Beachy waves, layers upon layers, and that infamous pixie cut. Since popping onto the scene over two decades ago, Kaley Cuoco has sported a number of head turning hairstyles.
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00:00Beachy waves, layers upon layers, and that infamous pixie cut — since popping onto
00:05the scene over two decades ago, Kaley Cuoco has sported a number of head-turning hairstyles.
00:10From the time Kaley Cuoco made her acting debut as a kid, she's drawn attention to herself. Kids
00:15at her school were unkind, so she began homeschooling in fifth grade. However,
00:19this meant that she was at risk of missing out on some critical milestones,
00:22despite her soaring popularity when she landed the role of Bridget on 8 Simple Rules in 2002.
00:28Cuoco looked every part the typical American teenager at the time,
00:31with her pin-straight, platinum-blonde hair. As she told Parade in January 2012,
00:35she did get to experience going to prom around this time, but it didn't go as expected. She
00:40explained,
00:41"'Ashley Tisdale' asked me to go to hers. It was during my first year on 8 Simple Rules,
00:45and I wore something plain to be understated. But these horribly mean girls said,
00:49"'Oh, you think you're going to the Academy Awards in your classy black dress?'
00:52Honestly, it just made me happy to know I wasn't in that school."
00:55As she played her iconic early-2000s role on ABC,
00:59the actor was in the early stages of her gorgeous hair transformation.
01:02In Cuoco's first season on The Big Bang Theory in 2007, she sported a memorable mid-2000s hairstyle,
01:09lots of layers with wispy bangs. As the costume department emphasized her girl-next-door persona,
01:14the hair and makeup department really made her appear as if she could be any trend-following
01:17girl from the time. It was when she rocked this layered hairstyle that she and her
01:21co-star Johnny Galecki began to fall for each other, too. In speaking with Vanity Fair in
01:25October 2022, Cuoco explained,
01:28"...I had a very big crush on Johnny early on. I was so not even hiding it. There was
01:32chemistry and we were crushing on each other. That was the whole first season until we actually
01:36got together for real."
01:38"...We got together and just fell mad for each other for about two years."
01:42In the early 2000s, singer Aaliyah popularized the ombre trend when she debuted dark roots
01:47that transitioned into lighter ends. The French term, which roughly translates to
01:51shaded, began to take over Hollywood, with tons of celebrities opting for two-toned hair,
01:56including Kaley Cuoco. The actor had been starring on The Big Bang Theory for a couple
02:00years when she showed off her voluminous, wavy blonde hair that transitioned into a
02:04chocolate-brown hue in 2009. It was around this time that Cuoco spoke with Sidewalk Entertainment
02:09about how much she'd been enjoying playing Penny on the hit TV show. She said,
02:13"...We have a blast. Big Bang is like this little show that could. I feel like either
02:17people love it or they've never seen it before. There's nothing really in the middle."
02:21"...We have some crazy fans and it is a whirlwind to be on this show."
02:27By 2010, ombre hair was all the rage, with celebrities like Hilary Duff and Emily Blunt
02:31sporting multi-color dye jobs. It was just one of many instances in which Cuoco hopped on a
02:36trend early and seemed to move on to the next in the blink of an eye, as she reverted back to her
02:40classic long blonde hair shortly after.
02:43Every celebrity has had their fair share of style blunders. One of Cuoco's most
02:47regrettable looks was for her appearance at the 2013 SAG Awards. The actor looked
02:51stunning as she matched the red carpet in ruby pumps and a strapless scarlet dress
02:55that fit her beautifully. But it wasn't her outfit that brought negative attention.
02:59It was the faux bangs she wore. While the rest of Cuoco's straightened,
03:03platinum blonde hair looked chic, her faux bangs just looked wrong. As she told People in December
03:072023,
03:08"...I still think this is the worst thing I've ever done. Literally, I look at pictures and I'm like,
03:12that was the worst decision I've ever made. It just did not work. It looked so fake."
03:17Big Bang Theory fans had mixed reactions when Cuoco debuted her pixie cut on Season 8 of the
03:22show. The actor chopped her long locks for the indie film Burning Bodhi in 2014, and at the time,
03:27she was super happy with her new look. In speaking with Women's Health in August that year,
03:31Cuoco referred to it as, quote,
03:33"...the haircut heard around the planet."
03:35She explained,
03:36"...when I wrapped Season 7 of Big Bang a couple months ago,
03:39we cut it short that night. I haven't had my haircut in over 20 years.
03:42I was ready for a change. I felt like I needed to reinvent myself, and that cut was awesome."
03:46However, not everyone was a fan of the short style. It seemed like Cuoco had to defend her
03:51decision at every turn, and during an interview for 2022's The Big Bang Theory, the definitive
03:56inside story of the epic hit series, the actor said,
03:59"...I don't know if I was being rebellious. I mean, I did do it for the movie,
04:03which was my excuse to cut it. At that point,
04:05we were heading into our eighth season, and something needed to shake up."
04:09"...I think Hara's hair grows back. It's not a big deal."
04:13While Cuoco's hair was short, she experimented more with her ever-evolving style. The actor
04:17shared that she'd added a pop of fun color to her pixie cut in a since-deleted April 2015
04:22Instagram post. The subtle pastel hue added a touch of rebellious flair to Cuoco's style,
04:27and perfectly complemented her skin tone. The following month, the The Big Bang Theory star
04:32went even bolder when she debuted a touched-up dye job. It was a temporary look that had been
04:36created for a photo shoot, and by June of the same year, Cuoco had ditched the pink altogether
04:41and returned to her signature platinum blonde color.
04:44Anyone who has attempted to grow out a short haircut knows that the in-between stages can
04:48be the most awkward. A couple years after Cuoco chopped off her hair in favor of a pixie cut,
04:52she went through the same thing. Thankfully, she had her trusty hairstylist, Christine Simmons,
04:57by her side to make the entire ordeal easier. In 2016, Cuoco maneuvered into a chic bob with
05:02bright blonde highlights for a while, often styled into beachy waves. As Simmons told Glamour
05:07in September 2017,
05:09"...the trick to growing out Kayleigh's pixie has been trimming the back of her hair every so often
05:13to let the front and sides catch up. To mask a lot of the awkward lengths and stages, we would
05:17give Kayleigh's hair a ton of texture with the help of products like a texturing mist."
05:21As much as she'd loved her pixie, the actor revealed in her interview for The Big Bang
05:25Theory, the definitive inside story of the epic hit series, just how much more difficult the style
05:29became. She explained,
05:30"...I was bored and sick of the hair, and what's funny is I thought by cutting my hair I would
05:34spend less time in the hair and makeup chair. In my attempt to spend less time on my hair,
05:38that decision bit me in the ass, and it took way longer to do my short hair."
05:42There's no doubt that Cuoco was eager to get her hair back to a more comfortable length,
05:46and as she grew it out, she continued to experiment with different looks. By 2017,
05:50Cuoco had hopped on the lob or long bob trend, which many stars were sporting. During an interview
05:56with Us Weekly in September of that year, Cuoco joked about her always-changing hair,
06:00saying,
06:01"...just blank and it might be blue or something."
06:03She went on to discuss her mid-length hairstyle, saying,
06:05"...I'm happy with this length. I have no extensions in. It's all me, which feels really good."
06:10There was a point in 2018, right after her wedding with former husband Carl Cook,
06:15that Cuoco had very little control over her hair. Four days after tying the knot,
06:19the actor underwent shoulder surgery to correct an old injury, which she had been putting off.
06:23"...It was not an easy surgery. I did not realize my arm would be
06:27so immobile. I thought, oh, I'm gonna be fine, but I could not lift my arm at all."
06:32Cuoco went on to add that Cook even had to do her hair, given her injury. Luckily,
06:36she had been growing her hair out, making it easier for Cook to style for her. By 2019,
06:40Cuoco's time as part of the Big Bang Theory cast was over, giving her the opportunity to
06:45work off-camera, as she gave her voice to the animated series Harley Quinn.
06:48It was during this time that she was rocking long-layered beachy waves
06:52in her signature blonde color. Not only was she back to a longer style,
06:55but Cuoco's hair seemed like it was at a stage that was much easier to style than it had been
07:00for the last few years. In April of 2022, Cuoco brought back her bangs, and they never looked
07:05better on her. Christine Simmons spoke with E! News at the time about the inspiration behind
07:10the hairstyle the actress sported at the Season 2 premiere of The Flight Attendant.
07:13She explained that they were going for a summer-fresh look, saying,
07:17"'Do you know how Dakota Johnson always has that cool girl hair and has the fringe?'
07:20We were like, we want kind of that vibe and nothing too contrived. And if I do say so myself,
07:25I think we've really achieved it."
07:26Cuoco walked the red carpet looking effortlessly radiant with her loose
07:29waves and vibrant blonde hair with darker roots, dressed in a floor-length black gown.
07:34Cuoco debuted more than a few changes at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards when she walked the
07:38red carpet in a gorgeous lilac gown, alongside her partner Tom Pelfrey. The Big Bang Theory
07:44star was pregnant with her first child, Matilda, and had the pregnancy glow. But she also seemed
07:48to radiate from her new hair color, as she had become a full-on brunette. Cuoco showed off her
07:53new hair color in a stylish bun with bangs that framed her face, and in an Instagram post she
07:57shared of the event, many fans praised her hair transformation. One wrote,
08:01"'That hair color was made for you.'"
08:03Cuoco kept her dark hair when she starred in Based on a True Story in 2023. During an
08:07interview with AwardsRadar in June 2024, she spoke about the series, saying,
08:12"'A lot of boxes were checked for me in this show. The writing was fantastic. I love true
08:16crime. I literally fall asleep to Dateline every single night.'"
08:19The actor added that taking the role allowed her to be closer to home, since it was shot in L.A.
08:24Given her incredible success, undeniable beauty, and desirable lifestyle, it's no
08:29wonder that Cuoco's fans want to emulate her as much as possible. From articles about what
08:33the Big Bang Theory star eats in a day to her exercise routine, the public has wanted to know
08:38it all. The actor has become a huge style icon. So when Cuoco's hair salon, The Blondery,
08:42shared her latest hair transformation in a January 2024 Instagram post, fans were loving it.
08:48The video documented Cuoco's shift from medium-blonde hair to a darker, bronze style.
08:52Fans flooded the comments section with how much they loved the actor's new do.
08:56The bronze hair trend, which is a blend between blonde and brunette,
08:59has been popularized by stars like Jennifer Lopez. And now that Cuoco is rocking the look,
09:04there's no doubt that it'll remain a staple color of 2024.
09:07That is, until the role-play actor embarks on yet another hair transformation.