Heidi Klum does not just wear a costume on Halloween, she builds one, and her 2025 Medusa look proves it took a small army to pull off.
Heidi Klum's Halloween costumes have become one of the entertainment world's most anticipated yearly events, and the latest retrospective, published Oct. 24, 2026, walks through her most jaw-dropping transformations, from a butterfly and a worm to E.T., a peacock and this year's Medusa. Her annual bash, nicknamed "Heidiween," has turned into a showcase of prosthetics, makeup artistry and theater rather than a simple costume party.
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Heidi Klum Halloween Costumes Reach New Heights With Medusa
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For 2025, Klum arrived as Medusa, the snake-haired figure from Greek mythology who could turn people to stone with a single look. Her costume featured a scaled body, a forked tongue and a head full of snakes, all built through prosthetics that reportedly took more than 15 people and about six months to finish. Her husband, Tom Kaulitz, played along with the theme by dressing as a Greek soldier frozen mid-stone, as if he had locked eyes with her and paid the price.
Klum later told PEOPLE that she wanted to hold onto the feeling from that night, saying, "Last year when I was Medusa, I wanted to go back to the party." The comment hints at just how much she enjoys the process, even when it means hours in a makeup chair. The Medusa costume now ranks among the most talked-about looks of her Halloween career, alongside her butterfly and worm transformations from years past.
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E.T. and the Giant Worm Show Her Range
A year earlier, in 2024, Klum and Kaulitz turned into two versions of E.T., the beloved alien from Steven Spielberg's 1982 film. Klum's version included a blonde wig, striking blue eyes and a red shawl, while Kaulitz played the male counterpart. Getting both looks right reportedly required roughly 30 special-effects artists and about a year of planning, making it one of the most labor-intensive costumes in her history.
Before that, in 2022, Klum stunned fans by showing up as a giant earthworm, a costume built directly around her body that took more than 10 hours to construct. It remains one of her most unconventional choices, trading glamour for something closer to a nature documentary. That same spirit of surprise showed up again in 2023, when she became a giant peacock, supported by a team of performers who formed the bird's sweeping feather display at a party held at Marquee in New York City, sponsored by Patrón El Alto Tequila and Cirque du Soleil.
A Pattern Built Over Two Decades
Klum's Halloween reputation did not happen overnight. Her documented looks stretch back years, including a two-tone alien costume in 2010, Cleopatra in 2012, an elderly version of herself in 2013 and a colorful butterfly in 2014 that took about five hours to apply and left her looking, in her own words, "down with all things creepy crawly." In 2015, she channeled Jessica Rabbit, continuing a habit of leaning on recognizable film and cartoon characters.
The couple also teamed up in 2018 for a Shrek and Princess Fiona transformation, complete with oversized hands, feet and full facial prosthetics. A year later, in 2019, Klum became an alien-zombie hybrid while Kaulitz played a bloodied astronaut. He explained the concept to PEOPLE at the time, saying his character had been "in space looking for a new planet for humans to live on" and had "found" Klum's creature to "bring home." Each costume added to a growing pattern: Klum rarely repeats an idea, and she almost never picks something that can be assembled in an afternoon.
Why Fans and Industry Insiders Keep Paying Attention
Part of the appeal comes from the reveal itself. Viewers tune in knowing a famous face is hidden somewhere under the paint, scales or feathers, and the fun is in trying to spot her. The 2023 peacock costume took that idea further by turning it into a group effort, while the E.T. costumes leaned on nostalgia and precise detail to win people over. The 2025 Medusa look combined both horror and mythology, giving fans a mix of beauty and menace that generated plenty of chatter online.
Entertainment outlets have repeatedly called Klum the "Queen of Halloween," a title built on decades of pushing past ordinary costume ideas. The technical effort behind looks like E.T. and Medusa gets just as much attention as the final reveal, since both required teams of specialists working for months at a time. That blend of craftsmanship and showmanship is exactly what keeps her Halloween party relevant year after year.
What Comes Next for Heidi Klum's Halloween Legacy
There is no confirmed theme, costume or venue announced yet for Klum's next Halloween appearance. Based on her track record, though, expectations will likely stay high, with fans and industry watchers already guessing what kind of creature, character or creation she might attempt next. Until an official announcement comes from Klum or her team, any predictions about a future look remain speculation rather than fact.
What is certain is that Klum has built something bigger than a single night of dress-up. Her costumes have become a yearly marker in pop culture, blending film references, mythology and raw creativity into a show that keeps growing more ambitious with each passing October.
