If you scroll through those grainy, sun-drenched susan sarandon young pictures from the early seventies, you’ll notice something immediately. She looks... startled. Or maybe just incredibly present. Those massive, "Bette Davis" eyes—which, honestly, are more like pools of tea—practically jump off the vintage film stock. People today see her as this powerhouse activist or the "cool mom" of Hollywood, but back then? She was basically a girl from New Jersey who "fell into" the industry because her husband needed a partner for an audition.
She didn't even want to be an actress.
That's the part that kills me. We have this idea that every legend spent their childhood practicing Oscar speeches in a mirror. Not Susan. She was emptying bedpans and cutting hair to pay for college at the Catholic University of America. She was Susan Abigail Tomalin, the eldest of nine kids, raised in a strict Catholic household where she was once told she had an "overabundance of original sin" just for asking questions. Looking at those early shots of her, you can see that defiance already simmering.
Why Those Susan Sarandon Young Pictures Still Captivate Us
Most people look back at their 20s and cringe. Not Susan. Whether she was posing in a simple white T-shirt or rocking leather pants at a premiere, there was this lack of "try-hard" energy. It was raw.
The Accidental Movie Star
In 1969, she went to a casting call for the movie Joe just to support her then-husband, Chris Sarandon. He didn’t get the part. She did. Talk about an awkward ride home, right? But that’s where the first real professional photos of her come from—playing a disaffected teen in a seedy underworld. She had this halo of frizzy hair and a face that hadn't yet learned how to "pose" for the camera.
Then came the soap operas. She did A World Apart and Search for Tomorrow. If you find stills from those, she looks like the quintessential 70s girl-next-door, but with a weirdly sharp edge.
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The Janet Weiss Era
We have to talk about 1975. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you search for susan sarandon young pictures, about 40% of them are her in a slip, shivering in the rain outside a castle. She’s famously said she did that movie because she was terrified of singing. She wanted to face her fears.
The budget was so low that she was moving apartments in London every few days just to stay within cost. She’d pack her toothbrush and her birth control and just... go. That "Janet" look—the transition from the pink cardigan-wearing "square" to the corset-clad cabaret performer—is basically the blueprint for her entire career. It was a transformation caught on film, and you can see her literally finding her own power in real-time.
The Style That Broke the Rules
In the late 70s and early 80s, Sarandon wasn't following the "glam" rules of the time. While everyone else was doing big disco hair and heavy blue eyeshadow, she was often seen in:
- Vintage Disney T-shirts.
- Oversized tailored blazers with absolutely nothing underneath.
- Her signature red curls, usually looking like she just woke up (in the best way).
- Leather pants paired with a plunging button-down.
There’s this one specific photo from 1978 at the Warwick Hotel. She’s in cuffed jeans and a white shirt. That’s it. No jewelry, no heavy contouring. It’s the kind of "quiet luxury" people try to fake today, but she was doing it because she was literally buying her clothes at thrift stores. She didn't have a stylist "curating" her vibe. She just had taste.
The Louis Malle Influence
Things got deeper when she met French director Louis Malle. They worked on Pretty Baby and Atlantic City. If you haven't seen the "lemon scene" in Atlantic City, you're missing the moment she became a true A-list contender. She’s standing at a window, rubbing lemon juice on her skin to get rid of the smell of fish from her job at the oyster bar. It’s sensual, it’s bizarre, and it earned her her first Oscar nod. The pictures from this era show a woman who was finally comfortable being a "siren."
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The Secret to Her Longevity
Honestly, the reason these old photos of her are trending again is because she never tried to look like someone else. In 1981, Playboy readers voted her "Celebrity Breasts of the Summer." Instead of leaning into that one-dimensional "sex symbol" thing, she went and did The Hunger with David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. She played a scientist. A nerdy, brilliant, curly-haired doctor who falls for a vampire.
She was always choosing the "weird" path.
By the time she hit her 40s—an age where Hollywood usually puts actresses out to pasture—she was just getting started. Bull Durham. Thelma & Louise. The Witches of Eastwick. In those pictures, she’s not trying to look 22. She looks like a woman who knows exactly who she is, and that’s a thousand times more interesting than "young."
What to Look for in Your Own "Vintage" Aesthetic
If you're looking at susan sarandon young pictures for style inspiration, here are the actual takeaways. It's not about the specific clothes; it's about the attitude.
- Embrace the "Bigness": Whether it’s big hair or big eyes, don't hide your features. Sarandon's "bug eyes" became her trademark because she didn't try to squint them into a traditional beauty standard.
- Mix the Masculine: She loved a good suit. Even in the 80s, she’d show up to awards shows in wide-lapel suits while everyone else was in sequins.
- The Power of the White Tee: A high-quality white T-shirt and blue jeans will always look better than a trendy, disposable outfit. It’s timeless for a reason.
- Confidence is the Only Accessory: She wore sunglasses at the 1996 Oscars when she won for Dead Man Walking. Why? Because she felt like it.
Looking back at these photos isn't just a trip down memory lane. It’s a reminder that beauty isn't about perfection—it's about character. Susan Sarandon had character in spades before she ever had a paycheck.
If you want to dive deeper into her filmography, start with Atlantic City or Joe. You’ll see that the woman in the pictures wasn't just a face; she was an actress who happened to be gorgeous, and that's why we're still talking about her fifty years later.
To really get the "Sarandon look" today, focus on structured thrift finds and keeping your hair's natural texture. Forget the heavy filters. Real style is found in the imperfections she wore so well in 1975.