20 notable celebrity appearances on 'Ugly Betty'

Ugly Betty championed Latin entertainers, and in its final season, it got one of the biggest for an episode: Shakira. The Mode crew traveled to the Bahamas for an episode where Betty ran into the singer at a hotel and convinced her to pose for the magazine while on vacation. 

Another famous Latina, Adriana Lima, appeared as herself in an episode of the show. Betty had pitched a story about fruit, and it just so happened that Lima was a fan of the food (in the show, that is, the fruit they mentioned doesn’t actually exist). She was such a big fan she posed for an entire photo shoot with it. 

Ugly Betty takes place at a fashion magazine office and revolves around the making of said magazine, so it was only fitting that the show found real supermodels to make cameos. And Campbell went down by the cast as nothing but a delightful presence to have on set. 

Kelly Ripa is a New York City icon, and she has been since long before she appeared on the season 3 premiere of Ugly Betty. The soap-actor-turned-TV-host popped up with her then-co-host, the late Regis Philbin, but not before her husband, Mark Consuelos, made his own appearance on the show. 

Regis Philbin could’ve made an appearance on any show in the 2000s, and it would’ve made the episode several times more enjoyable. The man was a joyous presence, and he was a perfect guest to have on Ugly Betty.

Gene Simmons had arguably the funniest guest role of any celebrity on Ugly Betty. Once Amanda found out she was adopted, she was on a mission to find her father and one of the contenders was none other than the KISS musician himself. 

In one of the episodes that Gene Simmons appeared in, we got another great guest appearance: Larry King. The interviewer brought his signature demeanor and voice to the show, giving it some added gravitas. 

Victoria Beckham showed up in Ugly Betty early on in the series. Playing an over-the-top version of herself as a bridesmaid in Wilhelmina’s wedding, Posh Spice reportedly earned around $70,000 for her guest spot. Not a bad fee for just a few scenes. 

Who better to play a news anchor than Rachel Maddow? The CNN star appeared on the show to announce the nominees for an award, and she brought her usual journalistic integrity to the table, treating the role as if she were actually announcing those nominees on her home cable channel. 

A lot of models are brought onto shows for cameo appearances, but Christie Brinkley is one of the rare ones who often plays a character. Brinkley played a rival of Wilhelmina’s in the final season, and her playing a character instead of herself had viewers having to remind themselves that it was indeed a supermodel and not some random actor. 

Television in the 2000s was wild. Anything was on the table, and that’s why Adele was at a planetarium on an episode of a show that normally takes place at a fashion magazine. 

Wilhelmina’s wedding was a major event on the show, and the producers pulled out all the stops to make it memorable, including another guest star, famed wedding dress designer Vera Wang. Wang might hold the record for the most onscreen appearances by a wedding dress designer of all time. 

In its first season, Ugly Betty was able to pull EGOT winner and legendary performer Rita Moreno, and not for a cameo appearance. Moreno played the Suarezes’ aunt. This show was a powerful cultural phenomenon, and Moreno’s turn on it is proof. 

Ugly Betty embraced diversity like few shows of its kind had before. In one of its later episodes, Wilhelmina learned she had a drag queen impersonator, and the show fittingly recruited RuPaul to appear as a guest in the episode. 

Ugly Betty did its best to make it seem as though Mode was a real magazine competing with Elle, Vogue, and other high fashion publications, and it did so by employing real models and designers to guest star in its episodes. One featured Christian Siriano, as Mode hoped to convince the designer to debut some of his newest designs in the magazine. 

Zac Posen followed in Christian Siriano’s footsteps and appeared on an episode of Ugly Betty , too. The designer shared that it was a last-minute request for him to come onto the show, but he happily obliged, appearing just after Lindsay Lohan had finished her multi-episode arc. 

Patti LuPone could’ve easily played herself in Ugly Betty, given Justin’s love for theater, but instead, she played Marc’s mom, who struggled with her son’s sexuality. Fans hoped LuPone would return to see her make amends with her son, but the Broadway legend never appeared on the show again. 

Most of the fashion news on Ugly Betty was delivered by Suzuki St. Pierre, but the show made an exception for the great Tim Gunn. While we loved Suzuki, we would’ve been happy to see Gunn appear again a time or two. 

Jesse Tyler Ferguson was among the few celebrities on this list to play a character in Ugly Betty. Ferguson was Betty’s orthodontist who went on a date with her, only to return a few seasons later and tell Betty she needed to find someone else to take off her braces. 

Martha Stewart was among the first celebrities to make a cameo on Ugly Betty. It was a true cameo appearance. She was only on the show for one scene, but it was entertaining, nonetheless. Stewart’s appearance would have only been better if Justin, one of her biggest fans, could’ve met her.