: Is it OK if I just mention in one line that she looks like some real world actress? Don't do that. First of all, don't overestimate the relevance of how people look when you aren't

is it OK if I just mention in one line that she looks like some real world actress?

Don't do that.

First of all, don't overestimate the relevance of how people look when you aren't working in a visual medium. Spending too much time on trying to get a photorealistic image of your character into the reader's head is a common beginners mistake. It usually falls under the law of conservation of detail. If the visual details of a character are not relevant to the plot or to the way other characters react to them, there is little reason to describe them. Just let the reader make up their own image in their head.

Especially writing something like "she looks just like [celebrity]" has a couple of possible drawbacks:

The reader might not be familiar with the celebrity you referenced. Especially when they are from a culture or demographic where that celebrity isn't as popular as in yours.
That character will become associated with that celebrity in your reader's head. They will start to associate all kinds of other traits of that celebrity with your character.
It might give an impression of being uncreative. Readers might assume that you couldn't come up with an original character, so you just copied a person who exists in real life.
It breaks the narrative fiction and drags the reader into the world of celebrity gossip. That's especially problematic if that celebrity doesn't exist or isn't relevant in your fictional universe.
Possible legal problems with regards to the personality rights of a person who can afford better lawyers than you do.

can I mention names of some real-world spiritual teachers as she meets them on her journey?

It depends. Do you reference the actual spiritual teacher? Does that teacher exist in the fictional universe? Is it plausible for your character to interact with them and/or get exposed to their work? Is the spiritual teacher dead for long enough that you can reference them without running into legal issues? Then go for it. Spiritual teachers influence millions of people, so your character also getting influenced by them is plausible.

But again, keep your reader's reference pool in mind. Most people might have heard the name Friedrich Nietzsche, but very few are familiar with what the man actually wrote. So give the reader a rundown of the philosophical concepts as your character understood them.

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