Ola Ray was just 23 years old when she shot “Thriller,” so it’s to be expected that she looks a bit different 40 years later. In 2019, BET posted then and now photos of Ray and noted that she was practically unrecognizable from her past as Michael Jackson’s Zombieland date. Not only was her dark hair now strawberry-blonde, but the outlet shared reactions from fans who noted that Ray’s complexion appeared to be dramatically lighter than it was back in 1983.
In a second BET post, commenters questioned if Ray had lightened her skin, as Jackson was accused of doing. However, after his death, the singer’s lighter complexion was confirmed to be due to a pigmentation disorder known as vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that causes patches of lighter skin, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. As for Ray, some fans wondered if she just overdid it with her makeup. In a post on Lipstick Alley, user bloom wrote, “I hope she’s just bad at makeup rather than bleaching.” Ray has not spoken out about her lighter skin tone. She is active on TikTok, and many fans think she looks as beautiful as ever in her early 60s.
