(Celebrity)

Dakota Johnson Proves Straight-Across Bangs Are More Versatile Than You’d Think

Is there any way she can’t style them?

by Amanda Ross
NurPhoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images

What’s in a signature look? For Dakota Johnson, it’s about one thing: those bangs. But over the years, the star's proven that even trademark features can be remixed and styled into more variations than anyone realized. Here, explore Dakota Johnson’s best hairstyles — and hair colors — of all time.

Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Dakota Johnson without bangs is a rarer sighting than the Loch Ness monster, and probably just as thrilling. For a Fifty Shades premiere in 2017, the star pulled the bangs fully off her forehead, incorporating them into a loose, swept-back bun complete with romantic tendrils around the face.Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images
Of course, happy mediums do exist — for Dakota Johnson, that’s a split-bangs look that frames her forehead without totally dominating it. The rest of her hair — dyed a soft “Louis Vuitton brunette” — is pulled back into an effortlessly low-key bun.Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis Entertainment/Getty Images
Just before her breakout role in the Fifty Shades franchise, Dakota Johnson had bright blonde hair, which she’d routinely accent with different styles of bangs. Though she’d stick with brunette from there on out, the golden blonde suits her just as well.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images
On its surface, this look from the London Film Festival checks all the typical boxes: brunette, extra-long waves, and bangs. In reality, there’s much more to it. In 2021, Dakota Johnson cut “bottleneck bangs,” a trendy take that tapers the fringe ends to seamlessly blend with the rest of her hair.Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images
Side-bangs are the latest Y2K-era hair trend to reemerge, already spotted on fellow stars like Rihanna and Dua Lipa. Always up for some experimentation, Dakota Johnson’s take on side-bangs is distinctly retro thanks to the hair’s height, flipped ends, and the polished updo it’s attached to.Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images
Dakota Johnson’s best updos always fall somewhere between sultry-sexy and fairytale-whimsical, but this trendy braid from the 2017 Fifty Shades Darker premiere combines both aesthetics. The braid is intricate and tousled while her notably darker hair color and side-parted bangs are so sophisticated.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Dakota Johnson’s warm blonde-brunette ombré at the 2019 Met Gala drew plenty of attention, but it’s the smaller details that really make this look one of her best. Matching her natural-looking, air-dried waves, tiny braids are woven in around her face for added texture and fun.John Shearer/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Dressing up her high ponytail with plenty of waves, texture, and face-framing strands, Dakota Johnson’s 2018 was marked by her shorter, choppier bangs that added instant edge to any look. Seen here at a 2018 LACMA event, the center-parted bangs looked extra cool with her winged liner.Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images
An artfully messy bun may take a dozen attempts to nail, but with Dakota Johnson’s tousled topknot as end-goal motivation, that’s nothing. With most of her glossy brunette hair piled high on the top of her head, her long bangs and free-flowing tendrils make the whole look so romantic and effortless.VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images
Ponytails are few and far between for Dakota Johnson — especially low ones — but they’re an undoubtedly glamorous choice for a film premiere. At a Paris Fifty Shades screening in 2018, Johnson’s blonde-ish ombré was on full display, trailing down her back in one big curl.Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/French Select/Getty Images

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