32 Breathtaking Celebrity Hair Color Transformations

We've all been there: Looking fondly at a bottle of hair dye, wondering if today is the day to jump in feet first and do the color plunge. While you're still deciding if bleaching your hair yourself is a good idea (it's not), there are plenty of examples available of celebrities making extreme hair color choices. Continue to weigh your options before you do anything drastic—we've gathered 32 jaw-dropping celebrity hair color transformations so you can live vicariously through them instead.

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart brought edgy energy to the 2019 Met Gala with vibrant neon red-orange hair with streaks of black and brown—and don't forget the yellow eyebrows. The hair color was inspired by a red Chanel nail polish called Arancio Vibrante and the style came courtesy of Stewart's hairstylist Adir Abergel, who shared in a press release about the style: "The inspiration was '70s Bowie and the obscurity of gender, playing into both masculine and feminine extremism."

Michelle Yeun

Michelle Yeoh embraced golden highlights and a bouffant bob during her Wicked promotional tour, adding a touch of warmth and radiance to her signature elegant style. We love that the blonde hair still has a dark shadow root, creating a layer of depth to both the hair's tone and nodding to her Wicked character, Madame Morrible.

Emma Stone

Emma Stone and red hair went together like peanut butter and jelly—until 2017, when she arrived to the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to Diane Keaton with platinum blonde hair. The two-time Oscar winner's hair transformation was for Cary Joji Fukunaga's Maniac, where Stone wore blonde hair, but this was a very welcome surprise.

Florence Pugh

After arriving to the 2023 Met Gala with a full-blown buzz cut, we should have expected the next time Florence Pugh arrived to a red carpet, we would get something daring. And she delivered—she stole the spotlight at the Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 fashion show with her brunette buzz cut dyed a beautiful shade of strawberry pink. It was the perfect blend of masculine and feminine.

Kendall Jenner

At this point, every member of the Kardashian-Jenner family has gone from their signature dark brunette to platinum blonde, but Kendall appeared to be the lone holdout for a long time. That changed when she shocked fans with platinum blonde hair (let's be real: Probably a wig) during the Balmain show at Paris Fashion Week.

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa marked the Future Nostalgia album era with the music video for her song 'Houdini', and dropping a brand new red hair color. Fans dubbed the color "Cherry Cola red," an apt description. The color took over ten hours to dye on Lipa's hair—starting with lifting raven black dye, adding a clownish-red color, and then multiple layers of gloss to create this unique, but high-maintenance shade.

Megan Fox

Megan Fox went from vampy brunette bombshell to Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? seemingly overnight when she debuted a copper hair color. For someone known for her dark hair, the warm and brighter shade suits her just as well—and Fox has never been afraid to embrace a more extreme style.

Zendaya

Zendaya defined Method Dressing during the 2024 press tour for Challengers. Her tennis-inspired fashion looks were emphasized and showcased by her gorgeous blonde bob. The blonde look helped her to lean into a timeless yet fresh look that perfectly complemented her tennis whites.

Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys has always been known for her unique, bohemian-lost-in-Harlem style, with long braids and oversized accessories. And fans were thrilled when she arrived wearing rich crimson hair to the 2013 Met Gala. The bold shade was a flawless complement to her radiant style and vibrant personality—and was a perfect addition to the night's theme, Punk: Chaos to Couture.

Kim Kardashian

When Kim Kardashian arrived at the 2015 LACMA Gala, it sent the world ablaze. Her icy blonde debut added a futuristic vibe to her already glam aesthetic, and the bold shift was a striking departure from her signature brunette. Now, in this day and age, seeing Kardashian wearing blonde hair is as common as seeing her with dark hair—she rocks both easily and effortlessly.

Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey leaned into her moody aesthetic with jet-black hair at the 2018 Grammys. The deep shade paired perfectly with her vintage-inspired style, which had always been paired with a 1940s-inspired strawberry blonde, almost red hair color. Del Rey's hair is just as much a part of her brand as her music choices, and fans figured out quickly that the Grammys look as a whole was a tribute to a classic Hedy Lamarr look from the 1941 film Ziegfeld Girl.

Saweetie

Saweetie brought futuristic glam to the 2024 Mugler show with icy blue hair. The bold choice of style reflected the innovation and couture design behind Mugler. Let's be real, this is the best superhero costume we've ever seen, and Saweetie knows. In an Instagram post, she shared the name for her alter ego: “Her name is Mugleetie," she wrote.

Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff has always embraced wacky, unnatural hair colors, but her cotton candy blue era has always been a fan favorite. The playful shade added a refreshing twist to her cool-girl style. In her Instagram post sharing the teal blue shade, she made sure to tag her hairstylists, Riawna Capri and Nikki Lee, for "saying yes to another crazy change,” and making sure to note that the hair transformation took "all day."

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato rocked electric blue waves at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. The blueberry shade had added highlights of purple and light blue, making this hair color feel so uniquely Demi, and remains to this day one of her most envied and memorable hair colors. And Demi's has a lot of memorable hair colors, at that.

Anne Hathaway

For her entire career, Anne Hathaway had long, brunette hair. Which is why it was it was a massive shock when she swapped her signature brunette waves for a striking platinum blonde pixie cut at the 2013 Met Gala,. The bold transformation perfectly complemented her subtly edgy Valentino gown, exuding punk-chic vibes, like Debbie Harry. Biopic, anyone?

Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner took a cooler approach to beauty when she swapped her signature dark brown hair for an icy turquoise blue in 2015. The sleek, frosty shade underscored her ability to embrace bold trends and turn them into cultural moments—and sent Kylie fans around the word running to their hair colorists to get their own blue hair.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande swapped her signature brunette ponytail for golden blonde hair for the entirety of the Wicked filming in 2022 and subsequent press tour, causing discourse on her commitment to the role of Galinda coming off-screen. But Grande came to the scene with fiery red hair during her Victorious era, so Blondiana is just another look in the plethora of Ariana Grande hair colors.

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez stole the spotlight at the 2017 AMAs with icy blonde hair. It was her first appearance and performance since her kidney transplant, and the look was a daring change that gave her usual brunette style a bold and edgy upgrade and signified the next phase of her life. She would go blonde again for her appearance in Emilia Pérez.

Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain dazzled with platinum blonde hair at the 2023 Met Gala. The change-up from her signature strawberry red created a striking contrast with her dramatic black ensemble. The hair was an ode to the evening's theme, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," with Chastain's hair serving as an homage to the legendary designer. She even paired the new color with Lagerfeld's signature square sunglasses on the red carpet.

Lindsay Lohan

Do you remember where you were when Lindsay Lohan first went full-on blonde bombshell in 2005? It was a cultural milestone—Lohan's new hair color was a drastic difference from the auburn red we grew up knowing her for and made waves with teenage girls everywhere, creating a cultural divide between pro-blondes and pro-gingers that would last for generations...or until Lohan dyed her hair again.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga took her signature platinum hair to a new, more monochromatic level for the 2019 Golden Globes. Gaga wore pastel periwinkle blue hair that perfectly matched her Valentino gown. The dreamy hue added an ethereal vibe to Gaga's usual avant-garde style, and looked gorgeous when she accepted the Golden Globe for Best Original Song later on that evening.

Jared Leto

Jared Leto surprised everyone at the 2015 Video Music Awards when he introduced a performance by The Weeknd wearing neon pink hair. Like, Elle Woods/Barbie/true fuchsia pink. The unexpected hue highlighted his fearless approach to red carpet style and proved he’s never afraid to stand out—he'd later embrace other wild hair colors throughout the years.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence’s sleek platinum lob at the 2016 Golden Globes turned heads for all the right reasons. The modern cut and icy hue were a match made in red carpet heaven—and perfect for preparing for her role in Passengers, a sci-fi movie that begs for a good, silvery blonde. We just hope she stocked up on a lot of purple conditioner.

Rihanna

Rihanna must own stock in the color red, because it's very synonymous to her brand. Not only is it the featured color on her to-date final, and in this writer's opinion, best, album, Anti, but it invokes the early 2010s Loud era of RihRih's career. This shade of cherry was so enviable, and can be seen in so many of her videos, including "Only Girl (In the World)" and "What’s My Name?". The bold color became an iconic moment in her style evolution, showcasing her fearless creativity.

Zayn Malik

Zayn Mailk actually dyed his hair variations of pink twice — once in 2018, and again in 2022, proving bold color isn’t just for the ladies. But he's also embraced other hues, including a silvery amethyst close crop prior to the 2022 pink color, and a light blue shade in 2021 for the covers of GQ India and GQ Spain. The edgy yet subtle hues add a refreshing twist to his cool style.

Katy Perry

Whether you had positive or negative feelings about it, Katy Perry's 2017 platinum pixie cut was as controversial as a haircut could be. Perry was known for her Pantone-level embrace for all haircuts and colors—but this short blonde crop was her most extreme style yet, a big jump from the dark brown and cotton candy pinks the public had seen her in for years.

Rita Ora

Rita Ora has always been known for embracing fashion's most avant-garde, and her golden blonde mullet from the 2024 Fashion Awards is only the most recent example. Ora often was seen wearing platinum, silvery blonde hair (paired with a red lip), but this extreme look was a welcomed change from her signature style. Paired with an oversized grey suit and matching bleached eyebrows, this is androgyny at its finest.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus's hair chop and platinum dye in 2013 was a cultural moment that no one saw coming. As a way of shedding her Hannah Montana image, Cyrus went to the ultra-extreme, embracing edgier outfits and a more punk style, complete with blonde bouffant. This change would be repeated by popstars after Cyrus's image overhaul, but no one did it quite like Miley—and it was unforgettable.

Kelly Osbourne

In 2024, Kelly Osbourne traded the electric violet hair she'd worn for over seven years for an icy, white-blonde hair color—but with still a pop of purple via lavender highlights. "Did you hear I have a new look?" Osbourne wrote in the caption of her Instagram hair announcement (hair-noucement?) Her hard launch made her look nearly unrecognizable, but a welcome switch-up from her signature style.

Billie Eilish

The internet nearly exploded in 2021 when Billie Eilish debuted blonde hair on her Instagram, trading her signature green roots for an Old Hollywood-inspired look for her upcoming album, Happier Than Ever. "It just was time," the singer said of the striking transformation to Keke Palmer on the red carpet of the 2021 Met Gala. "It was time for this, and I feel like I've grown so much in the last few years."

Zendaya

Zendaya channeled fiery elegance at the 2019 Met Gala, debuting bold red hair color cut into a textured bob reminiscent of The Little Mermaid meets Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The daring choice perfectly accented her chainmail-inspired look, making her look like she was just plucked out of medieval times.

Gigi Hadid

Gigi Hadid, and her sister, Bella, have always been the yin-and-yang twins, with Gigi the blonde and Bella, the brunette. So it was a bit of a shock when she popped up with a darker auburn shade in 2022—a color called "expensive brunette". The color shift brought warmth and depth to her natural elegance, cementing that she really can wear any tone.