diff --git a/src/components/friends/views/messenger/FriendsMessengerView.tsx b/src/components/friends/views/messenger/FriendsMessengerView.tsx
index 0eaf484..b456b8b 100644
--- a/src/components/friends/views/messenger/FriendsMessengerView.tsx
+++ b/src/components/friends/views/messenger/FriendsMessengerView.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import { FC, KeyboardEvent, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { FaTimes } from 'react-icons/fa';
 import { GetUserProfile, LocalizeText, ReportType, SendMessageComposer } from '../../../../api';
 import { DraggableWindowPosition, LayoutAvatarImageView, NitroCardContentView, NitroCardHeaderView, NitroCardView } from '../../../../common';
-import { useHelp, useMessenger, useTranslation } from '../../../../hooks';
+import { useFriends, useHelp, useMessenger, useTranslation } from '../../../../hooks';
+import { resolveAvatarFigure } from '../friends-list/resolveAvatarFigure';
 import { FriendsMessengerThreadView } from './messenger-thread/FriendsMessengerThreadView';
 
 export const FriendsMessengerView: FC<{}> = props =>
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ export const FriendsMessengerView: FC<{}> = props =>
     const [ lastThreadId, setLastThreadId ] = useState(-1);
     const [ messageText, setMessageText ] = useState('');
     const { visibleThreads = [], activeThread = null, getMessageThread = null, sendMessage = null, setActiveThreadId = null, closeThread = null } = useMessenger();
+    const { getFriend = null } = useFriends();
     const { report = null } = useHelp();
     const { settings, translateOutgoing } = useTranslation();
     const messagesBox = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
@@ -133,12 +135,22 @@ export const FriendsMessengerView: FC<{}> = props =>
                     <div className="messenger-avatar-bar">
                         { visibleThreads && (visibleThreads.length > 0) && visibleThreads.map(thread =>
                         {
+                            const isStaff = (thread.participant.id <= 0);
+                            // Read the live look from the friend list (same source the friends
+                            // list renders) so offline friends show their real avatar instead
+                            // of the standard/anonymous one; resolveAvatarFigure is the final
+                            // fallback when the look is genuinely missing.
+                            const liveFriend = isStaff ? null : getFriend(thread.participant.id);
+                            const figure = isStaff
+                                ? (thread.participant.figure === 'ADM' ? 'ha-3409-1413-70.lg-285-89.ch-3032-1334-109.sh-3016-110.hd-185-1359.ca-3225-110-62.wa-3264-62-62.fa-1206-90.hr-3322-1403' : thread.participant.figure)
+                                : resolveAvatarFigure(liveFriend?.figure || thread.participant.figure, liveFriend?.gender ?? thread.participant.gender);
+
                             return (
                                 <button key={ thread.threadId } className={ 'messenger-avatar-tab' + ((activeThread === thread) ? ' active' : '') + (thread.unread ? ' unread' : '') } onClick={ event => setActiveThreadId(thread.threadId) }>
                                     <LayoutAvatarImageView
-                                        figure={ thread.participant.id > 0 ? thread.participant.figure : thread.participant.figure === 'ADM' ? 'ha-3409-1413-70.lg-285-89.ch-3032-1334-109.sh-3016-110.hd-185-1359.ca-3225-110-62.wa-3264-62-62.fa-1206-90.hr-3322-1403' : thread.participant.figure }
+                                        figure={ figure }
                                         headOnly={ true }
-                                        direction={ thread.participant.id > 0 ? 2 : 3 }
+                                        direction={ isStaff ? 3 : 2 }
                                     />
                                 </button>
                             );
diff --git a/src/components/friends/views/messenger/messenger-thread/FriendsMessengerThreadGroup.tsx b/src/components/friends/views/messenger/messenger-thread/FriendsMessengerThreadGroup.tsx
index 97d74bf..aed920c 100644
--- a/src/components/friends/views/messenger/messenger-thread/FriendsMessengerThreadGroup.tsx
+++ b/src/components/friends/views/messenger/messenger-thread/FriendsMessengerThreadGroup.tsx
@@ -2,10 +2,13 @@ import { GetSessionDataManager } from '@nitrots/nitro-renderer';
 import { FC, useMemo } from 'react';
 import { GetGroupChatData, LocalizeText, MessengerGroupType, MessengerThread, MessengerThreadChat, MessengerThreadChatGroup } from '../../../../../api';
 import { Base, Flex, LayoutAvatarImageView } from '../../../../../common';
+import { useFriends } from '../../../../../hooks';
+import { resolveAvatarFigure } from '../../friends-list/resolveAvatarFigure';
 
 export const FriendsMessengerThreadGroup: FC<{ thread: MessengerThread, group: MessengerThreadChatGroup }> = props =>
 {
     const { thread = null, group = null } = props;
+    const { getFriend = null } = useFriends();
 
     const groupChatData = useMemo(() => ((group.type === MessengerGroupType.GROUP_CHAT) && GetGroupChatData(group.chats[0].extraData)), [ group ]);
 
@@ -50,7 +53,7 @@ export const FriendsMessengerThreadGroup: FC<{ thread: MessengerThread, group: M
         <Flex fullWidth gap={ 2 } justifyContent={ isOwnChat ? 'end' : 'start' } className={ 'messenger-message-row ' + (isOwnChat ? 'own' : '') }>
             <Base shrink className="message-avatar">
                 { ((group.type === MessengerGroupType.PRIVATE_CHAT) && !isOwnChat) &&
-                    <LayoutAvatarImageView direction={ 2 } figure={ thread.participant.figure } headOnly={ true } /> }
+                    <LayoutAvatarImageView direction={ 2 } figure={ resolveAvatarFigure(getFriend?.(thread.participant.id)?.figure || thread.participant.figure, getFriend?.(thread.participant.id)?.gender ?? thread.participant.gender) } headOnly={ true } /> }
                 { (groupChatData && !isOwnChat) &&
                     <LayoutAvatarImageView direction={ 2 } figure={ groupChatData.figure } headOnly={ true } /> }
             </Base>
diff --git a/src/css/friends/FriendsView.css b/src/css/friends/FriendsView.css
index 8f7a265..81ee192 100644
--- a/src/css/friends/FriendsView.css
+++ b/src/css/friends/FriendsView.css
@@ -536,14 +536,18 @@
         }
 
         & .avatar-image {
-            position: absolute;
-            left: 50% !important;
-            top: -31px !important;
-            width: 90px !important;
-            height: 130px !important;
+            position: absolute !important;
+            inset: 0 !important;
+            width: 100% !important;
+            height: 100% !important;
             margin: 0 !important;
-            background-position: center -8px !important;
-            transform: translateX(-50%) !important;
+            /* head-only image at native size (no scaling -> never grainy),
+               centred in the tab. Tweak the 2nd value of background-position
+               to raise (smaller %) or lower (larger %) the face. */
+            background-size: auto !important;
+            background-position: center 35% !important;
+            transform: none !important;
+            image-rendering: pixelated !important;
         }
     }