43 celebrities who look almost unrecognizable after dyeing their hair platinum blonde

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  • Going platinum blonde is intense. It takes hours and can be expensive.

  • But if a big change is what you're looking for, it's your best bet.

  • From Lorde to Patrick Dempsey, these celebs have tried out new platinum 'dos.

Patrick Dempsey shocked the internet with his white-blonde hair at D23 in September 2022.

patrick dempsey blonde
Patrick Dempsey.Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images; The Walt Disney Company/Getty Images

One of the former Dr. McDreamy's defining characteristics was his black (and then later salt and pepper) hair. That's why it was such a shock to the system when he walked the red carpet at Disney's D23 expo with a head of platinum hair that wouldn't have been out of place on "House of the Dragon."

According to the "Disenchanted" star, he's changed his hair for a role in director Michael Mann's upcoming biopic about Enzo Ferrari, which also stars Adam Driver in the titular role. Dempsey is playing race car driver Piero Taruffi.

"I like it. Dye your hair. Have fun. Blondes have more fun. I have to tell you, it's true," he told Variety.

Tamron Hall also appeared at D23 with platinum hair in September 2022.

tamron hall
Tamron Hall.Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Housing Works; The Walt Disney Company/Getty Images

Technically, the talk show host debuted her new hair on the season four premiere of "The Tamron Hall Show."

"It's a new 'do but the same me," she during the episode. "I've always had this dream of coloring my hair but I've been a journalist for 30 years — an anchor for much of that — and they would always tell you don't change your hair color, it'll throw the audience off."

Lorde appeared on stage at the Glastonbury Music Festival in June 2022 with a totally new hair color.

lorde brunette and platinum blonde
Lorde.than Miller/Getty Images for iHeartMedia; Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage/Getty Images

Lorde is also someone who is known for her hair — when she first became famous with "Royals" a decade ago, her wild brown mane was just as important as her interesting dance moves and all-black aesthetic.

But in 2022, hot on the heels of her "Solar Power" tour, the singer decided to brighten things up in her hair journey, too. She debuted the look at Glastonbury, sending much of the internet into a tizzy.

Seth Rogen debuted a new peroxided look in June 2022.

seth rogen platinum blonde
Seth Rogen.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW; Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Normally, the comedy star has rocks some curly brown hair and brown stubble, but he walked the red carpet of a "Pam & Tommy" event in June with newly shorn, bleach blonde hair — Slim Shady, who?

Eiza González debuted a shocking new look on the red carpet for "Ambulance."

eiza gonzalez platinum blonde
Eiza González.Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Universal Pictures

González, who is normally a dark brunette, looked totally transformed at the red carpet for "Ambulance" in March 2022.

"I just hear that blonds have more fun, so I just had to do it," she said, according to People.

Storm Reid chopped off her hair and dyed it blonde for the 2021 Met Gala.

storm reid
Storm Reid.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

The "Euphoria" star chopped off her hair into a chic pixie cut and dyed it blonde for the 2021 Met Gala last September. In fact, she got the haircut that very morning.

"I've been wanting to cut my hair for the longest time — why not do that on fashion's biggest night," she told Vogue.

In theory, Gigi Hadid switching from dirty blonde to platinum blonde shouldn't be a huge change ... but it really is.

gigi hadid
Gigi Hadid.Taylor Hill/Getty Images; ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

Hadid went for an almost white shade of blonde in March 2022 to walk in a Burberry fashion show in London.

Maisie Williams kicked it up a notch by also bleaching her (usually) distinct eyebrows ahead of the 2021 BRITs. She's stuck with the look for almost a year now.

maisie williams
Maisie Williams.John Shearer/Getty Images; David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Mondrian Shoreditch

The "Game of Thrones" star has switched up her hair color many times, but seeing her at the 2021 BRITs in May with bleached hair and bleached eyebrows was still a jaw-dropping moment.

She met Taylor Swift at the awards, posting a photo set of the two of them on Instagram captioned "look what you made me do" with emojis.

"SNL" star Bowen Yang showed off his blonde hair at the premiere of "The Lost City."

bowen yang
Bowen Yang.Rich Fury/Getty Images; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Yang first revealed his new color on Instagram in January 2022, and he has been letting the roots grow in since then, adding a little contrast to his look.

Billie Eilish looked totally transformed when she debuted her blonde hair on Instagram.

billie eilish platinum blonde
Billie Eilish.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

The 20-year-old superstar is no stranger to bold hair colors (see: her lime green roots and black hair combo), but it was still a shock to see her debut her new platinum look on Instagram just a couple of days after her 2021 Grammy wins. She captioned the selfie, "pinch me."

Sebastian Stan bleached his hair back in 2007 for a role.

sebastian stan blonde
Sebastian Stan.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Brian Ach/WireImage/Getty Images

"The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" star is mainly known for switching between his long Bucky Barnes hair and a shorter cut, but back before he joined the MCU, Stan looked like a long-lost Malfoy brother for his role in "The Education of Charlie Banks."

During his DNCE days, Joe Jonas dyed his hair all kinds of colors, including a peroxide blond.

joe jonas bleached blonde
Joe Jonas.Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images; Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for D'USSE

In 2016, it seemed like there wasn't a color Jonas wouldn't try. As Teen Vogue called it, he tried "pizza sauce red," blue, pink, frosted tips, and an entirely bleached head.

Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz is well-known for his jet black hair, but he rocked platinum, too.

pete wentz bleach blonde
Pete Wentz.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Mark Sagliocco/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Wentz tried out the look back in 2014. He debuted the look on Instagram, captioning the photo, "Prepared for new art on the horizon," with two yellow hearts.

Glenn Howerton was only blond for a short period of time, as he dyed it in December 2019, and was back to brunette by mid-January.

glenn howerton bleached
Glenn Howerton.Phillip Faraone/WireImage/Getty Images; Nicky Nelson/WENN.com/Reuters

Howerton debuted the look on the red carpet at the "Jumanji: The Next Level" premiere. But by January 2020, the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star had posted on Instagram with his normal shade in order to shoot season three of "AP Bio."

Olivia Colman decided to dye her hair platinum blonde three hours before she walked the red carpet at the Oscars in 2020.

olivia colman blonde
Olivia Colman.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/Getty Images

According to her hair stylist, Colman decided to go blonde on the day of the show, just a few hours before she got on stage to present Joaquin Phoenix with the Oscar for best actor.

Jonah Hill has experimented with his hair color in the past, including dyeing his hair platinum.

jonah hill platinum blonde
Jonah Hill.Frazer Harrison and Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Hill first debuted hot pink hair in June 2018, and it was a radical departure for him. But over the last year or so, Hill has dabbled with platinum, letting his roots grow out, and other colors.

"I knew he had his own style — he does what he wants and doesn't care," Hill's hairstylist Jason Schneidman told Refinery29.

Kim Kardashian, along with the rest of her famous family, is no stranger to wigs, but she's dyed her hair platinum a few times, most recently in May 2022.

kim k blonde
Kim Kardashian.David Livingston/Getty Images; NINO/GC Images/Getty Images

The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star dyed her hair platinum blonde for the first time in March 2015, after revealing her husband, Kanye West, had been asking her to go blonde for a while.

She's gone back to the shade a few times since then, but mainly sticks to her signature long dark locks.

Colton Haynes experimented with bleached hair in 2017.

colton haynes platinum blonde
Colton Haynes.Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for SVEDKA Vodka

The "Arrowverse" star bleached his hair for his role on "American Horror Story: Cult," but has since gone back to his natural brown shade — he reprised his role as Roy Harper during the final season of "Arrow."

James Charles publicly debuted his new color at the MTV VMAs, after revealing he dyed it for a YouTube video.

james charles blonde
James Charles.Emma McIntyre and Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

On August 16, 2019, controversial beauty YouTuber James Charles revealed he had bleached his own hair for a video. He later debuted the look on the VMAs red carpet.

Katharine McPhee was unrecognizable when she had this platinum bob.

katherine mcphee platinum blonde
Katherine McPhee.Michael Tran/Getty Images; Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images

Years before she played a struggling actress trying to secure the part of Marilyn Monroe in "Smash," the "American Idol" alum had a Marilyn moment of her own in 2009 with this blindlingly blonde style.

Zac Efron officially debuted his new shade at Sundance Film Festival in 2019 after hinting about the change on Instagram.

zac efron platinum blonde
Zac Efron.Venturelli/WireImage and George Pimentel/Getty Images

Efron, who was fresh off the buzz from his upcoming role as famed serial killer Ted Bundy in "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," debuted a new look at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019.

Though some speculated that the he changed the color for a new role, that's not the case. In his own words, "It's just for life, bro."

Chris Messina revealed a platinum 'do at the 2019 Golden Globes.

chris messina platinum blonde
Chris Messina.Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage and George Pimentel/WireImage

Messina, who attended the ceremony in support of his Golden Globes-nominated series "Sharp Objects," debuted a new look on the 2019 red carpet: an almost-white head of hair.

The color sparked major discussions on social media, with people (rightfully) demanding that we include Messina in the ranking of Hollywood Chrises alongside Pine, Pratt, Evans, and Hemsworth.

Kylie Jenner is another member of her family who has decided to try out the platinum lifestyle.

kylie jenner platinum
Kylie Jenner.Ethan Miller/Getty Images and Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Harper's Bazaar

Jenner regularly switches up her hair — at this point she's been almost every color of the rainbow. Usually it's with wigs or extensions, but she revealed on Snapchat in 2016 that she took the plunge and dyed her naturally dark hair a bright blonde. The process took an entire day, which is the healthiest and least painful way to transform your locks.

 

George Clooney soaked his hair in peroxide after losing a bet back in 1998.

george clooney blonde
George Clooney.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Jim Smeal/WireImage/Getty Images

Clooney, a normally silver fox, actually tried out the bleached-blonde look over 20 years ago. According to GQ, Clooney told Rosie O'Donnell that he tried out the hue after losing a bet.

Kanye West has also tried his hand at the blonde life.

kanye west platinum
Kanye West.Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images and Walik Goshorn/AP Images

After his 2016 hospitalization, West emerged for the first time with bleached hair. He kept the look through the beginning of 2017, but has since switched back to his natural dark hair.

Taylor Swift debuted her bleached hair at Coachella in 2016, but the change really blew up at the Met Gala that year.

taylor swift platinum
Taylor Swift.Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and Larry Busacca/Getty Images

It didn't take much work to lighten the "Reputation" singer's already-blonde hair, but it's still a drastic shift — her look at the Met Gala was distinctly punk rock.

The hair is so iconic that the color was mentioned in "Dress," a song off Swift's album "Reputation," in which she sings "Nights back when you met me/Your buzz cut and my hair bleached," perhaps referencing the Met Gala — the night she reportedly met future beau (now ex) Tom Hiddleston.

Pete Davidson bleached his naturally brown hair in July 2018, experimented with many bright colors, then eventually went back to brown.

pete davidson blonde
Pete Davidson.Mike Pont/WireImage/Getty Images; Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images

Davidson debuted his new 'do in July 2018, during the peak of "Grandson" mania — his then-fiancée Ariana Grande was supportive of the look.

Since their break-up, the "SNL" comedian dyed his hair multiple colors, but is back to his natural brown now.

Zendaya's hair is versatile, but this platinum pixie cut was a big departure from her usual style.

zendaya platinum blonde
Zendaya.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images

Zendaya has rocked mullets, Afros, and braids, but usually sticks to brunette. At the 2017 Fashion Awards, she debuted a blonde pixie cut, sharing with her Instagram followers "A platinum blonde pixie tonight cause why not?"

Sure, it's a wig, but it still transformed her whole look.

"Game of Thrones" fans are used to seeing Emilia Clarke with icy blonde hair, but she usually wore a wig for the show. For the last season, she went blonde for real.

emilia clarke platinum
Emilia Clarke.Alison Buck/Getty Images and Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

There was a time when Clarke was unrecognizable without her Targaryen blonde hair, but as she starred in more movies with her natural hair, we got used to it.

However, in September 2017, Clarke revealed on Instagram that she dyed her hair platinum, writing, "Mother of dragons meet Emilia, Emilia meet mother of dragons."

Adam Levine has switched back and forth between his natural brown and bleached hues.

adam levine platinum
Adam Levine.Charley Gallay/Getty Images For Westfield and Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The most recent iteration was inspired by Levine's wife, Behati Prinsloo, in January 2018. The Maroon 5 singer told Jimmy Kimmel that his "wife loves it when I do it," adding "Why would you do anything that would put you in a less than advantageous position when it came to the person you want to want to sleep with you?!"

When Katy Perry debuted this silver-blonde look, fans were more shocked about the haircut than the color.

katy perry platinum
Katy Perry.Jason Merritt/Getty Images and Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Perry regularly switches her hair color, from black to blue to green to silver, but she normally keeps it long.

The reason for the cut, however, was revealed in an interview Perry did on the Viceland series "The Therapist," where she explained that she was having trouble connecting to her authentic self, Katheryn Hudson (her real name). "I so badly want to be Katheryn Hudson that I don't even want to look like Katy Perry anymore sometimes," she said.

The "Small Talk" songstress told W Magazine that she feels "liberated" since chopping off her hair.

Perry has since gone back to black.

Justin Bieber is a natural dirty blond, but the shift to platinum was a big change for the singer.

justin bieber platinum
Justin Bieber.Christopher Polk/Getty Images and Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Time flies: the bleached-blond Bieber days were already seven years ago. Bieber unveiled his new look on the "Today" show in 2015 in the middle of his promo tour for his album "Purpose."

Solange showed off new platinum braids at a fashion show in 2017.

solange platinum
Solange.Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Webby Awards and Mireya Acierto/Getty Images

Solange and her sister Beyoncé have both been blonde before, but this platinum look was new. Solange debuted the new shade at a fashion show in September 2017, and kept it for a few months before switching back to her natural shade.

 

Justin Timberlake's 2002 platinum 'do from his NSYNC days is still iconic.

justin timberlake platinum
Justin Timberlake.Sam Wasson/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and Adrees Latif/Reuters

The color and texture, which has been affectionately compared to ramen, is forever immortalized in the music video of NSYNC's "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)."

Timberlake has been his natural brunette for over a decade now, but his blonde 'do was memorable to say the least.

Jared Leto is no stranger to a makeover, but after he went platinum, he was almost unrecognizable.

jared leto platinum
Jared Leto.Christopher Polk/Getty Images and Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Samsung

In recent years, Leto has been known to rock long brown waves and a big, bushy beard. But in 2015, the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman shocked everyone by shaving his beard, chopping off his luscious locks, and dyeing them.

The cut and color were to prepare for his role as the Joker in "Suicide Squad" — he later dyed his hair green.

Anne Hathaway switched up her signature brown hair for the 2013 Met Gala.

anne hathaway platinum
Anne Hathaway.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Hathaway had never done anything so drastically different hair-wise before the Met Gala in 2013, and hasn't since.

"I've wanted to do it forever and this was really good timing," she told Allure on the red carpet.

Riz Ahmed opted to keep his eyebrows and facial hair dark when he dyed his hair.

riz ahmed platinum
Riz Ahmed.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images and Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Ahmed debuted the look at his first-ever San Diego Comic Con in July 2018, where he was promoting his role as Carlton Drake in "Venom."

Miley Cyrus has been platinum blonde for awhile, so it's easy to forget how unexpected it was when she showed off a blonde mohawk for the first time.

miley cyrus blonde
Miley Cyrus.Jeff Kravitz/KCA2011/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for Clear Channel

For the first few years of her career, Cyrus kept her hair in the light-brown to honey-blonde range. But in 2012, right before she became "'Bangerz'-era Miley," she bleached her hair and  lobbed most of it off.

Though the look was polarizing, she tweeted, "my dad @billyraycyrus used to tell me 'opinions are are like a--holes every body has one' LOVE my hair feel so happy, pretty, and free."

Charlie Puth changed up his look while touring for his album "Voicenotes."

charlie puth platinum
Charlie Puth.Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for 103.5 KTU and Rich Fury/Getty Images

Puth looked like a different person after he dyed his hair. Before this change, Puth was mainly known for his eyebrows — a scar on his right eyebrow looks almost like he shaved a design into it. In reality, he was attacked by a dog when he was just 2 years old.

But after this June 2018 dye job, we're sure people forgot all about his brows.

Jennifer Lawrence frequently switches between blonde and brunette, but this silver-blonde shade was arguably one of her best looks.

jennifer lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence.Kason Merritt/Getty Images; Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images

Lawrence first broke out for her role in "Winter's Bone," in which she's dirty blonde. She went dark for her role as Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games," and then went back to blonde for other movie roles, and so on and so on. But she normally kept to warm tones.

In April 2016 that changed — Lawrence debuted almost-silver blonde hair (also called "snowlights"), and proved that she looks good with any hair color.

G-Eazy bleached his hair during summer 2018.

g eazy platinum
G-Eazy.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images and Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

G-Eazy showed off his new 'do at the 2018 ESPYs. The "No Limit" rapper kept the blonde for a few months — even dyeing half of it back to black for his Halloween costume — but has since returned to a darker hue.

Zoë Kravitz said that her blonde hair inspired her to take more makeup risks.

zoe kravitz platinum
Zoë Kravitz.John Phillips/Getty Images and Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Kravitz went platinum back in 2016, and shared with Vogue how her hair transformation affected the rest of her style.

"Yeah, [the color] does change the game a little bit, but I think I like the red lip even more now with the blonde hair. It has kind of a bombshell-y thing to it. A dark, more dramatic brow is something I'm more into now; it used to be a little overpowering with the dark hair," she said.

Even though we know Leighton Meester best as a brunette, she's naturally a blonde ... but not this blonde.

leighton meester platinum
Leighton Meester.RW/AP Images and Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

The story of how Meester had to dye her naturally blonde hair dark to snag the role of "Gossip Girl's" Blair Waldorf might be common knowledge now, but it's still jarring to see her with light hair, especially this shade.

In April 2018, Meester unveiled the new look on Instagram, but it was back to brunette by the end of June to shoot her sitcom "Single Parents."

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