Before she went head-to-head with serial killer Joe Goldberg in “You,” Madeline Brewer was a spirited handmaid on “The Handmaid’s Tale” and a young inmate on “Orange Is the New Black.” She’s gravitated toward complex roles — women subjected to some of the world’s worst cruelties who are, nonetheless, natural fighters — that reveal a vision of the world that can leave viewers unsettled.
But when she’s not onscreen, Brewer’s charm is more conventional. Her Instagram grid is a highlight reel of glamour shots, complete with glowing selfies and elegant red carpet snaps. With her sharp jawline and dramatic cheekbones, there’s no denying that Brewer is stunningly beautiful. Her features are singular, as her dark brows and strong jaw offer an intriguing counterpoint to her delicate nose and mesmerizing eyes. Her beauty feels like a refreshing return to an earlier era when celebrity beauty included a sense of uniqueness — think naturally gorgeous stunners like Princess Diana — rather than the yassified face anyone can pick up at the local med spa. Too much filler and Botox can risk Instagram face, or even resemble the plastic surgery trend known as Mar-A-Lago.
Madeline Brewer was bullied for her looks after appearing on You
Though Madeline Brewer has earned her place as an in-demand TV actress — she even received an Emmy nomination for her work on “The Handmaid’s Tale” — she was the target of a massive bullying campaign after appearing as the character Brontë in the final season of the Netflix show, “You.” Online commenters skw Brewer for her appearance, suggesting that the actress needed cosmetic surgery.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect people to like Brontë, but I didn’t expect them to call me ugly, because I’m not,” she told People in June 2025. She attributes much of the online hate to misogyny, admitting she was surprised by fan culture’s deeply embedded misogyny, even in the largely female fanbase for “You.” Despite the critics, Brewer remains among the celebs who have been vocal about avoiding plastic surgery.
But other fans seem able to make a more nuanced distinction between the inarguably gorgeous actress and the complicated character she portrayed. “She’s not bad looking at all, it was just how her character looked in You. The haircut, how she dressed, what she did, etc,” wrote one Reddit commenter. “She is stunning everywhere to me,” observed another Reddit commenter simply. “On You and in everything else I’ve seen her in. I wish people would stop being so nasty. The amount of hate she’s gotten is just not right.”
