Bella Baxter (Poor Things)

About

Bella Baxter is the main character of the 2023 movie Poor Things played by American actress Emma Stone, which follows the story of a young woman in Victorian London who comes to life through a brain transplant and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery. Online, the character's loveable and authentic personality sparked numerous fan art, memes and jokes on social media, especially after the film's release on December 8th, 2023.

Origin

Bella Baxter's character was originally created by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray in the novel Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer,^[1] published in 1992. On February 3rd, 2021, the Empire^[2] entertainment website revealed that Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and American actress Emma Stone were "reportedly reuniting for Frankenstein-Style tale 'Poor Things.'"

On June 8th, 2023, Searchlight Pictures uploaded the first trailer^[3] of Poor Things (shown below), which amassed over 12 million views and 68,000 likes in nine months.

Spread

Online, viral content about Emma Stone's depiction of Bella Baxter started to grow exponentially after the theatrical release of Poor Things on December 8th, 2023. For instance, on December 18th, 2023, X^[4] user @dunevillenuve posted a video of a man showing his hair as if it were Bella Baxter (shown below), which amassed more than 299,000 views and 5,300 likes in three months.

On December 24th, X^[5] user @Carlos_Film suggested a new La La Land movie version featuring Ryan Gosling's 2023 Barbie character Ken and Emma Stone's Bella Baxter. The post (shown below) amassed over 5,600 likes and 320 retweets in three months.

Fan Art

After the film's international release in January 2024, several fan art depictions and drawings of Bella Baxter were posted on social media. For example, on January 8th, 2024, X^[6] user @madmcgrane posted an artwork inspired by Baxter (shown below, left), which amassed more than 25,000 likes and 2,200 retweets in a month.

On February 25th, DeviantArt^[7] user @darigem-art posted a drawing featuring three versions of Bella Baxter (shown below, right), which garnered over 2,900 views and 124 favorites in five days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References