The Most Iconic Celebrity Hairstyles of All Time

From her micro bangs to chignon beehive, and modern pixie — Audrey Hepburn covered all her mane bases. What’s interesting about this film and fashion wonder is her ability to morph into different personas with the varying hairstyles she embraced during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Just when fans began to adjust to a look, she’d be known to switch it up again, often for a new role in a film. And while most recall her classic look from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, we can’t help but pay tribute to the time she chopped it all off. In 1966, Hepburn was set to star in the critically-acclaimed film, How to Steal a Million, and for that role, she enlisted French hairdresser, Alexandre de Paris to modernize her classic look. The stylist appropriately named her short 'do, "Coupe Infante '66″ and the rest, as they say, is history.

Another famous beehive that made waves in the celebrity hair world is that of the late Amy Winehouse. Unfortunately, Winehouse wasn’t necessarily drawing the most positive attention for her look. Usually looking dishevelled and generally out of sorts, Winehouse’s hair was often the subject of much debate and ridicule as it progressively began to take on a life of its own, regularly appearing taller and heavier with each photo that surfaced. The singer’s rocky relationship with drugs and alcohol contributed to her lack of self-care at times. Still, Winehouse maintained her iconic look with a sense of pride and rebellion reserved for the fans that continue to love her years after her tragic passing.

When Keri Russell first entered our television screens as Felicity in 1999, we all instantly fell for the girl next door with the abundance of brunette curls framing her face. But when the show’s creator J.J. Abrams decided Felicity should chop all of her hair off by the second episode of season two, none of us could have predicted the backlash that followed.

The plotline for the dreaded haircut was simple: Felicity gets dumped, and like most women, she decides that completely changing her look will also change her emotional state of being. And in theory, all of that worked, but fans of Felicity were less than impressed with Abrams break up exorcism. Russel’s dramatic cut caused the show’s ratings to plummet, as fans turned against what they once loved in protest. While things slowly bounced back to a sense of normal, Felicity’s haircut became a cautionary tale and an essential part of pop culture, without which, we may never have learned not to chop our hair when we’re feeling the sads.

Is there anything more rewarding than that scene in Pretty Woman when it’s revealed that Vivian’s real hair is not the platinum blonde bob we are introduced to at the beginning? Julia Roberts fluffy red curls had as much personality as her character Vivian, and in the ‘90s, we wanted nothing more than to mimic this exact look. Roberts would maintain her locks from the Cinderella rom-com and would become widely known for them throughout the decade (despite a few hair colour changes).

The star eventually changed her length, sometimes adding bangs, and testing out different hues as she took on various roles, but fans always come back to the curls that made her because coveting any other look of hers would be a big mistake, huge!

She’s been labelled the manic pixie dream girl of an entire generation, and with that comes a pretty iconic hairstyle to boot. When Zooey Deschanel first came on the scene with films like The New Guy and Elf, she had a dirty blonde bob with side bangs, but as time went on, Deschanel settled into a look that would become synonymous with her name. Her long, dark brown hair with blunt bangs became notable when she starred as Summer Finn in the popular film, 500 Days of Summer. It was then that Deschanel leaned into her iconic look and began to own the good and bad stereotypes that came along with it. When she wasn’t being called a manic pixie dream girl, the media was quick to call her a hipster or adorkable or “the girl with bangs.” But, despite the minor jokes that may have come her way, Deschanel has managed to maintain her token hairstyle while somehow ridding herself of the hipster image that followed her for nearly a decade.

Of course, we couldn’t run an iconic list of celebrity hairstyles without paying tribute to Marilyn Monroe. Born as a blushing brunette and going by her birth name, Norma Jeane Baker, Monroe wouldn’t debut the short platinum hair she became famous for until the early ‘50s ahead of her breakout role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Monroe would maintain this quintessential look during the height of her career until the early ‘60s when she began to grow out her blonde strands to a well-kept shoulder-length aesthetic just two short years before her untimely passing. Since then, her hair has become one with her brand and is often imitated, never duplicated.

If you were a child of the ‘90s, then there’s no doubt you were pining over magazine cutouts of “The Rachel,” an emblematic hairstyle made famous by Jennifer Aniston and appropriately named after her much-loved character in the television series, Friends. The Rachel was the creation of stylist Chris McMillan and was given to Aniston as the series hit a peak in its ratings. This roughly translated to an average of more than 25 million viewers tuning in each week during the first three seasons of Friends.

So it’s no surprise we were all impatiently waiting for our stylist to nervously attempt the same look on our various manes around the world. The only catch is that The Rachel required some serious TLC to get the exact style Aniston emanates in the series. Unless you had your own private hairstylist ready to prep your cut each morning, there’s a good chance you never fully achieved the style you were hoping for.

She may have started out as a fiery redhead when she starred as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television show Victorious, but as a pop star, Grande had an entirely different look to introduce. By 2013, Grande released her debut album Yours Truly and with it came the original high ponytail hidden within her then brunette strands. The years following would see Grande attempting slight variations of the same look, and anytime the singer chose to forgo her signature pony, the internet went wild with delight. While in isolation, due to the coronavirus outbreak, Grande revealed her natural, unruly curls. In the past, she’s explained to fans that since she had to dye her hair red every other week for the first four years, she played Cat, the damage forced her to lean into extensions and wear it in a pony to hide the actual hair that was broken. But we’re happy to see that she’s finally let her hair down again.

A style icon for the ages, Princess Diana became known for more than her impeccable sense of fashion. The People’s Princess rocked a short haircut for more than a decade of her life, with only a few adjustments along the way. She maintained a shorter blonde bob at the beginning of the ‘80s when she met Prince Charles, a look would stick around until the early ‘90s when Princess Di really began to lean into a shorter chop. It wasn’t until the year of her tragic death in 1997 that Princess Diana began to entertain the possibility of growing out her signature look. Since then, fans of hers have continued to praise her short hair and exquisite style and likely will for years to come.

Some may credit Michelle Williams with the classic pixie cut she revealed in 2007, but it’s not the first time the actress chopped all her hair off. Williams shocked fans of Dawson’s Creek during the second season in 1999 when her character Jen Lindley showed up on the screen without her shoulder-length blonde strands. Her characters chop came seemingly out of nowhere and set the tone for a more rough-around-the-edges character arch. Following her pixie debut years later, Williams would stay true to her style in honour of her former fiancé, Heath Ledger. She has acknowledged across several interviews that Ledger was “the only straight man who loved it,” and after his passing, she wanted to keep that feeling alive by sticking to her short roots. These days, she seems to be growing it out, as it slowly inches towards shoulder length, but we wouldn’t be surprised if she returns to the pixie again someday.

Her hair has changed several times over, but nothing has been more memorable than Halle Berry’s tousled pixie. Her hair would become even more iconic when she became the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in Monster's Ball. Everything from her dress, to her makeup and hair, became the pinnacle of pride on a variety of levels in 2002. In the years following her big win, Berry would wear her hair long, but in 2010 she introduced her pixie once again and would keep that momentum going until 2015 when she opted for bangs and a textured, shoulder-length style. Currently, her hair is once again long, but you never know when she will pull us back in time with her.

Heather Locklear’s feathered, layered and voluminous locks have always been in style no matter what decade she’s sporting them in, but it wasn’t until she joined the Melrose Place cast as a recurring special guest in the mid-90s that fans began asking their stylist for her look. Maybe it was her edge that made us all want to look like her, or perhaps it was the undeniable throwback she gave to Farrah Fawcett’s feathered mane of the ‘70s. Either way, Locklear had a hold on both men and women, just ask her former rockstar boyfriends, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue or Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora.

The hairstyles of the ‘80s aren’t generally met with a positive reaction, but there was something truly special about Madonna’s hair during that decade, and beyond. Not one to shy away from continually reinventing herself, Madonna became widely known for debuting a new hairstyle each time she released a new body of work. And with that generally came a refresh in fashion, and attitude, too.

Some of her most memorable styles of the ‘80s included a throwback to Marlyn Monroe’s renowned platinum blonde cut, a pixie, countless fabric headbands, and her no-shame approach to her dark brows and dark roots peeking through her blonde tresses. By the time the ‘90s rolled around, we couldn’t take our eyes off of her mile-high ponytail during the Blond Ambition tour.

When the world was first acquainted with Posh Spice, we were met with a very basic looking beauty who loved her little Gucci dress and a slick dark brown bob. Victoria Beckham was easily recognizable by her centre-part, super straight and super shiny hair that always felt as though it was perfectly set in place. In 1998, the Spice Girl unveiled a fresh chop that brought new excitement to the classic pixie. With longer layers on the sides and back, and choppy bits sprouting out from the top, the whole world couldn’t stop talking about Posh’s new look. As the new millennium began to take shape, Beckham added long extensions to her mop and embraced the longer hair life until around 2006 when she became known for her blonde bob. Needless to say, we may have pegged her incorrectly as basic in the beginning —because this girl has versatility.

From the moment she entered the spotlight, audiences from all over the world were captivated by Anna Mae Bullock, better known by her stage name, Tina Turner. From her incredibly powerful voice and legs that danced harder than anyone we had seen before, it was safe to say that Ms. Turner stood out from the crowd. But what truly set this legendary singer apart was her hair. After nearly two tumultuous decades under the guise of her abusive husband and music partner, Ike Turner, the singer was able to rebrand herself as a solo artist by the beginning of the ‘80s, and with that came an entirely new look.

The hair got bigger, and the clothes became edgier. With the release of her fifth studio album, Private Dancer, Turner had finally established herself as a legitimate solo act, perfectly capable of performing hit after hit without Ike. Her large, over the top wigs, would become synonymous with her brand and would travel with her across the world for years to come.

To say Farrah Fawcett’s hair is iconic would be a wild understatement. Fawcett’s hair was, without a doubt, one of the most sought after styles of the ‘70s and has maintained its popularity throughout the decades, spawning countless YouTube tutorials and magazine how-to’s. The trend-setting style became popular when Fawcett performed as investigator Jill Munroe in Charlie’s Angels and has been described as a feathered wave or big volume, backwards curls. The famous ‘do was the work of renowned hairstylist, Allen Edwards, and it quickly became one of the most requested styles at salons during that era, making Fawcett and her hair an essential part of pop culture that shows no signs of slowing down.

It wasn’t until the late ‘80s that we would see Diana Ross really letting her hair down. Prior to that, the singer, actress, and record producer had tried every trend the ‘60 and ‘70s had to offer. When all of that was said and done, she decided to get back to her roots. In fact, Ross would become famous for her hair with all of its impressive volume, length and just enough intended frizz to make her look unique to her. As the ‘90s approached, Ross could be spotted with straight hair; taming the frizz for red carpet events and awards, but when she was on stage, the signature mane came to the forefront of every performance she gave.

People often confuse Sarah Jessica Parker’s hair as curly, but when it really comes down to it, the star has said it’s just very wavy, not curly. The curls we’ve come to love have been created by products, tools, and talented hairstylists. When we think of SJP, it’s hard not to immediately flock towards the still popular (but now very questionable) Carrie Bradshaw. Carrie’s hair on Sex and the City became just as important and noteworthy as her sense of fashion, so when she shocked us with the shoulder-length chop at the beginning of season five, there might have been a wee bit of backlash. But that cut was not a plotline decision. Instead, SJP’s hair had suffered so much damage throughout her career as an actress that she had no choice but to start new. Thankfully, we got back the curls we first fell in love with by season six, and the two SATC films sometimes want to forget.

Model Dame Lesley Lawson, better known as Twiggy learned what it was like to have a haircut transform your career well before Tyra Banks was making girls cry over cut strands on America’s Next Top Model. When Twiggy was only 16 years old, she entered a chic salon in Mayfair called the House of Leonard with the intent to get her hair shampooed and set for the day. When salon owner Leonard asked to cut her hair, the model felt too shy to say NO, and seven hours later, she walked out of the salon with a fresh cut and colour that instantly made her more famous than she could have imagined. The bold pixie was the talk of the model world, and when paired with Twiggy’s signature lashes that she designed and drew on herself — a revelation in the world of fashion and modelling was born.

In the ‘90s, Meg Ryan’s short, shaggy hair also became a popular request at hair salons. Perhaps it was the texture, layers or simply the way Ryan carried herself in the short style, either way — we all wanted the exact same look. What’s interesting about this popular style is that it was never intended to be in the first place. While working on the film French Kiss, Ryan asked her stylist, Sally Hershberger, to give her a cut that would make sense for a role where her character was stranded in Paris without a proper comb.

Hershberger began curling parts of Ryan’s hair to create a messy look and ended up burning stands off due to the varying voltages in Europe. Instead of crying in the corner over spilled hair, Ryan and her stylist seized the moment, and the result became the iconic choppy, textured short coif we know today.