came one year after Sahar Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, was arrested. She was found guilty of the corruption of young people and disrespect for the Islamic Republic. Previous initial charges of blasphemy and inciting violence were later thrown out.
Days after she was sentenced, Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad revealed that she had spoken to Tabar's lawyer, and learned that the then 19-year-old was released following "massive media pressure", the MailOnline reported.
Alinejad also shared a tweet that read: "Today the Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure."
Speaking to The Sun, Tabar's layer, Saied Dehgan, revealed that she was freed on bail after serving roughly 15 months of jail time.
Surrounded by her family, Tabar appeared on Rokna.net and spoke about her distorted social media snaps. The social media star admitted to using a mix of Photoshop and make-up as a "joke" in order to achieve the striking look.
Tabar speaks out during a previous interview on Iranian TV:
Tabar first went viral back in 2017 after sharing pictures of her gaunt, discolored, and distorted face on social media - leading to many people and publications dubbing her the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie'.
But images - which are said to be of Tabar's real, unedited appearance - have since surfaced online:
The New York Post reported that Tamar once claimed to have undergone "50 surgeries".
But after amassing upwards of 500,000 followers on Instagram, she later appeared to confirm that she had used digital editing tools and makeup to enhance her bizarre appearance in a post captioned: "People are probably living in the 18th century and they haven’t seen or heard of technology or make-up and they are really surprised."
Tabar's attorneys had previously tried to secure her release after she became ill with coronavirus while in jail, BBC News reports.
Furthermore, Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad even asked actress Angelina Jolie herself to help the young incarcerated woman.
"Islamic Republic has a history of tormenting women," she said. "We need to be united against this gender apartheid."
Published 15:05 20 Nov 2025 GMT
Sahar Tabar, the Iranian content creator who became infamous for her "Zombie Angelina Jolie" persona, has finally revealed her true face in a rare interview.
For years, many believed that the young influencer had undergone extreme cosmetic surgeries to achieve the gaunt, skeletal look she showcased on Instagram.
However, Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, has now set the record straight, admitting that her haunting appearance was nothing more than the result of makeup and digital editing.
Tabar used Photoshop to alter her appearance. Credit: Instagram / sahartabar_official
Tabar explained that she used Photoshop and cosmetic techniques to create her viral persona, and said the extreme images were never meant to be taken seriously.
“What you saw on Instagram was the computer effects I used to create the image," she reportedly said, per Daily Mail.
She clarified that the images were a form of self-expression, rather than a serious attempt to deceive, and reflected on her pursuit of fame, saying: "Cyberspace was an easy way. It was much easier than becoming an actor."
Tabar's rise to fame came with significant consequences. In October 2019, the influencer was arrested by Iranian authorities, facing charges related to blasphemy, inciting violence, and "corruption of youth".
She was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2020 for her actions, though some charges were later dropped.
Amid growing international pressure and media coverage, Tabar was released after serving approximately 15 months of her sentence.
Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad confirmed Tabar's freedom online, writing: "Today the Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure."
Tabar's real appearance has come as a surprise. Credit: YouTube/Rokna
Following her release, Tabar appeared in an interview with Iranian state-run media outlet Rokna, where viewers were stunned by her true appearance.
The contrast between her real face and the heavily edited images that made her famous left many surprised.
"Omg it was makeup thank god," one user said, while another commented: "Do not destroy your face," and a third said: "Is this the person who Photoshops her pictures to look like Zombie? Wtf, 2 different people."
Despite the shock, some users defended her, questioning why she was arrested in the first place: "Why would you arrest someone for plastic surgery or illusion makeup. Plastic surgery is a personal choice, and illusion makeup is a talent," one user wrote.
And one more chimed in: "It is a grand injustice that this 19 year old Iranian woman was sentenced for 10 yrs in prison for expressing her talents as an artist and an individual."
Since being freed, Tabar has expressed that she no longer plans to return to Instagram, saying she "would not even put Instagram on my phone anymore".
The combination of her time in prison and the controversy surrounding her presence online has caused her to reconsider her future on social media.
Published 11:45 05 May 2025 GMT
A woman who became a viral sensation after being branded the "Zombie Angelina Jolie" revealed what she actually looks like... following a stint behind bars.
Sahar Tabar is a young Iranian woman who rose to viral fame after posting heavily altered images of herself resembling a gaunt, ghoulish version of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.
Dubbed the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie', her bizarre photos lit up social media feeds in 2017, showing her with a skeletal face, sunken cheeks, and hauntingly exaggerated features.
Her look was so extreme that rumors swirled that she had undergone more than 50 surgeries to achieve it.
But, after a high-profile arrest and a brief stint behind bars, Sahar’s true face has been revealed — and it’s left the internet stunned.
It turns out the ghoulish look wasn’t real. According to Sahar — whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand — the extreme images were all the result of make-up and digital editing.
She admitted to using Photoshop and cosmetics to create her viral persona. “Cyberspace was an easy way,” she said. “It was much easier than becoming an actor.”
Her unusual edits, she said, were never meant to be taken seriously. Speaking with Sputnik during her viral stardom, Sahar claimed she edited the photos to "amuse" herself, adding that the look was "a form of self-expression."
Still, the attention was real.
The New York Post reported that she had once claimed to have undergone "50 surgeries," but later clarified she had only had rhinoplasty, liposuction, and injectable fillers in her lips.
With her distorted appearance dominating the conversation for years, many were left wondering what Sahar actually looked like — until her release from prison finally provided the answer.
Appearing on Iranian state-owned channel Rokna after her release, Sahar looked nothing like the unsettling version of herself that made her internet famous. Her appearance shocked viewers who had only known her as a virtual specter.
“Wow! It’s so sad what lengths people would go to for fame…” one person wrote online.
Another added: “It’s amazing how many people put so much thought into what other people are doing to be comfortable in their own skin.”
But Sahar’s fame came with consequences. In October 2019, she was arrested by Iranian authorities as part of a broader crackdown on influencers. She was just 19 years old at the time.
She was initially charged with blasphemy, inciting violence, encouraging youth corruption, and gaining income through inappropriate means.
While some of these charges were later dropped, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December 2020 for “corruption of young people and disrespect for the Islamic Republic,” per The Guardian.
However, she served far less than that.
Just days after the sentencing made international headlines, Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad reported that Sahar had been freed following “massive media pressure.”
"Today the Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure," Alinejad wrote in a tweet.
Her lawyer, Saied Dehgan, told The Sun that she was released after serving about 15 months behind bars.
Attempts had previously been made to secure her release due to illness. According to BBC News, Tabar’s attorneys petitioned for her freedom after she contracted COVID-19 in jail.
Sahar Tabar, a 22-year-old Instagram star who became infamous for her resemblance to a 'zombie' Angelina Jolie, has been arrested, according to reports.
The Iranian social media influencer, who often uploads images of herself in which she bears a caricaturish resemblance to the Girl Interrupted actress, has allegedly been arrested for crimes including blasphemy and the instigation of violence.
According to the Tasnim news agency (per BBC News) the Iranian judicial authorities moved against Tabar after a number of members of the public complained about her.
Watch this video of Sahar Tabar's Halloween costume below:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/adTUMgp5-sKUnNGKf.mp4||adTUMgp5]]
Other charges now faced by Tabar include the illegal acquisition of property, insulting Iran's dress code and encouraging young people to commit corruption. Her popular Instagram account is currently deleted, although a number of her followers have already archived her posts.
It was often rumoured that Tabar's appearance was the result of her undergoing over 50 separate cosmetic surgery procedures.
[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BmDbVTvBSAa/]]
However, a number of commentators have alleged that this is purely apocryphal, and that most of the images of her online have been heavily digitally manipulated to make her appearance seem more shocking.
Indeed, a recent article by Affinity Magazine alleges that the original 'Corpse Bride' photograph of Tabar, which went viral on social media last year, had her wearing a number of prosthetics, a lot of makeup, and was photoshopped to make her look scary.
[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BcJD6yYDEsE/]]
BBC News reports that Tabar's arrest has sparked a number of rebellious tweets on Iranian social media, with many Middle Eastern bloggers criticising the puritanical stance taken by the Islamic regime. In recent months, the Guidance Patrol (a police squad charged with ensuring that women remain modestly dressed) has interred a number of high-profile Iranian influencers deemed to be 'heretical.'
Published 10:49 18 Dec 2020 GMT
In a dramatic move by the Iranian state, 19-year-old Sahar Tabar - who has become known on social media as the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie' - was reportedly released from jail after facing a 10-year sentence.
Teenager Sahar Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, made headlines after it was reported that she had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in her native country Iran over her social media presence, which involved her sharing photos of her distorted face online.
Per The Guardian, the sentence came one year after Tabar was arrested, eventually being found guilty of the corruption of young people and disrespect for the Islamic Republic. Previous initial charges of blasphemy and inciting violence were later thrown out.
[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BnJjEuNAzgY/]]
Now, Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist, has revealed that she has spoken to Tabar's lawyer, and despite Sahar's sentence, Tabar has been released following "massive media pressure", with the teenager appearing on TV yesterday (December 17), the MailOnline reports.
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1339536240299937792]]
Alinejad also shared a tweet that read: "Today the Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure."
Speaking to The Sun, Tabar's layer, Saied Dehgan, revealed that she has been freed on bail after serving roughly 15 months of jail time.
Watch - Tabar speaks out following her release from jail:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sop5s0uIaY0]]
Surrounded by her family, Tabar appeared on Rokna.net, and stated that her Instagram pictures were a sham.
During the apparent apology, the social media star admitted to using a mix of Photoshop and make-up as a "joke" in order to achieve the striking look.
Related - Tabar speaks out during a previous interview on Iranian TV:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/qCU5HsDg-dkXnENEs.mp4||qCU5HsDg]]
Tabar first went viral back in 2017 after sharing pictures of her gaunt, discolored, and distorted face on social media - leading to many people and publications dubbing her the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie'.
[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BcqPaIrn_rY/]]
The New York Post reports that Tamar once claimed to have undergone "50 surgeries", but after amassing upwards of 500,000 followers on Instagram, she later appeared to confirm that she had used digital editing tools and makeup to enhance her bizarre appearance in a post captioned:
"People are probably living in the 18th century and they haven’t seen or heard of technology or make-up and they are really surprised."
Tabar's attorneys had previously tried to secure her release after she became ill with coronavirus while in jail, the BBC reports.
[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BcqNVZCnBNC/]]
Furthermore, Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad even asked actress Angelina Jolie herself to help the young incarcerated woman.
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1337395608680882177]]
"Islamic Republic has a history of tormenting women," she said. "We need to be united against this gender apartheid."
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