17 Stars Who Can Thank Their Hair For Jump-Starting Their Careers

After dyeing her hair its signature red hue, Adams said she was considered for more complex roles.

The Mad Men actress worked as a model before breaking out on TV.

Image: GingerParrot

Hendricks may look stunning as a redhead, but, when she first dyed her hair, her modeling agency demanded that she go back to blonde. Thankfully, she didn’t listen — and began booking tons of jobs as a redhead.

The Drinking Buddies actress started her career as a blonde, and was often typecast as the “hot chick” or the “pretty girl.”

Wilde dyed her hair brown for a role and told Into the Gloss that she immediately saw a shift in the roles people asked her to audition for, stating that the image of brunettes as more intelligent than blondes persists in Hollywood.

The True Blood actress told Elle that she felt like she “disappeared into the background” when she rocked her natural blonde hair.

There’s nothing generic about Woll’s gorgeous red.

The natural brunette was asked to go red for a role to standout amongst the other cast members.

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon asked the brunette stars of the series to alter their hair colors to differentiate themselves from one another onscreen. Hannigan happily went red, and it’s been her signature hue ever since.

Moore rocked blonde locks when she was trying to make it as a pop star (remember “Candy?”), but found it hard to stand out amongst fellow fair-haired singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Moore dyed her hair a chocolate brown and quickly found success in the acting world with films like How To Deal and A Walk To Remember.

The fiery actress was asked to go red by the producer of her first major movie.

Superbad producer Judd Apatow asked Stone to dye her hair red for her part in the film, and she obliged. It quickly became her signature hue — she only recently went back to blonde for the part of Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spider-Man.

The Candidly Nicole star got major fashion cred for this hair look.

It’s hard to believe that this lavender-haired lady was ever Paris Hilton’s lackey.

The reality star’s long brown hair was sweet, but she proved that she was fashion forward with this trendy hairstyle.

Jenner’s cool blue tips made fans obsess over what hairstyle she would pull of next — and totally boosted her Instagram game.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else filling Blair Waldorf’s Chanel loafers, and it might not have happened had Meester not made a major hair change.

The naturally blonde actress dyed her hair before auditioning for the role of Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl.

The Girls star totally revamped her look with this dye job.

Mamet’s already seeing the benefits of her new look — she scored the role of Patrick Bateman’s girlfriend in the workshop of the American Psycho musical, a part played by Reese Witherspoon in the movie. Sure, maybe she would have gotten the part as a brunette, but it’s easier to see her taking the stage as the super-blonde Upper East Sider with her new hair.

The former Hannah Montana star used to be all about her brown extensions.

Cyrus’ transformation into a twerkin’ pop sensation wouldn’t be complete without her cool platinum dye job and pixie cut. It was the first sign that the “Wrecking Ball” singer wanted people to see her differently.

The Twilight star’s beachy hair was so not Bella Swan — or Kristen Stewart, for that matter.

Stewart may have dyed her hair dark for her role in the vampire franchise, but the darker ‘do also worked well with her edgier style.

The Fashion Police host has always done different things with her hair, but she’s credited as one of the first celebrities to pioneer lilac hair in everyday life.

Osbourne’s dye job proved that purple hair could be chic — and that she was a style trailblazer.

Rihanna was a sweet faced singer with a killer voice, but didn’t show her edgy side ‘til she chopped off her hair.

The “S&M” singer’s hair cut in 2008 was the first step she took in cultivating her Bad Girl RiRi image.

The American Idol runner-up made a big hair change in 2009.

According to new Scorpian star McPhee, she dyed her hair shortly after the release of her album Unbroken because she wanted to feel inspired in a new way. It worked. Though she dyed her hair back to its original brown for the role, she scored the lead in NBC’s Smash just one year later — a show in which her character was up for the role of Marilyn Monroe in a musical. At least producers knew she’d look great in a blonde wig!

The “Sk8r Boi” singer rocked long brown hair at the beginning of her career.

As Lavigne began exploring a pop sound for her music, her hair also lightened up.