When guest stars make appearances on a show that features a cast viewers already love, it makes the viewing experience incredibly satisfying. Ugly Betty (2006) delivered on both accounts. The show, centered around the fashion industry, had many relevant guest stars from models and designers appearing as themselves, to known actors who couldn't help but make viewers comment in recognition of the familiar face that fit so easily into the colorful world of Mode.
Honorable appearance mentions include Christine Baranski as Victoria Hartley, Lainie Kazan as Dina Talercio, Martha Stuart, Gabrielle Union as Renee Slater, Christian Siriano, Adriana Lima, Nina Garcia, Daniel Davis as Dr. Morgan Remus, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Gabe Farkus, Bernadette Peters as Jodi Papadakis, and Lindsy Lohan as Kimmie Keegan.
Victor Garber appeared in the season 2 episode "Grin and Bear It," as Betty's writing professor, Professor Barrett.
Barrett was a serious, sarcastic, intimidating, and unlikeable character who expected deep writing instead of emotionally stunted stories. Betty's fear lead her to plagiarize a writing submission made for Mode and read it as her own.
Naomi Campbell appeared in season 2 episode "Jump," as a player in the annual Mode vs Elle Softball Game To Benefit Charity.
Batting for the Elle team, she took the bat and said "don't worry darling. I wield this bat with love," before taking out her phone and causing everyone to duck as she answered a call from Bono. "Not now, darling. I'm playing cricket."
Kathy Najimy as a casting addition gives extra whimsy to the season 4 episode "Million Dollar Smile." Najimy appears as Betty's orthodontist Dr. Frankel and Betty's guide in her alternate universe dream state.
Frankel shows Betty what her life would have been like without braces, showing her that her compassion for others grew from her hardships. Dr. Frankel is there when Betty's braces get caught in the Million Dollar Bra and is the one who finally takes Betty's braces off.
Lucy Liu appeared in two episodes during season 1 as top lawyer Grace Chin, aka "The Chin." Grace was stood up by Daniel in college after he promised her he would take her to the Sigma Phi New Year's Kegger in Sophomore year if she helped him pass Criminology.
"Well, back in school she was a mess. She had braces and glasses and this crazy hair..." Grace agreed to take Bradford Meade's case after initially rejecting Daniel.
Salma Hayek was one of the executive producers of the show. She appeared as Sofia Reyes, an author known for empowering women and also the editorial brains of MYW magazine.
From the first episode she was in, Reyes strung along Daniel Meade as part of her article "From Fling To Ring In 60 Days." Hayek also appeared as a nurse in the Telenovela Ignacio watched early in season 1.
Adele appeared in the season 3 episode "In The Stars," for Betty, Marc, and Matt's final Yeti assignment. She performed for the shoot which also served as Daniel and Molly's wedding reception.
The star was surrounded by planets and aliens as the theme was music and physical sciences. Adele's appearance on the show was sparked by America Ferrera's own love for the singer.
Shakira was mentioned several times on the show before finally appearing in the season 4 episode "The Bahamas Triangle" as herself. Betty sees that Shakira just happens to be at the same hotel as the Mode staff and when things go south for the photoshoot, Betty has an idea.
She pitches her Annette Kellerman fitted one-piece swimsuit story for the "Fearless" issue to Shakira after the singer expresses that every magazine has a bikini shot on the cover.
Vera Wang and Victoria Beckham both starred as themselves in the season 2 episode "A Nice Day For A Posh Wedding." Vera appeared as the designer of a Vera original - Wilhelmina's wedding dress, while Victoria was asked to be Wilhelmina's maid of honor.
Wilhelmina didn't take lightly to being overshadowed by the Spice Girl, who stole the limelight. In true Slater fashion, she locked Posh in the custodian's office and continued with her wedding.
Octavia Spencer appeared in season 1 as Ignacio's United States Citizenship and Immigration Services caseworker, Constance Grady. In season 1's episode "Punch Out," it is revealed that Constance was fired before taking Ignacio's case and hadn't placed him in the system.
The nature of her work meant working closely with individuals only to hear nothing from them once they became citizens. This lead Constance to spiral during her time with Ignacio.
Betty White was the victim of a callous Wilhelmina Slater in the season 2 episode "Bananas For Betty." Slater took Betty White's taxi, mistaking her for an old woman dressed in plastic, and shut the door on her fingers, throwing cash on the sidewalk to take care of it.
"Well, obviously I didn't know it was Betty White. I'm not a monster." The incident was caught on camera and Wilhelmina's attempts to reconcile were hijacked by White milking the feud.
