Hair

Colour Chameleons: The 12 best celebrity hair dye moments

29 June 2015
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Colour Chameleons: The 12 best celebrity hair dye moments

As we have previously discovered, celebrities love a hair switch up.  However, it is not just dramatic cuts that keep the stars in the spotlight but colour swaps too. With the A-list visiting the salon as much as we normal folk frequent Sainsbury's, the natural hair colour of many of our fave celebs is often one of life’s greatest mysteries. Here we count down our all time favourite members of Hollywood royalty who have experimented with colour…

Photo credit: Getty Images

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Emma Stone

Although we’ve come to know her as a redhead, Emma Stone is in fact naturally a dark blonde and it wasn’t until her breakout role in Superbad in 2007 that she joined camp red under instruction from director Judd Apatow. Subsequently, it was quite the shock when the actress went back to her roots and embraced platinum blonde for her part in The Amazing Spiderman Man in 2012. Talking about the dramatic change in an interview with InStyle the star said: “Blondes do have more fun! But sometimes I look in the mirror and still feel like I'm wearing a wig."

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Reese Witherspoon

When it comes to iconic blonde actresses Reese Witherspoon is up there with the best of them (two words: Legally Blonde). Consequently it made headline news when the actress went to the dark side in 2005. For her part as June Carter in the epic Johnny Cash film, Walk the Line, Reese committed to the role and dyed her hair chocolate brown.

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Kim Kardashian

Kim-K’s infamous Paper magazine cover may have ‘broken the internet’ but in the March of this year a certain hair change caused a similar uproar. Attending the Paris fashion week shows with husband Kanye West, the star updated her ‘Wob’ with a bleach blonde makeover. The dramatic look involved significant levels of upkeep (regular salon snaps during the three week were shared via her Instagram), and after the hiatus as a blonde Kim shortly returned to her natural dark brown colour.

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Jennifer Lawrence

A natural blonde, the ever endearing Jennifer Lawrence went brunette for her lead role in the first of The Hunger Games trilogy. Having her long tresses dyed dark brown was not a snappy choice; the makers of The Hunger Games reportedly created five wigs to get the colour right for Jennifer’s dye job.

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Cameron Diaz

Cameron’s quintessentially Californian look is defined by her beach blonde hair and the star has sported various shades over the years from dirty, highlighted blonde to all out platinum. However for much of 2006 and 2007 the star opted for an entirely different look and worked a darker brunette do. The star’s colourist Tracey Cunningham told InStyle at the time, "Cameron's a natural blonde but can pull off brunette hair too… she switches it up."

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Rihanna

Rihanna is notorious for regularly changing up her hair look but her dramatic move from dark to red in 2010 is one particular favourite. Performing in London, Rihanna updated her edgy buzz cut with a long fringe and a postbox red dye job to match. The star embraced scarlet hair for much of 2010 and 2011 mixing up the lengths and styles until returning back to her natural dark brown colour.

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Scarlett Johansson

Naturally a dark blonde, Scarlett Johansson is another celebrity who is a dab hand with the hair dye. Never scared to embrace a dramatic change, Scarlett has been seen in everything from Marilyn blonde to the grungiest of dark browns. We loved her switch to red for her part in 2012’s action flick, The Avengers.

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Rachel McAdams

After a few years of a more natural, dark blonde (and even going red), the actress went back to true blonde in 2011. Sporting a number of chic outfits for appearances in Cannes the star channeled old school Hollywood glamour and took her naturally dark blonde hair to bombshell-worthy platinum. Her hairstylist at the time, Craig Moir, told Allure: "We went lighter, brighter, and blonder than ever. It's all about glamour. Period."

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Jennifer Lopez

Her 'Jenny from the block' roots are as a dark chocolate brunette but over the years the star has often dabbled in golden or honey highlights. At the 2014 Billboard awards the star sported the blondest of tones we had seen in years, and we loved it.

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Drew Barrymore

After a few years on the dark side, in 2012 Drew Barrymore adopted a lighter do and jumped on the balayage bandwagon. This freehand technique is perfect for creating a natural sun kissed looking blonde and worked perfectly when the actress grew her hair out into an ombre style.