A horror community on Threads posted two pictures of Bonnie Aarons together: one of her on a red carpet, and one of her as Valak. They added the caption 'Thank Valak, this diva did NOT get a nose job early in her career,' in praise of Aarons' unique look. 'Big noses are and will always be a slay,' one reader wrote this weekend in response.
Aarons is 66 and has played Valak, the demon nun of the Conjuring films, in four films since 2016. She was added to The Conjuring 2 during last-minute reshoots, replacing an original antagonist designed as a horned demon that was meant to be entirely CGI. A spin-off, The Nun, was announced five days after the film opened.
The replies stopped being about her almost immediately as many online users praised her and discussed their own struggles with beauty standards in the industry. 'And I hope she never does! I'm trying to accept the fact my face is asymmetrical and I should embrace it but it's so difficult!' one person wrote. 'Queens like her make it a tiny bit easier having a unique feature like that.'
What She Has Said Herself
Aarons has spoken about her appearance and the work she gets in horror. In a 2021 interview with Vague Visages, around the release of Jakob's Wife, she explained that the people working on her films had not wanted to take away her features.
'They didn't want to take away my features,' she said.
She joked that she looked like a vampire without makeup, but that this had not helped her get cast as one. 'I kind of look like a vampire without anything on, but I couldn't get an audition for one,' she said, before adding: 'I can't even get an audition!'
Aarons has also been clear that she enjoys the genre rather than seeing it as a fallback. 'I just love to work. If I'm getting jobs in horror, that's terrific,' she said. 'I grew up with it, I love it, I love monsters.'
The Nun Is Mostly Just Paint
Aarons' transformation into Valak is striking, but she has described the process as one built around makeup and performance. Discussingthe Valak make-up process with We Got This Covered, she said: 'There are no prosthetics, and my face was hand-painted by the incredible Eleanor Sabaduquia.'
She explained that Sabaduquia painted her face for every appearance, with the work shaped by the performance and the film's director, Corin Hardy. After the makeup and preparation was complete, Aarons would then bring the character to life, conjuring up the evilness and letting it out.
That detail gives the viral photographs another dimension. Valak's unsettling appearance is not simply a mask hiding Aarons' face. The makeup works with her features to create the character, while her performance supplies the menace.
The Threads replies started discussing other actors with unique-looking visages. One commenter called for the return of 'interesting looking actors & actresses' rather than what they described as 'cookie cutter, Botox-frozen faces'. Another said they would love to see Aarons star in a romantic comedy, so audiences could see her beauty on screen.
Those reactions belong to this particular discussion, rather than representing a verdict from every viewer. But they show how a post about one distinctive feature became a conversation about appearance, representation, and what audiences want to see in actors.
A Baroness, a Monster and a Counting Crows Video
Valak is not the only role that has made use of Aarons' distinctive look. In 2001, she played Baroness Joy von Troken in Disney's The Princess Diaries, the same year she appeared in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. She returned as the baroness in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004.
Her screen work also includes the Counting Crows music video for 'Round Here' in 1994. In 2025, she appeared on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, playing Dumpster Thing.
The range of those appearances complicates the idea that Aarons' face belongs to horror alone. She has played a supernatural threat, a comic royal antagonist, and characters in projects far removed from the scary world of Valak.
That is less far-fetched than it reads. The same face that has frightened audiences across four horror films spent 2001 playing a baroness in a Disney comedy. People have only now caught up.
