In the seventy-five-plus years that platinum blond hair has been around, not much has changed except for the coloring process. It's still the dramatic, sexy, go-to look for celebs and models who want to score attention. Here, we take a look at white-hot hair color from Marilyn Monroe to Debbie Harry to Saskia de Brauw.
Photo: John Kobal Foundation / Getty Images1/17THE PIONEER
Jean Harlow wasn't kidding herself about why she was a star—the actress reportedly admitted that it had everything to do with her ’do. During Harlow's 1930's heyday, there was no such thing as a proper platinum dye-job. So her hairstylist relied on a frightening concoction of ammonia, laundry detergent, and Clorox Bleach to create his client's signature color. Nobody else could duplicate the shade. The PR for movie producer Howard Hughes decided to call the color "platinum blond," and the term became a permanent part of the English lexicon. Harlow died at 26, without knowing that her groundbreaking hair color would live on (and on and on).
Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images2/17THE BOMBSHELL
2.0 Jean Harlow may have been the first screen siren with bleached hair, but it's Marilyn Monroe, the towheaded vixen who came after her, who is remembered best for her pale hair, sex appeal, and untimely death. The ditzy characters she often played in her films (and the breathy way she delivered her lines) earned her a rep as an airhead. Monroe was nothing of the sort. She once said, "It takes a smart brunette to play a dumb blonde."
Photo: Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images3/17THE HITCHOCK BLOND
Half a century after its release, Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is a bit of a snooze—James Stewart and Kim Novak's performances are positively wooden. But Novak's so-white-it-was-almost-silver hair? Perfection.
Photos: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images4/17Beloved gospel, soul, and blues singer Etta James broke all the rules when she dyed her hair in the 1950s. "I feel like Etta was the first black woman I saw with platinum blond hair," said Beyoncé, who played James in the biopic Cadillac Records. "She wore her leopard and she wore her sexy silhouette and she didn't care. She was strong and confident and always Etta James."
Photo: Richard Young / RexUSA5/17THE ROCK STAR
Debbie Harry's status as one of the most influential beauties of all time was cemented when Andy Warhol made her his muse for a 1980 silk-screen portrait. The piece sold for 3.7 million pounds (approximately $6 million) at a Sotheby's auction in 2011. Not only is Harry's signature look still going strong, so is her band. Blondie is kicking off a forty-year anniversary tour in March.
Photo: Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images6/17THE LEGEND
In an age where "I love cheeseburgers!" is the standard sound bite from size-zero, hair-extension-loving celebs who won't admit what they really do to get gorgeous, it's refreshing when an icon like Dolly Parton tells it like it is. "Cheap" and "phony" are a couple of the words she's used to describe her own look. Although she wouldn't dream of stepping a foot outside without her trademark teased-to-high-heaven hair, she said, "I hope people see the brain underneath the wig, and the heart beneath the boobs."
Photo: Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images7/17THE PROVOCATEUR
Would there be a Lady Gaga or a Miley Cyrus if it weren't for Madonna? And the bigger question: Would they be blond? Her Madjesty basically invented the publicity-generating formula that's widely used today: overtly sexy outfits + provocative performances = worldwide music chart domination. She once said of her hair color, "Being blond is definitely a different state of mind. I can't really put my finger on it, but the artifice of being blond has some incredible sort of sexual connotation. Men really respond to it. I love blond hair, but it really does something different to you. I feel more grounded when I have dark hair, and I feel more ethereal when I have light hair. It's unexplainable."
Photos: No Credit8/17THE SUPERMODEL
Linda Evangelista was a color chameleon, but we loved her best as a bright blond—especially when she lip-synched in George Michael's music video for "Freedom ’90."
Photo: Getty Images9/17THE CALIFORNIA GIRL
Cast in 1992 as one of the beach babes of Baywatch, Pamela Anderson quickly rose to fame. Credit for that goes to her sun-bleached strands and the slow-motion running shots the TV show was known for, not to mention her numerous stints as a Playboy Playmate. She's appeared on the magazine's cover a record 13 times.
Photo: Kevin Winter / Getty Images10/17THE RAPPERS
Platinum-haired hip-hop stars Eve, Eminem, and Nicki Minaj know how to rhyme to a beat and keep it real as a blond.
Photos: Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images11/17THE POP PRINCESSES
White blond hair was a symbol of glamour during Hollywood's golden age. These days, it's the way music stars show off their edgy sides (think Rita Ora, Miley Cyrus, and—still—Gwen Stefani).
Photo: Courtesy of Versace12/17THE DOPPELGÄNGER
Lady Gaga may not have been born this way—but her latest ad campaign for Versace has her posing as a blond, à la Donatella.
Photo: Gregg DeGuire / WireImage13/17THE A-LISTER
Michelle Williams underwent a transformation (including putting on weight and wearing padding to coax out curves) for her role in My Week With Marilyn. The one thing she didn't have to change for the film: her hair color. She said of the experience, "I remember one moment of being all suited up as Marilyn and walking from my dressing room onto the soundstage practicing my wiggle. There were three or four men gathered around a truck, and I remember seeing that they were watching me come and feeling that they were watching me go. And for the very first time, I glimpsed some idea of the pleasure I could take in that kind of attention—not their pleasure, but my pleasure." Perhaps gentlemen really do prefer blonds.
Photo: Francois Durand / Getty Images14/17THE ENIGMAS
Do brainy blonds have more fun? We're guessing captivating, award-winning actresses like Tilda Swinton and Elisabeth Moss would say yes.
Photo: Karwai Tang / FilmMagic15/17THE PERFECTIONIST
After becoming the Oscar winner everyone loves to hate in 2013, Anne Hathaway changed the conversation when she showed up at the Met Ball with a newly dyed platinum ’do. Well played, Anne, well played.
Photo: Ivan Lattuada / Indigitalimages.com16/17THE BREAKOUT BLOND
Soo Joo Park's signature white strands put her on the modeling map, but two years of constant bleaching caught up with her. Hairdressing's one-name wonder Christiaan recently gave Park a Debbie Harry-inspired choppy bob that's platinum on top and black on the bottom.
Photos: julianaschurig / Instagram; David X Prutting / BFAnyc.com; Monica Feudi / FeudiGuaineri.com; Evans Caglage / Firstview.com; Joe Schildhorn / BFAnyc.com17/17THE NEWBIES
Platinum is the color du jour with the catwalking crowd. Saskia de Brauw, Ashleigh Good, and Aymeline Valade have recently gone white, and others like Candice Swanepoel, Julia Nobis, and Juliana Schurig are lightening up. "My hair was white up until I was 10 or 11…the first time I got it [dyed platinum], my sister said, 'I feel like you're 4 again—you look like a baby!'" Schurig said backstage at Stella McCartney's Pre-Fall presentation earlier this week. As far as who can pull it off, hair colorist (and fellow white blond) Marie Robinson said: "Anyone…as long as their hair is healthy. Coarse, curly textures can become dry or brittle, so they should be kept shorter." The shade of platinum, however, should be based on your skin tone—bright hues look best on those who are dark or olive, a touch of pearl flatters fair-skinned women, and beige- and strawberry-tinged versions complement those with a peaches-and-cream complexion. Take note: This dye job is one that's best left to the pros. "Depending on length and darkness of hair, it can take an entire day," explained Robinson. "You should also ask about cost and what the maintenance will be upfront." And expect to retouch every four to six weeks at the minimum. Being blond may be more fun, but it's no cheap or easy date.
