It’s no secret that Hollywood favors redheads. Studies show about 30% of prime-time ads feature redheads, and dozens of stars dabble with red hair throughout their careers. With natural redheads making up less than 2% of the population, it is very surprising the number of redheads we see on television and in films. For those who seek out a life of fame, it seems red hair might be the trick to opening new doors and many redhead celebrities will say the same.
Christina Hendricks, famous for her role on Mad Men, has iconic, vibrant, ‘by choice’ red hair. She started dying her hair at 10-years-old and was actually inspired by another redhead TV character. “I decided I was Anne in Anne of Green Gables. There was something that spoke to me about her, and I wanted to have her beautiful red hair,” said Christina. But the red hair really helped her career. She told Glamour in 2016, “I was a redhead before I got the role, but because I was a redhead, Matt [Weiner, the show’s writer-producer] started making nods to it in the script.”
For naturally redhead stars like Nicole Kidman, being a redheaded child is what she accredits to launching her into a successful career. Kidman explained in an interview that she would perform plays and act out all parts in her childhood bedroom to pass the time because Australian summers were so hot. The time she spent inside really ignited her passion for acting and helped her decide that was the career path she wanted to pursue.
Christina Hendricks isn’t the only redhead ‘by choice’ who has felt a connection between her hair and the roles she played. Amy Adams found success from a simple hair color change. She felt her switch to a redhead made producers see her as less of a “dumb blonde” and more of a comedic role.
Emma Stone launched to fame after her producers made the executive decision for her to dye her hair red for the film Superbad. Judd Apatow, who produced Superbad, told Vanity Fair. “So we dyed her [Emma Stone] hair red, which I think she had never done before.” He added, “And since then, she has cursed me because now people love her with red hair and she’s had to live with that for a lot of her adult life.”
Other starlets of the past like Lucille Ball and Rita Hayworth became known for their iconic red hair despite not having been born that way.
So, the reason why red hair might open more doors in Hollywood? It’s because red hair sets us apart from others. Whether it’s natural or not, the ability to pull off such a powerful and show-stopping color is a trait that seems to bode well in the world of stardom.
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Rock it like a Redhead!
