Kanye West never smiles in photos for a strange reason that dates back to the 1800s

If there's one thing Kanye West takes seriously—besides music, fashion, and, of course, speaking his mind—it's keeping a straight face. Whether posing with celebrities on red carpets or candid moments, West's signature no-smile expression has become a part of his brand. Is it just the rapper's way of looking cool, or is there a proper reason to it? We won't keep you guessing. The 'Runaway' artist did in fact shed light on this during the Daily Front Row's Fashion Los Angeles Awards in 2015.

When West was working on his iconic album, 'Yeezus,' he stumbled upon a book from the 1800s, which allegedly inspired him to adopt his signature straight-face look in pictures. He revealed, "I looked at all these people’s photos, and they look so real, and their outfits were incredible, and they weren’t smiling, and people, you know, the paparazzi, always come up to me, 'Why are you not smiling?' and I think, not smiling makes me smile...When you see paintings in an old castle, people are not smiling because it just wouldn’t look as cool," as per HuffPost. So, the next time you spot West donning his famous poker face look, don't be surprised; he has a valid reason for it. Or so he thinks!

West, however, isn't the first celebrity to master the straight-face expression. His celebrity ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, is also known for maintaining a similar poised and expressionless look. The reason? Well, it dates back to her first pregnancy in 2013. When Kardashian was expecting her daughter North West, things weren't very easy. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia—a condition where the mother develops high blood pressure and other serious complications. But the media, unaware of her condition, heavily criticised Kardashian over her extreme weight gain.

This bothered the reality star. She explained, "Before I was always smiling, and so into being out and about. After I had the baby, I was like, ‘These are the same people that made fun of me, and posted the stories that were so awful, calling me fat for something I couldn’t control," as per People magazine. She was so severely affected by the fat-shaming that she decided to never smile in front of the camera. She stressed, "Even if I was more confident, I just didn’t feel like being that girl who was going to be smiling for every photo. It changed my mood; it changed who I was; it changed my personality a lot." 

Besides the controversial couple, fashion designer and singer, Victoria Beckham, also opts for a no-smile policy. But her reason was totally born out of her insecurities. As per LADbible, in an interview, she shared, "It was because of my skin that I became very careful about what I ate. And yeah, probably I did look stern in a lot of pictures, but I was so uncomfortable. Was there a time when I used to scroll through all the comments about me? Probably. But now I just don’t have the time."