Candida albicans is a ubiquitous commensal of the mammalian microbiome as well as the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans. A cell type transition between C. albicans yeast and hyphal morphologies was thought to underlie much of the variation in virulence in different host tissues. However, novel yeast-like cell morphotypes, including opaquea/α, gray, and GUT cell types, were recently reported that exhibit pronounced differences in vitro and in animal models of commensalism and disease. In this Review, we explore the characteristics of the classic cell types yeast, hyphae, pseudohyphae and chlamydospores as well as the newly identified yeast-like morphotypes. We highlight emerging knowledge about the associations of these different morphotypes with different host niches, virulence potential as well as the environmental cues and signalling pathways involved in the morphological transitions.