(Celebrity)

All Your Favorite Celebrities Have Tried A Pixie Cut At Least Once Over The Years

Faith, trust, and....

Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc/Getty Images
Rihanna pixie cut 2012 with red lipstick

You don’t need a brand new calendar year as an excuse for an exciting, reinvigorating aesthetic makeover. Wardrobe overhauls, striking lipstick shades, and fresh sets of highlights are fantastic, sure, but few beauty choices rival the pixie cut in terms of instant reinvention. Immediately, the face takes center stage and even the most straightforward outfits get a serious edge and additional elegance to boot. If you're considering a serious cut for the first time or just looking to spice up your already-short hair, there are plenty of celebrity pixie cuts ready to provide endless inspiration — it’s a Hollywood favorite for a reason.

The best celebrity pixie cut looks aren’t just super short hair, either. They’re endlessly versatile and customizable, reflective of the celebrity’s event, career era, and personal style, too. Halle Berry’s tousled pixie faux-hawk and Miley Cyrus’s Mia Farrow-ish, razored layers may be the same length, for example, but spell out two completely different (though equally enviable) vibes. The cut can even be tailored for one celebrity a million different ways, as is the case with Rihanna’s Rated R-era pixie, which is lightyears away from her softer 2012 chop.

To help you find your own style of pixie, see below for some of the best celebrity pixie cuts in recent memory — all it takes is a few snips, and you’ve got pure magic.

Anne Hathaway

Donna Ward/WireImage/Getty Images

When Hathaway joined the cast of Les Miserables, for which she’d take home the Best Actress Oscar, her role required a full, on-camera head shave. Not only did she cinch a gold statue for her work, though, but she also got to grow her hair out into one of Hollywood’s all-time best pixie cuts, complete with long, retro-inspired bangs.

Halle Berry

Lalo Yasky/WireImage/Getty Images

When you think “celebrity pixie cuts”, you think Halle Berry — period. And though it’s short, Berry’s proved there are seemingly infinite ways to wear a pixie, too. One of her best go-to looks involves some glamorous tousling with rocker-approved hair pastes that allow her warm highlights to catch some rays.

Emma Watson

David M. Benett/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Somewhere between a true pixie and an punky “chixie” cut, Watson’s grown-up take on ultra-short hair thrilled fans when the look debuted at a Prada fragrance event. Not only did Watson lean into an edgier vibe with shorter, choppier bangs, but a new, rich, ebony hair color heightens the drama, too.

Gemma Chan

@gemmachan

When Chan unleashed a first look at her dramatic, side-shaved pixie undercut from a Marvel movie set, she instantly doubled the film’s intrigue. Longer on one side for an artsy, asymmetrical feel, the cut can be styled in so many different ways.

Angela Bassett

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images

Bassett’s elegance could take any haircut to the next level, but her sultry, spiked pixie cut is in a league of its own. Fluffed up and locked in place with a palmful of pomade, the choppy layers are peak gamine glamour.

Charlize Theron

Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

Theron’s famously experimented with quite a few extremely shirt haircuts over the years, often returning to an icy blonde pixie cut. Notably, though, she often goes for a shorter, more classic take on the style rather than those featuring longer bangs.

Janelle Monáe

Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

The short, dynamic nature of a pixie cut makes it perfect for showing off every sort of hair accessory. At the Oscars, Monáe was head-to-toe gilded when she tucked a gleaming gold headband into her wavy pixie.

Jamie Lee Curtis

ABC/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images

Signature cut, signature color, signature pose — Curtis is so radiant with her silver pixie that you can’t help but let out an “OKAAYYY!” Her wispy, tiered bangs frame the face to further emphasize her bone structure.

Lily Collins

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Collins is one of the greatest hair chameleons of our time — and she switches between pixies and ultra-long hair so often, she’s like that Barbie with the retractable ponytail. While many times she’s wearing a wig, this very real deep side part and wispy, ear-hugging layers add so much vintage playfulness to her otherwise-sultry Oscars look.

Jennifer Lawrence

Dan MacMedan/WireImage/Getty Images

Jennifer Lawrence shocked the world when she chopped off her long blonde waves at the height of her stardom, only to reveal the sweetest lash-skimming pixie. She’s since grown her hair back out again, but the sharp tips and face-framing shape has fans longing for another J.Law pixie moment — though she disavowed the cut in Vogue in 2022.

Rihanna

Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images

Is there anything Rihanna can’t do? Is there any outfit she can’t wear? Is there any haircut that isn’t wildly flattering on her? From someone who’s done the research, that’s a big no. Rihanna’s pixie cut is even shorter than most celebrities, opting for the most classic version of the beloved style. Showing off her refined features and elegant neck (not to mention adding visibility to her delicate neck tattoo), Rihanna’s pixie inspired thousands to experiment with the scissors.

Bella Hadid

Karwai Tang/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

When Bella Hadid showed up at the Met Gala in a ‘20s-inspired pixie cut, it immediately ignited the internet — was her ultra-short, side-swept hair real? Was it a wig? Turns out Hadid didn’t actually cut her hair off, but based on how elegant she looks (and how much love this hair got), maybe it’s worth considering.

Miley Cyrus

Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

Every millennial remembers where they were when Miley Cyrus cut off her famous tiny bun to reveal the bleached blonde rocker look that would define her next decade. While she typically wore her choppy pixie in experimental, edgier styles, this softer look from a Grammys party is equally stunning.

Zoë Kravitz

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc/Getty Images

With her raven pixie, almost caesar cut-like bangs, brick-red lipstick, and Bardot neckline, Zoë Kravitz looks like the proverbial French ingenue. She’s had a pixie several times before, but that’s understandable — she looks good in it every time.

Zendaya

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Zendaya is another young star utterly unafraid to experiment with her look — that’s a large part of why she is such a beloved style icon at just 25 years old. Here, she works a rounded pixie that would be equally at home at the 1985 Grammys as it did at the 2015 ceremony. Her hair’s glossy sheen and sharp tips are practically an arrow pointing down at her flawless, mocha-toned eye and lip makeup.

This article was originally published on