The 30 Best Hairstyles in Movie History 

By Maura Lynch
Aug 25, 2015 @ 10:45 am
© Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

My sister once asked me if I’d ever seen the movie Amélie, and I replied, “Oh, is that the movie about the girl with the cute hair?” Solid plotlines, dynamic characters, beautiful dialogue, etc., are all really important to me, but let’s be real—I’m in it for the beauty inspiration, too. So I compiled a list, '60s on, of the best styles on film that are not only iconic, but are also still relevant and wearable today (as much as I love Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I can't imagine seeing anyone on the street now with that updo, as fabulous as it was). Need some fresh ideas? Click away!

PHOTOS: The 30 Best Hairstyles in Movie History

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1 of 31

Jean Seberg in Breathless

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

You can thank Seberg (shown here post-Breathless) for the rise of gamine, borrowed-from-the-boys close crops.

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Penélope Cruz in Vanilla Sky 

© Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

So sensual: a Spanish accent plus touchable, pushed-to-the-side bangs and cascades of chestnut hair. 

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Brigitte Bardot in Contempt

© Sunset Boulevard/Corbis

The volume! The texture! The headband! This is the original bombshell hair.

 

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Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby 

Courtesy Everett Collection

Where did Rosemary get hair this good? She says it was from Vidal Sassoon. More like the devil! 

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Winona Ryder in Reality Bites

Rangefinder/Globe Photos

The piecey, textured, tucked-behind-the-ears crop that sent Gen-Xers to salons in droves—#WinonaForever.  

 

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Jane Birkin in Blow Up

Courtesy Everett Collection

This swinging 60’s style looks like it’s fresh from a modern-day Chloé campaign, right? 

 

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Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind  

© Focus Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

Clementine’s rainbow parade of hair colors makes watching this movie slightly less heart-obliterating.

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Halle Berry in Die Another Day

© MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection

You don’t need long, luscious strands to snag James Bond. But it doesn't hurt to be Halle Berry.

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Léa Seydoux in Blue is the Warmest Color

© Sundance Selects/Courtesy Everett Collection

The best part of her Smurf hair is how washed out it is—you can spot glimpses of blonde underneath, which makes it look less movie-set manicured.  

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Meryl Streep in Manhattan

Courtesy Everett Collection

Hair goals: There are clips and gifs circulating the internet dedicated to this over-the-shoulder style just blowing in the wind!

 

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Pam Grier in Foxy Brown

Courtesy Everett Collection

It is not insignificant that Grier was the first African-American woman action star, and that she did it with big, beautiful, natural hair. 

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Franka Potente in Run Lola Run

© Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

The flaming red shade is equal parts punk and cartoon character. 

 

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Audrey Tautou in Amélie  

© Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

Ah, Amélie. She makes a really strong case for fate. And mini bangs.

 

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Zoë Saldana in Guardians of the Galaxy   

© Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

The fuchsia tips on Gamora’s perfectly-waved hair really bring out the green in her face, don’t you think?

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Demi Moore in Ghost

© Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Who knew a bowl cut (the style my mother saddled me with from the ages of 4 through 6) could be so cool? 

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Salma Hayek in Desperado

© Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

This is a #girlboss—a bookstore owner who can walk away from a burning building and thwart assassins with her soft spirals still in perfect condition.

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Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan

© Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection

Everyone in this movie is desperately seeking Susan—and Susan’s smartly-accessorized, wild new-wave hair.

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Alicia Silverstone in Clueless

© Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Cher’s hair is like spun silk. I wonder if her shampoo was from, like, a totally important designer? 

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Nicole Kidman in Days of Thunder

© Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Who needs a wind machine when you’ve got Nascar? There’s a lot of footage of her beautiful, strawberry blonde curls dancing around in the wind on the racetrack. 

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Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface  

Courtesy Everett Collection

Elvira shines—from her trophy-wife hair to her barely-there gowns.

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Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman

© Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Why was she hiding the prettiest, bounciest auburn curls in the universe underneath all those prostitute wigs?

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Angela Bassett in Waiting to Exhale

© 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Don’t cheat on Bernie: she’ll burn your car and then rise from the ashes like a phoenix with sexy, short hair.

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Anna Karina in A Woman is a Woman

Rex USA

Oh, yes—a stripper with a heart of a gold! But this one is played by legendary bangs icon, Anna Karina (shown here later in the decade still wearing her signature style). 

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Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice

© Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Janet Jackson is incapable of having mediocre hair (ever seen her The Velvet Rope album cover?)—and this is fully supported by her turn as poet/hair stylist Justice, whose braids are swingy, sexy and cool. 

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Ali MacGraw in Love Story

Courtesy Everett Collection

Start brushing your hair 100 times a night with a Mason Pearson brush if you want this kind of preppy, rich girl luster. 

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Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club

Courtesy Everett Collection

Who cares if she’s the basket case? Look at that shag! 

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Rinko Kikuchi in Babel

© Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Kikuchi is on a crazy color streak (of streaks), from pink as a Japanese teen in Babel to blue as a pilot in Pacific Rim. 

 

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Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums

© Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Sweet red barrette aside, there’s something depressing yet insanely chic about Margot’s pin-straight and severe, blunt cut.   

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Bridget Fonda in Singles  

© Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett Collection

Even when hidden under a bowler hat, the 'do is obviously adorable. 

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Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction

© Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

From the red lips to the major twist dance moves to the black, bang-ed bob, Mrs. Mia Wallace lives boldly.

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