Wigs often become the scene-stealer when musicians, actors and actresses make a fashionable statement with colorful, avant-garde hairpieces. In no particular order, we’ve rounded up some of the best wigs worn by celebrities since the late 1960s.
Diana Ross: This is Wig Bar founder Isaac Davidson’s favorite celebrity wig. Ross wore this while singing “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” from South Pacific during the “Leading Lady” medley of the NBC TV special G.I.T. on Broadway in November 1969 (after she left the Supremes). The wig featured 10 hibiscus flowers placed throughout the larger-than-life locks.
Cher: Cher has always been known for turning heads with her dresses, hair and headpieces since entering the scene on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. This human-hair Nordic blonde wig was featured on her 24th studio album, Living Proof, released in 2001. The Daily Mail reported her saying, “My real hair is all under here, real tight to the head, that’s all. It is long and brunette. There’s nothing wrong with my hair, but I love wigs, and always have. They are so low maintenance. It just makes it easier to change my image.”
Rihanna: Who can forget the red wavy wig that Rihanna rocked at the 2010 Video Music Awards? According to People, the wig color was totally wrong and had to be re-dyed with less than two days notice. That led Rihanna’s stylist Ursula Stephens to throw it in the microwave to speed up the dying process.
Andy Warhol: The Vintage News reported that most of Warhol’s silver-gray wigs were made in New York, but were made with hair imported from Italy. In 1985, a woman ripped the wig off his head at a New York book signing for America! He pulled the hood of his jacket over his head and continued signing copies.
Cardi B: Lisa Feierstein, Senior Trend Strategist at TrendWatching’s New York office, is a big fan of this look. “I love how beautiful and classy she made the mint hair look with the fur coat,” she commented. Cardi B wore this to the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players event in 2018.
Katy Perry: Perry hasn’t been shy about showing off bold, vibrant and pastel colors over the years. This look debuted in her “Cozy Little Christmas” music video, which dropped on December 2, 2019, and was designed by stylist Shon Hyungsun Ju. Doesn’t it look like she could be a part of a Dr. Seuss story?
RuPaul: RuPaul has served us so many iconic, glamorous looks, both on and off the Emmy-winning reality competition series, “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” This tall, side-swept, white-colored wig recently graced the cover of Vanity Fair’s Holiday 2019/2020 issue. The hair and wig designer for this piece was Curtis William Foreman.
Dolly Parton: In 2016, Parton jokingly revealed on Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family that, after bleach and curling irons left some wear-and-tear on her natural hair, wigs helped with “never having a bad hair day.” Her favorite big-haired wigs are the one with blue bows on her 1973 album We Found It; the curly one on the cover of her 1987 Rainbow album; and the gentle waves from her 2011 album Better Day. The 2011 look is still one that Parton wears today in 2020.
Tina Turner: Who doesn’t love the big, wispy hair that Turner wore with her fishnet stockings, denim jacket and leather mini skirt? This look was part of her Private Dancer tour in 1985, which won the “Comeback Tour of the Year Award” from Pollstar Awards.
Taylor Lautner: Whether you loved or hated the very long, black hair that Lautner wore as soon-to-be werewolf Jacob Black during the first two Twilight saga movies, we can all agree that everyone talked about it. In an interview with MTV News in 2012, Lautner called the wig an “important co-star,” but said, “There was hatred between both of us. It did not like me. I did not like it. Not fond memories.”
Top photo of Dolly Parton’s three favorite wigs. Screenshot from YouTube, Hallmark Channel.
Author
George Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball machines.
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