Systems and methods for eyelid shape estimation are disclosed. In one aspect after receiving an eye image of an eye (e.g. from an image capture device) an eye box is generated over an iris of the eye in the eye image. A plurality of radial lines can be generated from approximately the center of the eye box to an upper edge or a lower edge of the eye box. Candidate points can be determined to have local maximum derivatives along the plurality of radial lines. From the candidate points an eyelid shape curve (e.g. for an upper eyelid or a lower eyelid) can be determined by fitting a curve (e.g. a parabola or a polynomial) to the candidate points or a subset of the candidate points.
