Anne Hathaway’s Platinum Marilyn Monroe Bob Is Worth Seeing On The Big Screen

Twenty five years into her career, Anne Hathaway is no stranger to physically transformative film roles — in fact, she’s undergone more movie makeover than most. She changed up her looks on-camera in The Princess Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, and even shaved her head to snag a well-deserved Oscar for Les Misérables. In that same vein, Hathaway’s upcoming performance in Eileen promises to be just as exhilarating as her previous projects, complete with a new character look so different from her past work. Hathaway’s blonde bob isn’t just a shoulder-length platinum wig — its ‘60s-style curls and color are integral to the twisty, terrifying film. The fact that her hair happens to hit on a few current trends amid it all is incidental, but excellent.

Fans first got a look at Hathaway’s hair back in January 2022 when images of the star on-set with bright bright blonde hair surfaced online. In Eileen, she plays a glamorous psychologist who arrives on the scene just as the film protagonist’s life begins to unspool. Set in 1964, it’s critical to the plot that Hathaway’s character has visible trappings of luxury, like a red sports car, flashy outfits, and that perfectly platinum hair color.

Considering the movie takes place just two years after Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, there’s a solid chance the legendary figure was a reference point for both the actual character within the story and for the hair and makeup team working on the film.

In Hathaway’s real life, blonde isn’t an area she’s explored too much. She bleached her pixie cut in spring 2013, had a warm, golden ombré color in 2016 and 2018, and went even lighter for 2019’s Serenity, but all of those affairs were relatively short-lived. She did seem to enjoy her blonde stints, though, telling W a few years back that her hair in Serenity made her feel artistically freer. “I don’t know why, but I just felt that I could be funnier while saying less. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it was just — it’s nice,” she explained to the magazine. “And it also made me want to do it more in life, like, just mess around with [my hair] and not get too fixed on anything.”

As evidenced by the positive praise for her look in Eileen, maybe Hathaway will come around to another IRL blonde moment soon.