12 famous redheads that are actually blonde
- While there are plenty of redheaded celebrities out there, not all of them are natural.
- Having naturally red hair is exceedingly rare, which is why some celebs choose to go red to stand out.
- Amy Adams has said that dyeing her hair red helped her stand out from all the blondes in Hollywood.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Being a redhead instantly makes you stand out from the crowd — less than 2% of the world's population has the gene. While being a blonde is also rare (4% of American adults are naturally blonde), one in three women dye their hair blonde.
These 12 celebrities either dyed their hair red for personal or professional reasons, like for a role, but have become known for their auburn hair.
Keep scrolling to see which iconic redheads are actually blonde.
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Emma Stone first became known as a redhead in movies like "Superbad" and "Easy A," but in reality she's naturally blonde.
According to Stone's longtime colorist Tracey Cunningham, the reason that Stone wears red so well is that she "looks like a redhead," she told Refinery29. "I think there's something about those genetics that make the red shade look so gorgeous with her skin tone and her eyes."
Julia Roberts has been every color under the sun, but first became America's Sweetheart with her red curls in "Pretty Woman" and "My Best Friend's Wedding."
Roberts' natural hair, in her own words, is "kind of a dark blonde." But in two of her most beloved roles, she rocked auburn curls.
Bella Thorne has said that going back to her natural blonde hair makes her cry.
"A lot of people don't know I'm not actually a redhead," Thorne told Allure in 2014. "I'm a blonde. I dyed it for 'Big Love.' It started off more of a deep red, and Disney was like, 'Why don't we take Bella all the way to blonde again?' I don't know why, but I had a breakdown and so overreacted. I wanted to go back to red."
Of course, these days, she's basically a hair chameleon.
Christina Hendricks began dyeing her hair red before "Mad Men," but it became part of her character's identity.
In 2015, after almost two decades as a redhead, Hendricks left behind her fire engine red hair, according to People.
"It reminds me of when I was a kid — half my life I was blonde. It's a bit nostalgic and there's this sort of youthful feeling about it to me," she told People.
Sophie Turner dyed her hair red to play Sansa Stark, but she's a natural icy blonde.
At one point, Turner was dyeing her hair twice a week to make sure no blonde strands were peeking out while filming "Game of Thrones," but after a few years switched to red wigs.
"With my red, I feel very empowered, because with every character that I've played that has red hair, they've been such a strong and powerful character. I love it for that," Turner told Refinery29.
Amy Adams credits part of her initial success to switching from blonde to red when she moved to Hollywood.
"The minute I went red, it was like, 'quirky' instead of flirtatious and dumb. It was really fascinating to see just one element of yourself change people's perception and that became a very powerful tool for me, even in my acting," she said in 2016, according to Allure.
Gillian Anderson dyed her hair red for her role in "The X-Files."
For the 2015 revival, however, Anderson wore a wig — but not by choice. She told EW in 2015 that she "was really looking forward" to dyeing her hair Scully-approved red, but her hair stylist told her that she was "risking a catastrophe" if she went red for the summer.
Cynthia Nixon's iconic red hair did not come naturally during "Sex and the City."
"I am not a redhead, I'm a blonde," Nixon told Marie Claire in 2010, when she appeared on the red carpet for "Sex and the City 2." "Right now, this isn't my natural blonde color. I had to dye it in order to get the red out of it," she continued.
Deborah Ann Woll first hit it big as a redhead, but more recently she's embraced her natural blonde tresses.
Woll appeared on "True Blood" with red hair until the show's end in 2014, though she had started dyeing her hair red years before.
"As a fair skinned blonde, I disappeared into the background. I've always been a loner, so I suppose dyeing my hair red was a way to say, 'I'm here, I exist, I'm a human being and you can't just push me aside,'" she told Elle in 2009.
Kirsten Dunst played one of the most iconic redheads of all time when she starred as Mary Jane Watson in the first "Spider-Man" trilogy.
Dunst told Lucky Magazine in 2011 that she attracts "a different kind of boy when my hair's red. I get more quality men — like a more thoughtful, nerdy dude," according to Hollywood Life.
Kate Winslet's breakout role was the redheaded Rose in "Titanic," but that's not her natural shade.
According to InStyle, "It was quite damaged from all those water scenes and from re-dyeing it red so many times," said Winslet.
Brittany Snow rocked red hair for the "Pitch Perfect" movies, but she wasn't a fan.
Snow told Yahoo! Style that she identifies as a blonde, though she's most famous for her redheaded character in "Pitch Perfect." She says red is her least favorite shade.
"I think my least favorite hair color was the hair color that I had in 'Pitch Perfect 2.' They really wanted me to be dark red and I wanted to be lighter like I was in the first movie, but they didn't want that. But I rocked some light red for a year, after it faded," she said.