15 Celebrities Who Reversed Their Signature Looks

Plenty of celebrities are famous for their iconic looks. Like, if I wore a blonde wig with bangs for Halloween, you’d know at a glance I was dressed as Sabrina Carpenter. Having such a recognizable image is a great asset in Hollywood, but a surprising number of celebs are willing to gamble with the very looks that helped make them famous.

Here are 15 times celebs reversed their signature looks:

1. THE LOOK: At 17, Billie Eilish debuted what would become her defining hair era — neon green roots. A year and a half later, she responded to Instagram commenters who begged her to try a new hair color, saying, “it’s called not being depressed anymore pls just be happy for me … this is the longest i’ve had the same hair color since i was 13 & that’s on mental stability and growth leave me alone.”

In an IG story, she added, “Fuck you guys. Stop making fun of me, oh my god! I’m fucking making you an album! I will not put it out if you keep making fun of my hair. Shut up!”

THE SWITCH UP: In the same IG story, Billie revealed, “I’m changing it after the doc [The World’s a Little Blurry] comes out. It’ll be the end of an era. I’ma give you a new era…I have announcements to make. I got some shit to put out.” A few months later, she went blonde.

On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she said, “I’ve been wanting blonde for a while. I don’t know what came over me. I saw a fan edit when I had green hair, and it was like, me just with whatever hair color I had, and they just edited blonde hair on me, and I was like, ‘Ahhh! It’s so sick I want it!’ I kind of thought of it as a dream. I didn’t think it was going to happen ’cause my hair’s been through so much. I thought I’d burn it all off if I tried, but I did it!”

2. THE LOOK: After rising to fame on Saturday Night Live, Pete Davidson became known for two things — his highly publicized dating life and his extreme number of tattoos. His ink was often compared to a Chipotle bag. Some highlights include the Snapchat ghost, Piggy Smallz (the pig he adopted with his ex-fiancé, Ariana Grande), and a big unicorn.

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THE SWITCH UP: In 2020, Pete made the decision to start removing his 100-plus tattoos so that he wouldn’t have to spend several hours in the makeup chair getting them covered up for acting roles. Several years later, he went a little deeper, telling Variety, “I used to be a drug addict, and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up. So I’m just removing them and starting fresh, because that’s what I think works best for me and for my brain. When I look in the mirror, I don’t want the reminder of, ‘Oh yeah, you were a fucking drug addict. Like, that’s why you have SpongeBob smoking a joint on your back.'”

Removing each tattoo requires 10 to 12 laser sessions, and, with his schedule, he believes the full process will take about a decade. The process has also been “pretty horrible.” He said, “It’s like putting your arm on a grill and burning off a layer. It sucks, I’m not gonna lie.”

However, that hasn’t stopped him from getting more tattoos. Remember the “my girl is a lawyer” tattoo he got in 2022 when he was dating Kim Kardashian? (She is, in fact, not a lawyer, but it’s a goal she’s been working toward for years.)

3. THE LOOK: For more than eight years, Jay-Z had locs, and they held a really special meaning. In a YouTube video for her haircare brand, CÉCRED, his wife, Beyoncé, said, “I always thought it was beautiful that the real reason Jay grew out his hair was to show Blue that her hair was like his hair. Our daughter was 5, and she wasn’t feeling confident about her hair at that time. When she told her father that, it inspired Jay to grow out his hair.”

THE SWITCH UP: In 2026, Jay decided to comb out his locs ahead of a concert in Philadelphia. Beyoncé explained, “He wanted to do this in honor of his father. His name was Adnis Reeves, and his favorite sports team was from Philly. His dad used to rock a ‘fro, so he wanted to rock a ‘fro in his honor.”

Hairstylist Letisia “Lety” Ravelo worked with a professional loctician to comb out Jay-Z’s hair, then she styled his ‘fro. She told Cosmopolitan, “It took six days to deconstruct the locs. People see the final look and don’t realize how much time goes into preserving the hair, the length, and the health of the hair. We weren’t working around the clock, but he made sure to carve out time for it every day, even while balancing rehearsals and everything else he had going on. This wasn’t something he rushed through — it was a process.”

She said they used “a lot” of CÉCRED products, adding, “We used a combination of the CÉCRED detangling spray and the deep conditioner, but I vividly remember going through about eight of the large deep conditioner containers. Moisture was everything during this process because we were trying to preserve not just the length, but the overall health of his hair. … After the locs were fully deconstructed, I treated his hair with the CÉCRED Reconstructing Treatment Mask to bring hydration back into the hair. Then I layered in the Moisture Sealing Lotion and Thermal Shield Mist from the new collection to lock in moisture before styling. I braided his hair into straight-back cornrows and let it set for about a week. On the day of the Roots Picnic performance, I took the braids out, shaped the Afro, and honestly just prayed to the hair gods that everything had the right amount of movement. Thankfully, it came out exactly how I envisioned it.”

4. THE LOOK: In the ’90s, Pamela Anderson was an absolute beauty icon (and she still is!). She was known for her signature makeup look — thin brows, smoky cat eyes, and a pale pink lip. The style still has people in a chokehold, with many Gen Z’ers recreating it on TikTok.

THE SWITCH UP: Pamela stopped wearing makeup on the red carpet in 2023! The first time she went bare-faced was at the Vivienne Westwood show during Paris Fashion Week. She told Vogue France, “I didn’t come to Paris Fashion Week and think, ‘I’m not gonna wear any makeup.’ I just thought, I don’t know, something just kind of came over me, and I was dressing in these beautiful clothes, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to compete with the clothes.’ I’m not trying to be the prettiest girl in the room. I feel like it’s just freedom. It’s like a relief…I don’t need a stylist. Like, I don’t have a stylist. I don’t have a glam team. I’m just kinda doing this freestyle.”

She later told Today, “I am much more comfortable in my own skin, but I also am in an industry that really focuses on beauty. And I thought, ‘I’m going to challenge beauty.’ I think challenging ourselves is what keeps us young and beautiful. And I think, really genuinely, beauty does come from within, and you don’t have to play the game.”

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5. THE LOOK: JoJo Siwa was only 11 when she joined the cast of Dance Moms. From the get-go, she was branded as “JoJo with a Bow Bow” and wore her bright blonde hair (which her mom had been bleaching since she was 2) in a tight side ponytail with a big bow.

THE SWITCH UP: The side ponytail stuck with JoJo through her journey as a YouTuber and a Nickelodeon star. However, in 2022, at age 18, she chopped all of her hair off.

On her IG story, she gleefully showed off her new look. She said, “Yesterday, I went for the down and curly moment, but today I went for an up and back moment. I think I might be into the up and back — it’s going to be different every day as I’m still learning how to do it. It’s way different than long hair. It’s crazy! I’m obsessed.”

6. THE LOOK: In the 2010s, Ariana Grande rose to fame playing Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon show Victorious. The character was known for her bright red hair, which was a far cry from Ariana’s natural dark curls. In a 2014 Facebook post, she said, “Since people give me such a hard time about my hair I thought I’d take the time to explain the whole situation to everybody. I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first 4 years of playing Cat… as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair.”

THE SWITCH UP: Victorious ended in 2013, but Ariana continued playing Cat on Sam & Cat for another year. In the meantime, the rising pop star became known for another signature look — her long brunette ponytail! She continued, “I now wear a wig on Sam & Cat. My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down. I tried wigs, they looked RIDICULOUS. Tried a weave because I am working on a new project and want to try some different looks and literally wanted to rip my scalp off. So as annoying as it is for y’all to have to look at the same hair style all the time, it’s all that works for now (AND I’m comfortable for the first time in years)….”

“And trust me, it’s even more difficult for me to have to wait forever for my natural hair to grow back and to have to wear more fake hair than every drag queen on earth combined. So PLEASE gimme a break about the hair (or just don’t look at me lol). IT’S JUST HAIR AFTER ALL. There are way way way more important things. Love y’all very much,” she said.

7. THE LOOK: Ariana’s ponytail became even more iconic than her Cat Valentine hair and remained an integral part of her pop star look.

THE SWITCH UP: One of Ariana’s biggest dreams came true when she was cast as Glinda in the film adaptation of Wicked. So, in 2022, she dyed her hair and her eyebrows blonde to match the character.

She later told Vogue, “My pop persona is such a characterized version on its own. Beauty really helped me deconstruct that person and find Glinda. Even though I was wearing wigs, I needed to be blonde, too. [There was] a softness that Glinda has with the lighter brows. It didn’t make any sense when I had my dark brows.”

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8. THE LOOK: In 2012, Jason Momoa began sporting the beard that became synonymous with his Game of Thrones character, Khal Drogo.

THE SWITCH UP: In 2019, Jason shocked fans by shaving his beard off in the middle of the desert in a YouTube video! The stunt was to promote the use of aluminum cans for water instead of plastic bottles. On Instagram, he said, “I’m SHAVING this beast off, It’s time to make a change. A change for the better…for my kids, your kids, the world. Let’s make a positive change for the health of our planet. 🌎 Let’s clean up our oceans 🌊 our land ⛰. Join me on this journey. Let’s make the switch to infinitely recyclable aluminum. ♻️♻️♻️ Water in cans, not plastic.”

9. THE LOOK: In the 2010s, model Cara Delevingne became known for her thick eyebrows, completely upending the thin brow trend of the ’90s and ’00s. However, she actually hated them growing up! She told InStyle, “My mom would always tell me they were my best feature. I was like, ‘They look like giant slugs on my face, and you think they’re my best feature?’ I wanted small eyebrows, and I’d try to tweeze them down. … I didn’t start appreciating my brows until everyone else did. We want to be skinnier, we want to be taller, we want to have a big bum. Those are fads, and real beauty is from within. I mean … we can all be vain at times, but for me, looks are one of the least meaningful things in my life.”

THE SWITCH UP: In 2014, famous makeup artist Pat McGrath bleached Cara’s brows for Givenchy’s Paris Fashion Week runway show. A decade later, Cara told Vogue, “I have bleached them before. I didn’t love them when I did. I just don’t want to mess them up!”

10. THE LOOK: During her Disney Channel days, Miley Cyrus was known for her super long, wavy brunette hair (which was actually 250 individual hair extensions). Her look famously contrasted with the sleek blonde wig she wore as Hannah Montana.

THE SWITCH UP: In 2012, about a year and a half after Hannah Montana ended, Miley infamously debuted her dramatic hair transformation — a bleached blonde pixie cut! Addressing critics, she tweeted, “My dad Billy Ray Cyrus used to tell me, ‘opinions are are like a**holes –everybody has one.’ LOVE my hair. Feel so happy, pretty, and free.”

Miley has continued to try new hairstyles over the years. She later told The Howard Stern Show, “My hair is some sort of reflection for my sanity, my sexuality, my sobriety. The public really makes my hair, I guess, the kind of monitor of how I’m doing. It’s really not their fault that they associate my hair and my identity and my wellbeing so closely, because basically, we drilled that into their brains for eight years of a series.”

11. THE LOOK: In the 2010s, Kylie Jenner became a major beauty icon known for her big lips. Initially, she denied getting filler, telling Remix magazine, “Everyone thinks I use, like, one certain color. … I use, like, six different colors all the time.”

But later, on an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, she revealed what was actually going through her head during that interview. She explained, “I have temporary lip fillers. It’s just an insecurity of mine, and it’s what I wanted to do. I’m just not ready to talk to reporters about my lips yet because everyone always picks us apart.”

On a later episode of Life of Kylie, she further explained that her insecurity began when the first boy she kissed told her, “I didn’t think you were gonna be a good kisser ’cause you have such small lips.” She said, “When a guy you like says that…I don’t know, it just really affected me. I didn’t feel desirable or pretty…I would overline my lips with lip liner, just to create the illusion of bigger lips. And then finally, I was like, ‘This lip liner isn’t doing it.’ I ended up getting my lips done.”

THE SWITCH UP: In July 2018, a fan commented on Kylie’s Instagram that she “looks like the old Kylie.” She replied, “I got rid of all my filler.”

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However, in October 2018, she confirmed via Instagram that she’d resumed getting lip fillers.

12. THE LOOK: Following his major breakout role as Terry Richmond in the 2024 Netflix movie Rebel Ridge, Aaron Pierre became known not only for his acting chops, but also for his amazing goatee.

THE SWITCH UP: At the 7th Annual American Black Film Festival Honors in 2025, Aaron walked the red carpet without his famous facial hair! Fans speculated that he shaved for his then-upcoming role as John Stewart/Green Lantern in Lanterns.

Sure enough, when the trailer dropped, Aaron was clean-shaven.

13. THE LOOK: Sia famously wears a wig that covers her face for privacy. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she explained, “It’s so that I can go to Target and buy a hose if I want to. Or if I’m very in need of a restroom, and I can’t find one, I could go by the side of the road.”

THE SWITCH UP: In 2015, Sia made her first major public appearance without her wig at the 23rd Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party. Over the years, she’s stepped out both with and without covering her face.

14. THE LOOK: During his One Direction days, Harry Styles became known for having a great head of hair. (I mean, with a name like that, having the best hairstyles seems inevitable.) However, Harries are notorious for spinning some of the wildest conspiracy theories on the internet (cough, cough, Larry Stylinson), and as the singer got older, he was dogged by rumors that his luscious locks were actually a hairpiece to hide his baldness.

THE SWITCH UP: In 2023, Harry buzzed his head, which sent the Harry-is-balding theorists spiraling. (You can see the photos here.) He never addressed the reason why, but three years later, he joked about getting a hair transplant on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court.

15. And finally, THE LOOK: Early in her career, Taylor Swift became synonymous with her long, blonde curly hair. In 2011, she famously added another piece to her signature look — bangs. She got them cut for her Vogue cover shoot the day before her 22nd birthday. She told the outlet, “It was a pretty interesting morning because they were like, ‘We’re thinking we’re gonna do maybe bangs, maybe some extensions.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what, just cut it. This is Vogue, why not?’ So I have bangs now.”

THE SWITCH UP: In 2014, in the middle of her Red tour, Taylor took a big hair risk and chopped her long locks into a bob. In an Instagram video showcasing a group of onlookers, she said, “This is how many people who are watching me get a haircut right now. We don’t do anything without an audience, do we?” Of course, that hairstyle would go on to define her 1989 era.

But not every hair change has been so iconic! In 2016, she made a memorable appearance at Coachella to support her then-boyfriend, Calvin Harris, who was performing, and debuted her new bleached blonde bob. The moment was dubbed “Bleachella.” She also famously sported the look at the Met Gala, but she later regretted it. In 2019, she told Elle, “Fashion is all about playful experimentation. If you don’t look back at pictures of some of your old looks and cringe, you’re doing it wrong. See: Bleachella.”

What’s your favorite example of a celebrity switching up their signature style? Tell us in the comments!

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