Celebrities put a lot of time and effort into their looks, whether they are simply stepping out for dinner or doing a red-carpet appearance. They always have to look good. And for most celebrities, that involves wearing wigs and extravagant outfits to fit the aesthetic required.
Thanks to this intense pressure to always look the part, it’s no surprise to learn that most stars have to wear wigs when they’re outside. From rappers to musicians and actors, wigs aren’t anything new for celebrities. While they often strive to look perfect for the paparazzi and fans, we understand that it’s not always easy to step out in their natural hair. Even we struggle with that!
That said, different celebrities have different reasons for wearing wigs. So, here are a few of them you probably didn’t know wear them and why they do it!
1. Gwen Stefani
This former “No Doubt” band member and The Voice judge always looks stunning anytime she appears on TV. While she is currently focusing on new music, one of her most iconic looks for the last few years has been her blonde wigs.
While her day-one fans know her as a brunette, the star has never been shy to try different looks and wigs, and she has never been shy about admitting it. She’s previously been quoted saying it’s not real, and it’s been a long time since she’s rocked her natural hair.
2. Kylie Jenner
Reality TV star and makeup business mogul Kylie Jenner has always made the news because of her looks. Her fans are constantly anticipating what she will do next, whether it’s bigger lips, her outfit, a banging body, or her latest Instagram post.
When her business was in the early stages, Kylie did everything to gain the young generation’s attention, including donning bold-colored wigs. While stepping out, she wore red, green, and even yellow wigs, which undoubtedly made her stand out in any crowd or room she was in.
3. Cardi B
While Cardi B is now a world-famous musician and business mogul, she once lived hand-to-mouth and had to work in strip clubs to survive. When her hit song, Bodak Yellow, became a worldwide hit, she started owning red-carpet events with beautiful colorful wigs.
From pink to yellow, red, and black wigs, the singer never disappoints when she is on Instagram live, attending the Grammys or a party. Although she has beautiful natural hair, the wigs help her express herself and match her outfit for the day.
4. Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox has never shied away from revealing who inspires her looks and outfits when it’s time to show up and show out for an event: the multi-talented Beyonce. And we can all understand why because Beyonce never misses! For her, this inspiration also includes the hair department.
So it’s not surprising to see Laverne rocking booty-length hair extensions with blonde highlights, just like the former Destiny’s Child star. Frankly, she always looks amazing in them. Laverne says she ‘lives in wigs’ because she loves to be versatile and protect her natural hair.
5. Beyonce
Being a superstar and having to travel, create music and perform on tour for most of your life can be stressful. But now that Beyonce has established herself as a legend in the industry, she seems to be slowing down and enjoying the fruits of her labor.
We’ve only seen her natural hair a few times, but it’s long, beautiful, and healthy. She likely maintained this by wearing wigs for years to protect her brown curls. And it worked. She isn’t afraid to throw on a wig for her performances and appearances to suit her look of the day.
6. Wendy Williams
Wendy Williams gained popularity as a radio host before transitioning to TV for her daytime talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. Spending all that time on camera required her to change her looks frequently, so wearing wigs only made sense.
But there are a couple of times she has taken off her wigs and thrown them to her fans. She loves to rock different colors but always sticks to a distinct style she has loved for years. The different colors and textures are simply fun to experiment with.
7. Lady Gaga
The talented Lady Gaga was known for a long time for her crazy outfits on the red carpet or while performing on stage. She knows how to capture people’s attention using her fashion sense, which has never failed her. What some people don’t know, however, is that she is naturally a brunette.
But you will often see her rocking blonde, white, and black wigs on the red carpet, during performances, or in her movies. Her natural hair isn’t too long, but the wigs help give her a sense of drama and style that she enjoys while out with her fans.
8. Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks is a bonafide pioneer in fashion and beauty and also a talk show host who made a name for herself in Hollywood because of her hard work. But it didn’t come easy because she always had to look a certain way thanks to the world’s beauty standards.
So that meant constantly being in wigs on the shows she’s been a part of and while modeling, which she’s done for most of her adult life. Tyra isn’t a stranger to wigs in her closet. That said, her natural black hair is beautiful, and she loves to rock it while enjoying some downtime.
9. Adele
Adele is a British songstress known for her heartfelt, relatable songs and powerhouse vocals. While she’s gone through numerous changes throughout her career, one thing that has always stayed the same is her iconic natural hair. And she loves to flaunt it on stage.
But the singer has always been honest, admitting that it isn’t always natural. She loves wigs because of the volume they add and because they save time when she wants to get ready for the red carpet. She says she’s even named some of them because of how much she loves them!
10. Blac Chyna
Blac Chyna is famous for many things, but most people don’t know much about her natural hair because she always wears wigs. That said, in 2023, she has decided to go for more natural looks by getting rid of her fillers and implants, so we might be seeing more of her natural hair as well.
The social media influencer rocked pink, black, or blonde red wigs, especially while she was doing a reality show with her ex-husband, Rob Kardashian. Her natural hair is beautiful, long, and black, so don’t be surprised when you see her in a different look next time she steps out.
11. Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton has been wearing wigs since she started her music career decades ago. But she has never been shy about that fact. Although her iconic hairstyle is a blonde wig, many of her fans will be surprised to know that that’s not her natural hair.
During an interview with Jimmy Fallon, she explained that she’s committed to being authentic, which includes being honest about her lifestyle and even her hair. No matter what she is wearing, though, Dolly always looks fly, and we can only hope to look that good at 70!
12. Emily Ratajkowski
EmRata is a famous model known for her beautiful magazine covers and social media presence, which has gained her millions of followers. She rocks different looks almost every day, and she constantly shares what she does to achieve her enviable looks.
She once captioned one of her photos, “another day, another wig.” Unsurprisingly, fans were happy to know the model uses different wigs to change her style because we would, too, if we had that kind of money! But whether it’s a brown or blonde wig, Emily always looks stunning.
13. Kerry Washington
Famous for her role as “Olivia Pope” in the series, Scandal, Kerry Washington is a renowned actress who’s gained fame and respect all over Hollywood. Whether on the show, on the red carpet, or just having fun on Instagram, it’s not surprising to see Kerry in a black wig.
On the show, she had to wear different wigs either for the storyline or sometimes because it would be faster that way. Plus, let’s face it, “Olivia’s” wigs were always fierce! But on her other recent one, Little Fires Everywhere, she decided to rock her natural hair because it better fits the narrative they’re portraying.
14. Rihanna
Rihanna is a talented musician who has conquered the beauty industry with the creation of her makeup line Fenty. At the height of her music career, though, she used to rock different wigs, including the very iconic red wig phase she went through some years back.
Fans will be happy to know that she’s taking care of her hair which has been styled in different colors and lengths for years because of her career. Thanks to wigs and weaves, it’s growing healthy daily. Now that she’s a mother, we get glimpses of her natural hair more often, which we absolutely love!
15. Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek naturally has brown hair, but the beautiful actress can sometimes be spotted rocking blonde and brown wigs. It’s not even surprising to find her rocking a pink or lighter-colored wig for a couple of days when promoting a movie.
One of the primary reasons she does this is that she doesn’t want to ruin her hair with all the color and dying necessary to achieve a different look. But no matter what color it is, it’s clear that Salma Hayek can pull off anything and still look gorgeous.
16. Kevin Costner
One of the many changes men go through in their adult life is balding, and that’s precisely what happened to actor Kevin Costner. He woke up one morning and didn’t like what he saw when he looked in the mirror, and this motivated him to look for other options for his balding head.
For over 30 years since he started his acting career, he was one of the leading men in Hollywood not only because of his good looks but also his acting chops. Since finding this solution, Costner has rocked several colored toupees to give the illusion of a full head of hair.
17. Ashley Benson
Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson is another actress who is always candid about her life and what she has had to endure after getting famous. While on the series, though, she would occasionally rock different hairstyles for her character.
It was always diverse, changing between episodes, so fans always speculated that she was wearing wigs. She had previously bleached her hair many times, which led to it being damaged. So wearing wigs was much better than continuing to ruin her hair even more.
18. Ariana Grande
Pop sensation and former child star Ariana Grande has been in the limelight for over a decade. She has spent most of her career so far either on sets for her TV shows or touring for her music career. That means a lot of time goes into styling her hair.
Since constant styling can cause excessive damage, the former Nickelodeon star sometimes opts to wear wigs of her iconic ponytail to protect her hair. She usually has black curly hair, but you’ll often see her in wigs or even clip-ons.
19. Selma Blair
Some hairstyles aren’t for everybody. We all know someone who took a risk and got a crazy hairstyle like bangs and regretted it a few moments or days later. Selma Blair decided that instead of taking a risk with such a haircut, she’d use a wig with bangs to see how she felt about it.
The actress looks stunning; you can hardly tell it’s not her natural hair. She has pitch-black hair that contrasts well with her skin and goes with almost any red-carpet look. We should all borrow a leaf from her and choose the safer route instead of waiting months for the hair to regrow after a blunder.
20. Nicki Minaj
The queen of rap, Nicki Minaj, has been iconic since she started rapping and taking over the industry. While some rappers don’t want to give her her flowers, it’s no secret that she is a fashion icon if her music videos are anything to go by.
During several of her performances, you would usually see her in a glamorous pink wig. She loves bright colors but still looks gorgeous in her long natural hair. Wearing wigs helps her protect her hair and maintain her rap persona.
21. Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley is a phenomenon in the acting world because of her undeniable talent and pleasing personality. But many fans have noticed that she has been wearing more and more wigs to appearances lately. The reason for this is the years of damage.
For a long time, Keira has had to dye her hair and wear various styles because of the nature of her work, which included a lot of period dramas. Now she’s choosing to wear wigs more, even in her movies, instead of doing more damage to her natural hair.
22. Sherrie Shepherd
Now that the comedian and actress Sherrie Shepherd is replacing Wendy Williams on daytime TV with her talk show, we will see much more of her. The star mostly rocks straight hair, but she has no problem changing it up occasionally.
She has always loved wearing wigs, so she decided to launch her own line for fellow wig lovers. Sherri claimed that the kind of heat used in Hollywood would have damaged her hair by now, so wigs have really helped her.
23. Taraji P Henson
Taraji is no stranger to wearing wigs because being an actress requires changing your look more often than a regular celebrity. But it’s part of the job, and she loves it. It allows her to take on another persona and makes her acting easier.
Taraji has spoken numerous times about her natural hair and how she wants to take better care of it. Hollywood hasn’t been kind regarding stylists taking care of black hair, so her choice to talk about it more is not only commendable but necessary.
24. Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes is among the most famous celebrities in Hollywood. One of the most interesting things about her is how she can change from long to short hair whenever she wants. That’s mainly because she wears wigs from time to time, but you can hardly tell.
From an Anna Wintour-inspired bob cut to long locks, Katie has proved time and time again that she isn’t afraid to try something different. Even though the color stays the same, sometimes the only way to tell it’s a wig is how quickly she will return to her long natural hair.