Melissa McCarthy Wigs Out! See the Most Memorable Hair Moments of Her Career

As chef and Lorelai bestie, Sookie St. James, McCarthy often wore her hair pulled back in ponytails while she worked in the kitchen of the Independence Inn. The style was the perfect fit for her sweet, girl-next-door demeanor. 

The star made us laugh with her kooky antics and frizzy bob, playing a midwife and the leader of the Single Mothers and Proud group, opposite Jennifer Lopez.

McCarthy said that Food Network star Guy Fieri helped inspire her character in Bridesmaids. "I tried for a long time to get them to let me wear short, white, spiky hair," she told Conan O'Brien. We think the tomboy pony, that she wore with a kangol hat and pearls, worked just as well with Megan's bawdy persona.

It took almost two hours each morning for the star to get the permed wig and tacky makeup look in place to play, Diana, the con artist that steals co-star Jason Bateman's identity. "Good drag takes a while," she said.   

As Boston detective Shannon Mullins, the actress's do was rough, just like her take-no-prisoners attitude in this hysterical buddy-cop movie.

The blonde wig that McCarthy wore as Tammy cost $9,000 to make, which was a problem when she lost one of them falling off a jet ski in costume. "I thought, 'Holy god, I had that wig on," she recalled. "It had like 35 pins in it too. You couldn't rip it off my head."

In Spy, CIA analyst Susan Cooper goes undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer and prevent a global disaster. Her first disguise? This cropped brown wig. "I look like someone's homophobic aunt," says Cooper when she sees her frumpy alias. 

For her next cover, McCarthy's character travels to Rome and puts on a curly gray wig and cat-lady T-shirt. McCarthy came up with the idea for the hair look and texted a picture of herself in it to director Paul Feig. "I love to fiddle with wardrobe," she has said.

In her most glamorous look of the movie, Cooper sneaks into a black-tie party in long, loose waves to get close to Rayna Boyanov, a Bulgarian criminal, played by Rose Byrne. 

Cooper learns to kick some serious ass throughout the film. And her blunt bangs mean business too! 

McCarthy plays mega-rich entrepreneur Michelle Darnell who sports an attitude as sassy as her signature, fiery red 'do.