How the incredibly lifelike wax figures at Madame Tussauds are made

For more than 200 years, Madame Tussauds has been making wax figures that are so lifelike you might think you're standing next to the actual person they were modeled after.

Madame Tussauds' more than 20 global locations are home to wax figures of famous people like Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Lima, and even Barack Obama. The opportunity to take a photo with their favorite celebrities (even if in wax form) is highly appealing to tourists, and Madame Tussauds is usually packed. 

When it comes to a celebrity's wax replica, every single detail is carefully recorded — from exact eye color to visible tattoos, moles, and beauty marks.

Each figure is made at Madame Tussauds' central studios in London, then sent to their assigned location around the world.

Here's how the incredibly lifelike wax figures are made.

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Each figure takes a total of 15 artists three to four months to complete. The New York City location adds seven new figures each year, and globally the company aims to make about 230 figures in total. The first step of the process is a sitting with the celebrity.

During the sitting, more than 250 measurements of the celebrity are taken, including finding their exact hair, eye, and skin color.

After the sitting is done, the figure is sculpted in clay.