Short Haircuts: Celebs Who Proved the Pixie Cut is Where It’s At

Coveting a short haircut is nothing new for the modern woman. When we see one, we think: effortless, stylish, low-maintenance. Whether we have shoulder-length bobs or hair that nearly reaches our navels, there’s just something about seeing a confident woman rock a pixie cut that creates a particular kind of envy. And while you may think you’re ready to take the plunge, there are many things to consider before you ask your stylist to chop off your locks.

So while you’re busy building up the courage, check out some of the best celeb pixie cuts to inspire your next look.

Rihanna waving at the camera on a red carpet

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Rihanna

Rihanna first hit the music scene in 2005 with a full head of long and luscious curls. She kept this look thriving throughout her rise to fame, but when her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad, was released, a whole new Rihanna stood before us. She traded in her long mane for an asymmetrical pixie that had us all waiting in line at the salon so we could hop on the trend that solidified her ability to adapt to anything.

Kristen Stewart with a buzz cut and sunglasses standing on a red carpet

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Kristen Stewart

It was right around 2014 when Kristen Stewart decided to shock Twihards with a brand new look that took her from vampire queen to total boss babe. Since then, Stewart has evolved her short tresses into a number of different styles, none of which is more notable than the time, in 2017, when she shaved her head just for the hell of it. These days, Stewart keeps her hair short and often unruly — just the way we like her.

Close up of Michelle Williams at the premiere of STX Films'

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Michelle Williams

Although her hair is currently past her shoulders, the Oscar nominee has spoken candidly about her commitment to keeping her pixie cut short and neat. She openly informed reporters that the reason she has maintained a pixie cut for such a long time was as a tribute to her former fiancé, the late Heath Ledger. She claimed that Ledger was the only straight man who loved it, which encouraged her to keep that momentum going.

Close up of Zendaya at the 57th GRAMMY Awards

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Zendaya

Zendaya is no stranger to hair transformations, but when she debuted a short, dark pixie at the 2015 Grammy Awards, the crowd really went wild. Along her hair journey, Zendaya has found new and inventive ways to make it appear shorter, sleeker, blonder and brighter — and at one point, she even brought back the mullet.

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Winona Ryder

Back in the 1990s, Winona Ryder was the “it” girl, and her short, dark pixie gave her an edge that would stick around for years. And while the Stranger Things star now tends to keep her length long, there’s simply no arguing that she is best known for her iconic pixie. In fact, we think it’s safe to assume that women are still flashing her photo to their stylist when they're finally ready to take the plunge.

Charlize Theron at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar party

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Charlize Theron

When Mad Max: Fury Road hit screens in 2015, people collectively lost their minds watching Charlize Theron play a badass woman with a shaved head and a vengeance. Theron’s hair has grown out since filming wrapped, but it wasn't long before she was back to living on the short side. Another celebrity who knows a thing or two about keeping things fresh, Theron has embraced a variety of short cuts, including a bowl cut that only she could get away with.

Close up image of Halsey at the 2017 Grammy's Gala

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Halsey

Halsey is another celeb who has shown off more than a few different hairstyles in their career. When the singer first arrived on the scene, they were known for their long blue locks, but as time went on, Halsey began to incorporate a series of colourful wigs that always helped bring their music to life. But they always comes back to their original ‘do, a short pixie with an edge that changes shape and colour as the singer evolves.

Halle Berry holding her Oscar award at the 74th Annual Academy Awards

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Halle Berry

Halle Berry may have longer tresses at the moment, but for the better half of the ‘90s and early ‘00s, the Oscar winner was known best for her shorter coifs. As time has gone on, Berry has tested out various lengths, colours and textures. At the red carpet event for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum in 2019, Berry debuted a shaved design in her undercut, proving yet again that she is way cooler than most of us on any given day.

Close up of Cara Delevingne with a buzz cut

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Cara Delevingne

The evolution of Cara Delevingne's hair is a journey through length, colour and style, but nothing has been more memorable than the supermodels buzzed pixie. Whether she dresses it up with elegant clips and headbands, or dresses it down with a bucket hat or hoodie, she is now, and always will be, a trendsetter for an entire generation.

Jennifer Hudson at the Clive Davis And The Recording Academy Present The Annual Pre-GRAMMY Gala

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Jennifer Hudson

In 2004, Jennifer Hudson made waves in the third season of American Idol. It was the beginning of Hudson’s soon-to-be blossoming career, and her hair was short and curly, giving off a bounce of innocence each time she took the stage. As her career grew, so did the awards and praise, and seemingly out of nowhere, a young woman emerged with a confident coif that we couldn’t take our eyes off of.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards

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Phoebe Waller-Bridge

She may be best known for her quippy comebacks and humorous bed-hopping in Fleabag, but there is nothing funny about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s hairstyle. The British actor-writer-producer left a permanent mark on all of us as we watched her title character’s bittersweet revelation at the end of Fleabag. She cleaned up in multiple categories during the 2019 awards season, and her array of hairstyles on the red carpet always made her short ‘do seem fresh.

Jacqueline Toboni smiling at the cameras on a red carpet

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Jacqueline Toboni

We were introduced to Jacqueline Toboni’s long pixie back in 2014 when she co-starred in the TV series Grimm. But she really grabbed our attention in 2019 when she bleached her hair and graced our screens as Sarah Finely, arguably the most annoying character on The L Word: Next Generation. Thankfully, she stole our hearts by the end of the first season and made the bed-head pixie cool again.

Zoë Kravitz at the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

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Zoë Kravitz

Near the end of 2019, Zoë Kravitz debuted a closely cropped pixie to the world, but it wasn’t the first time the daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravtiz kept things casual. Between the braids and platinum blonde takeovers, Kravitz has been known to resort back to this low maintenance look (it even made a cameo in her star turn as Selina Kyle in The Batman). She makes it look so easy with a cut so close to the scalp; you could almost call it a buzz.

Victoria Beckham backstage at a VH1 party in the 2000s

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Victoria Beckham

Never has a celeb hairstyle shocked us more than when Victoria Beckham debuted her pixie cut near the end of her era with the Spice Girls in 1998. This was a big and bold step for the woman who claimed the title of Posh Spice, and she kept the momentum going until she began playing with extensions in the early 2000s. However, she always came back to the look that had us swooning from the start.

Tyra Banks at the 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards

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Tyra Banks

America’s Next Top Model is best known for its makeovers, especially the ones that have women crying over spilled strands. Tyra got a taste of her own medicine back in 2015 when she shocked us with a trendy pixie cut. The only difference is that Tyra was in love with her pixie from the very beginning. From side sweeps to forward combs, Tyra reinvented her pixie as much as she did her top model contestants.

Jennifer Lawrence at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

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Jennifer Lawrence

Another star who went against the standard model of beauty stereotypes is Jennifer Lawrence, or JLaw, as we've come to know and love her. In 2013, she posted a snap of her super short pixie on Facebook with zero explanation. This caused fans and the media to speculate it was a wig, but soon J.Law set the record straight by explaining that her trendy lob was reaching it’s ugly growing-out stage, and she was tired of tossing it in a bun — so she chopped it instead.

Miley Cyrus at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards

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Miley Cyrus

When Miley Cyrus left Hannah Montana behind, it seemed natural that she would gravitate towards producing another bubble-gum pop album, this time under her real name. But the release of her album Bangerz brought to light a side of Cyrus that fans had never seen before. Her infamous Hannah Montanna wig was a thing of the past when she introduced a half-shaved, bleach blonde pixie that came in like a wrecking ball, shocking every single one of us for months to come.

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Olivia Colman

It doesn’t matter if she’s making us cringe as the Godmother in Fleabag or laugh out loud as Queen Anne in The Favourite — Olivia Colman is arguably the coolest woman on earth. She has that alluring kind of presence. The type that makes us want to run up to her and ask to be her best friend. Maybe then we could find out how she keeps her short hair looking flawless.

Close up image of Jamie Lee Curtis wearing thick black frames

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Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis was just a 19-year-old with long blonde hair back when she starred in Halloween in 1978. When Halloween II began production in 1981, Curtis had already cut all her hair off and had to wear a wig to reprise her role as Laurie Strode. Nowadays, the Oscar winner is well-known for her well-maintained pixie cut and statement grey strands, with women of all of ages rejoicing in her confidence.

Cynthia Nixon smiling at the cameras while standing on a red carpet

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Cynthia Nixon

If you identify as a Miranda, then chances are you’ve tried to mimic Cynthia Nixon’s red hot pixie more than once in your life so far. Nixon appeared as a part of the main cast of Sex and the City when it aired in 1998, and her hair became the topic of several episodes. In real life, Nixon kept her hair much the same, minus a few years where she played with length. These days, she's traded her signature ginger strands for dirty blonde and has never looked better.