Riley Keough dyed her hair red to star in Daisy Jones and the Six, but she’s a natural brunette. Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
- Celebrities like Cynthia Nixon and Leighton Meester have dyed their hair to land starring roles.
- Amy Adams said dying her strawberry blonde hair a darker shade of red helped her get better roles.
- To please the casting agents, Sofia Vergara also dyed her blonde hair darker.
When it comes to landing an iconic role, some actors are willing to go the extra mile — and hit the salon.
From Mandy Moore to Riley Keough to Sofia Vergara, these celebrities have all changed their hair color to pass an audition or portray a character on screen. Some kept their new looks, while others later reflected on how damaging the drastic hair color changes were.
Here are 13 celebrities who dyed their hair for an iconic role.
Sophie Turner dyed her naturally blonde hair red to play Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones.
Sophie Turner in 2019 and 2013. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images
According to Refinery29, Turner had to dye his hair twice a week while filming the show to ensure blonde hair didn’t show through.
“I feel differently about every hair color,” she told Refinery29 in 2019. “I feel very powerful with my red because every character I’ve played that has red hair has been so strong and powerful.” Character. I love it for that. But my blonde hair gives me a new identity, which is actually myself. I’m more comfortable going back to my blonde hair; it also makes me feel a bit cooler and edgier.”
Cynthia Nixon from Sex and the City is another natural blonde who dyed her hair red for a role.
Cynthia Nixon on the set of “Sex and the City” in 2018 and 2000. Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images; Hulton Archives/Getty Images
“[I’m] no redhead. [I’m] a natural blonde. “A bit heightened at the moment, but a natural blonde,” Nixon told the Today show in 2015. “Kim [Cattrall] and Sarah [Jessica Parker] were blonde, so we wanted to mix it up a bit. Then it became like an emblem for the character – she’s so fiery; She is a redhead.
Nixon wore gray hair for most of the first season of the SATC reboot And Just Like That, but she dyed it back to her classic red in the finale.
For his role as Archie in Riverdale, KJ Apa dyed his naturally dark hair a burnt orange shade.
KJ Apa in 2018 and 2022. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
“Probably what I was most nervous about was seeing what I would look like with red hair and eyebrows,” Apa shared with Teen Vogue in 2017. “It was definitely really weird to see, but now I can’t really remember what.” It was like before. I’ve heard that only 2% of the world’s population has red hair, so I’m doing pretty well at the moment.”
Leighton Meester is naturally blonde, but she dyed her hair to get the role of Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl.
Leighton Meester on the set of Gossip Girl in 2003 and 2007. Albert L. Ortega/WireImage/Getty Images; James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images
Gossip Girl co-creator Josh Schwartz told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 that they asked Meester to dye her hair darker for the audition to set her character apart from the bubbly blonde Serena.
“Leighton was blonde when she came in to read, but Blake was blonde so we asked her to dye her hair,” he said. “A risky move on her part in the middle of the pilot season, but she dyed with all her might to audition as a brunette.”
Ariana Grande had curly brunette hair before she had to consistently bleach and dye it red for her role in Victorious.
Ariana Grande in 2008 and in 2012. Walter McBride/Corbis/Getty Images; Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images
Grande has spoken openly about the damage she caused her hair by constantly bleaching and coloring it for four seasons to play Cat Valentine.
“For the first four years that I played Cat, I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every two weeks… as you’d assume, it completely destroyed my hair,” Grande explained on Facebook in 2014. “I wear them in a ponytail because.” My actual hair is so messed up that letting it down looks absolutely… absurd.
“My real hair, that’s the huge, curly, curly mop, it’s kind of, I don’t know… So few people get to see it and it’s cute and it reminds me of when I was a kid. But so is it,” Grande said to radio host Zach Sang in November 2020, hinting at her signature ponytail.
“I also wear my ponytail all the time, but the curls are definitely something I don’t carry around a lot.”
Bella Thorne is another actress who dyed her naturally blonde hair red for a role.
Bella Thorne in 2008 and in 2015. Adam Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images; Mike Pont/WireImage/Getty Images
“A lot of people don’t realize that I’m not actually a redhead,” Thorne told Allure in 2014. “I am blond. I colored it for ‘Big Love’.”
Thorne also explained that early in her career at Disney, they wanted her to go blonde again — which she wasn’t thrilled about.
“It started off more like a deep red and Disney was like, ‘Why don’t we make Bella full blonde again?’ I don’t know why but I had a breakdown and I overreacted so much. I wanted to switch back to red.”
Robin Lord Taylor dyed his light locks jet black to play Oswald Cobblepot in Gotham.
Robin Lord Taylor in 2011 and in 2017. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Taylor joked to Glamor in 2014 about constantly having to keep up with his darker look.
“When my hair roots come forward, it looks like my hair is floating off my head,” he said. “Because it’s so light underneath, I’m like, ‘If my hair falls out? Oh no, I’m just blonde.’”
Kate Winslet dyed her blonde hair red to play Rose in Titanic.
Kate Winslet in 1996 and in a scene from Titanic in 1997. Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images; Paramount Pictures/CBS/Getty Images
However, dying her hair fiery red wasn’t easy, especially when she was in the water so much.
Winslet told InStyle, “It got pretty damaged from all those water scenes and from being repeatedly re-inked red.”
Winslet dyed her hair lighter shortly after the Hollywood blockbuster’s release.
Mandy Moore dyed her naturally blonde hair to characterize her role in A Walk to Remember, which would launch her acting career.
Mandy Moore in 1999 and in a scene from the film A Walk To Remember in 2002. Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images; Warner Brothers/Getty Images
Mandy Moore was born with sandy blonde hair, although you might think she was actually a brunette.
Amy Adams said dying her strawberry blonde hair a darker shade of red helped her get better roles.
Amy Adams in 1999 and in 2015. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images; Jeff Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images
“Because of the roles I was called for, people reacted to certain types of characters with me as a blonde and once I blushed it was quirky and fun instead of flirty and silly,” she said in an interview with The TimesTalk the New York Times in 2016.
Riley Keough dyed her hair red to star in Daisy Jones and the Six, but she’s a natural brunette.
Riley Keough dyed her hair red to star in Daisy Jones and the Six, but she’s a natural brunette. Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Maryann Hennings, the hairstylist on Daisy Jones and the Six, told People that the process of turning Keough’s hair red was extensive. Keough has had blonde, strawberry blonde and natural brunette hair over the years.
“We made Riley this bright red. She normally has dark hair, so I lightened it up, put this bright red on top of it, and then put a gloss on top of it, which just made it shine,” she said. “[Keough] would do it every three weeks. Sometimes I applied a glaze or shades on top to bring out the red. I would use lots of leave-in conditioners and products that leave her hair in good condition.
Sofia Vergara dyed her blonde hair darker to please the casting agents.
Sofia Vergara 1999 and 2002. Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
“I’m naturally blonde, just like my siblings,” she told Parade in July 2011. “When I started auditioning for American acting roles, they didn’t know where to put me. A blonde latina? In LA they are.” I’m used to Latin women looking more Mexican. But if you go to Uruguay, Argentina or Colombia, everyone is blonde.”
Sydney Sweeney has dyed her naturally blonde hair light brown for an upcoming role.
Sydney Sweeney in January 2022 and March 2022. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
“We really wanted a big change for this role. Everyone knows blonde Syd and when she booked this we were dying to give it a try. Let’s change something and show people a different side,” her colorist, Nikki Lee, told Allure.
“It was originally going to be a strawberry blonde, but after a few flicks of our wand we came up with this fun, fiery version.”
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