No One Was Impervious To The Siren Song Of Red Hair This Year

Make no bones about it — 2023 was a massive year for all things beauty. There was the endlessly creative “Food Girl” trend that saw fruit- and beverage-inspired makeup take over every FYP, bob haircuts of all types popped up on red carpets, and there’s an absolute onslaught of A-listers in headbands right now, but it all pales in comparison to celebrity red hair. It felt like a different star debuted some new fiery shade virtually every week, but never once did the color feel tired, played-out, or even predictable. Chalk it up to the wide variety of hue variants possible with red or just how unique hairstyling’s gotten in general — either way, 2023 belonged to redheads.

It’s because of the color’s versatility that it’s pretty much impossible to declare one newly-dyed look the best of the bunch. Emily Ratajkowski’s glossy amber, for instance, can’t be compared to Billie Eilish’s neon cherry roots as they’re simply too different. But they can be catalogued to serve as inspiration for anyone else looking to make the switch. Not all of us can be born with red hair, but there is a shade of it that can look incredible on everyone — these stars prove it.

Ahead, get reacquainted with the 2023 class of celebrity red hair.

Dua Lipa

While Lipa didn’t pull her hair switcheroo until late fall, it still made maximum impact. She tapped into the growing “cherry cola” color craze, a darker and more stylized version of red than what you’d typically find in nature — and that’s what makes it so cool.

Kerry Washington

Reds are stunning any time of year, but there’s something special about the more summery shades. Washington proved it beautifully with the waist-length, mermaid-red locs woven in to her vacation style this June.

Megan Fox

When Fox commits to a color, she really commits. This electric cherry shade was actually a hair transformation two-parter, debuting the same day as her shoulder-length bob.

Maude Apatow

A soft shade of gold-toned ginger, it’s hard to believe this isn’t Apatow’s natural color. Maybe it was her year of playing a redheaded in Cabaret on the West End that inspired her to make the change in her real life, too.

Cardi B

Cardi’s long, vibrant red hair looks so good on her, it’s almost a shame that it was so short-lived. The cranberry-colored waves were created for her Skims campaign commercial, but fans are already begging the “Bongos” rapper to make it a permanent addition to her look.

Billie Eilish

A pioneer of the “peekaboo highlights” trend, Eilish has tried a few different types of neon in her roots over the years — red, though, is clearly her power color. The shade blends right into the rest of her jet-black hair, fading into it with a gradient ombré technique.

Rihanna

When Rihanna emerged in Los Angeles with this spicy shade of cinnamon red back in October, you could practically feel the excitement in the fall air. Part of the reason it’s so great — other than the fact that it’s on Rihanna — is its custom blend of colors that anchors the red with natural brown tones.

Blake Lively

Lively’s gone real-life red a few different times over the years now, but it was still a shock for fans to see with with auburn curls on the set of her upcoming movie, It Ends With Us. Red hair is an aesthetic calling card of the character she plays.

Emily Ratajkowski

Ratajkowski dropped the pictures of her just-dyed hair with a simple yet effective caption: “Gone red.” Indeed, the model spent the second half of her summer exploring if redheads have more fun — from the looks of her posts, the answer appears to be a resounding yes.