12 Times When Movie-Star Hair Tried to Tell Us Something but We Missed It

The hairstyles of movie characters often become as iconic as the movies and series themselves. For example, Rachel from Friends whose hairstyle is still popular, even though it’s been more than 15 years since the show ended. The hair of characters can not only start a new fashion trend, but also be symbolic and have a hidden message.

We at Bright Side wanted to find out which characters had hairstyles with a meaning behind them. And in the bonus section, you will learn why women almost always have short hair in space movies.

Clementine Kruczynski (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

The hair of Kate Winslet’s character changes all the time throughout the film, which symbolizes her impulsive and changeable nature. But her hair also has a purpose: it helps us understand the chronological order of the events better. Every color of Clementine’s hair is a different period of time and status of her relationship with Joel. When her hair is blue, it’s the present time, after the characters broke up. Red symbolizes Clementine from Joel’s fantasies. Light-orange hair is the crisis in their relationship. And green is the memory of first meeting her.

Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey: and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Harley Quinn’s hair is a direct reflection of her personality. The ponytails show that even though the character is a villain, she’s still childish. The different colors of hair show the duality of her character and the bipolar nature of her relationship with Joker. In a spin-off film, we see Margot Robbie with shorter hair which means that a new chapter of her life started after the end of her toxic relationship.

Eleven (Stranger Things)

Millie Bobby Brown’s hairstyles have changed the most in 3 seasons of the series compared to the looks of other characters. When the viewers first met Eleven, she had a shaved head, she was very reserved, and she tried to control her superpowers. In season 2, she’s trying to be a normal teenager, and she has longer hair, so she’s not much different from other kids.

In season 3, Eleven’s hair is even longer, to show how much time it’s been since season 2. The stylist of the series, Sarah Hindsgaul, decided to lighten a few of Eleven’s locks to show that it was summer and Eleven had spent a lot of time outside. Also, Max’s look inspired Eleven to look like her because they became friends.

Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver)

As the movie develops, the main character’s hair changes. He had an ordinary hairstyle that was replaced by a mohawk, which shows the dualism of his character. But there’s also a deeper meaning. The actor and friend of Martin Scorsese, Victor Magnotta, told the director that soldiers in Vietnam often had mohawks done before an important mission, which meant that it was better to not mess with them. This is what the character of Robert De Niro did because he was a Vietnam veteran.

Vivian Ward (Pretty Woman)

At the beginning of the film, Julia Roberts is wearing a platinum-colored wig which doesn’t look good with her face and is overall messy and vulgar. But soon, we get to see Vivian as she is — with a lot of red hair, which also shows the transformation of her as a woman and a new part of her life.

Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)

In Sansa’s hair, you can often see references to other characters of the series. Like in season 3, her hairstyles were inspired by Margaery Tyrell, in season 7, she has a braid, like her mother Catelyn. At the end of the series, she let her hair down which is the last and most important message: she is independent.

Marie-Antoinette (Marie-Antoinette)

In this Sofia Coppola film, it’s hard to look away from the clothes and looks of the main and supporting characters. They are all very detailed and well-thought-out. And when we found out that the wigs with feathers were the exact copies of those the Queen actually wore, we were stunned. The creators of the film also didn’t forget that Marie-Antoinette really loved powdered wigs. She used flour to put on her wigs — during times when many French people had nothing to eat, which gives us an understanding of her character and attitude toward “mere mortals.”

Sandy Olsson (Grease)

After the film Grease was released, Sandy’s hairstyle became the biggest trend among the young people of the ’70s. The new look of the main character symbolized a new page in her life and her transformation from a good girl into a rebel.

Thor (Marvel Universe)

In every new Marvel film with Thor, viewers see the acrimony, arguments, and competition between Thor and Loki. Small details show the true relationship between the brothers. So, in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok when Thor was sure that Loki was dead, you could see a black lock in his blonde hair. The lock belonged to his brother. It was probably Thor’s way of dealing with the loss.

Jordan O’Neil (G.I. Jane) and Fantine (Les Misérables)

These iconic movies are a clear demonstration of how different the message of short women’s hair can be. For Demi Moore’s character, shaving her hair was a way to show her courage and prove that women can be successful in areas mostly dominated by men. But Fantine’s short hair was a symbol of humiliation, degradation, and the loss of her identity.

Michael Rezendes (Spotlight)

As the plot of the film moves forward, you can see that Michael Rezendes’ hair turns grey. It was the creators’ way of showing how stressful his job is and how seriously he takes it.

Bonus: Women and gravity

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but in space movies (or movies where characters have to do something in zero gravity) women often appear on the screen with short hair. The thing is, it is quite hard to portray the way hair would float in zero gravity and it would be too expensive to do.

Do you pay attention to the hair of movie and TV series characters? Do you have favorite movie or TV series hairstyles?