18 Famous Women on How Hollywood Still Can’t Get Black Hair Right

In January 2021, the actor told Insider her iconic High School Musical character, Taylor McKessie, was always wearing headbands because the film’s beauty department didn’t know how to work with Black hair. “We’ve grown a lot in this industry and we’ve grown a lot in representation and we’ve grown a lot in terms of understanding the needs of an African American actress,” she told the outlet. “But the truth is, is that they had done my hair, and they had done it very poorly in the front.”

So Coleman suggested the hairdressers “incorporate headbands into her character” and “just make that a part of who she is.” The 40-year-old says her costars were “lucky” because Disney and everyone involved were “very open to our feedback.” So if you ever wondered how Taylor’s extensive headband collection came to be, now you know.