Heidi Klum’s long-awaited Halloween costume reveal has finally arrived, and this year, she and her husband Tom Kaulitz dressed up as E.T.
Since the early 2000s, the model has put her all into transforming herself into something impressive for the spooky holiday and her legacy of over-the-top costumes has proved why she’s been dubbed the “Queen of Halloween.” She then uses the red carpet at her annual Halloween party at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York City—now in its 23rd year—to show off her incredible costumes.
This year, Klum and her musician husband both dressed as the alien from the 1982 cult classic Steven Spielberg movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrialwith Kaulitz transforming into E.T. once he lands on earth and Klum portraying the character once he’s been dressed up by the young children, Elliot and Gertie. Their faces weren’t in the face of the alien as one might expect, but instead, were sitting in E.T.’s neck.
Klum’s costume was complete with a glowing fingertip and a motorized headpiece, which her team could operate remotely. Costume designer Mike Marino told The New York Times that both suits had been made by 3-D printing.
People always eagerly anticipate what the model will be dressing up as and this year’s costume has gone viral, with “Heidi Klum Halloween Costume 2024” trending on X (formerly Twitter) and people also searching “Heidi Klum husband.”
The entertainment X account (formerly Twitter) belonging to @PopBase shared two photos of Klum in character with the caption “Heidi Klum dresses up as E.T. for Halloween.” At the time of writing, it had been viewed 2 million times. The same account also posted a video of the model transforming into the famous alien with the caption “Heidi Klum unveils her Halloween costume.” It had 2.3 million views at the time of writing.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Klum for comment on Friday outside of normal business hours
The model told The New York Times that she came up with the costume idea a few weeks after Halloween in 2023. Not only was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial her favorite film as a child, but she also liked the gender-neutral aspect of the character.
“They have no genitals. I like the whole idea of, like, we’re all the same,” she said.
The costume unveiling involved the couple appearing from behind a backdrop at the hotel, with Kaulitz and Klum both using the remote control mechanics to wave and point their fingers.
At some point during the party, Klum changed out of her full costume into an oversized E.T. top and fishnets but left the alien’s neck on her face as a mask.
Klum had been teasing the costume on her Instagram and had started preparing for her big bash in the early hours of Thursday. As she was getting ready, she posted a short video to Instagram where she had prosthetics all over her face but didn’t give away what she was dressing up as.
In the past, Klum has dressed up as everything from a sultry Jessica Rabbit and a Transformer to the werewolf from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video and Cleopatra.
“I always try to find things that people naturally wouldn’t do,” the supermodel told People in 2023, adding, “Most people do nurses or police officers, but I was always looking for something that I hadn’t seen.”
In 2022, Klum arrived on the Halloween scene transformed into a giant worm, lying on the floor to fully embody her role. Her husband joined her dressed as a fisherman, hooking her into his fishing line.
“I just wanted to be something random,” she explained at the time.
Klum’s costumes always involve extensive planning. In 2023, she enlisted Cirque du Soleil performers to support her stunning peacock ensemble, where she proudly flaunted her feathers beside Kaulitz, who dressed as a complementary egg.
“You have to have an idea…it’s got to be different. Completely different,” she explained on the red carpet at her party.
“I wanted to do a costume with many, many people. I wanted to have a bunch of people and we all become one thing. And for me, in my mind, that one thing was the peacock.”