Celebs Who Took A Stunning Leap From Long To Short Hair

It feels like celebrities are constantly changing their hair. With so many famous faces openly rocking wigs, it's not uncommon to see someone go from wearing a short chop one day and long tresses the next. But there are plenty of celebs who have taken the short hair look more seriously, chopping off serious inches from their actual hair. We saw Miley Cyrus make a big change in 2012 when she swapped her signature long, soft brunette locks for a dramatic, bright blonde 'do at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. A decade later, Halle Berry said goodbye to her long curls and opted for a daring purple look that was a lot shorter. 

But they're certainly not alone. There are plenty of women giving us the inspo we need to go from long to short, so we've rounded up some of our favorite transformations. Just make sure you've tried our easy trick to determine if short hair is for you before you grab the scissors or the clippers.

On May 8, 2023, Tia Mowry hit the red carpet for the premiere of "The Little Mermaid" with long, natural curls hanging past her chest. But, before the month ended, she'd undergone quite the daring change. The former "Sister, Sister" actor shared a stunning Instagram selfie on May 31 with a textured pixie and wispy, brow-length bangs. "There's something so bittersweet about a nice chop. It feels like a release of old memories, both good & bad, but also, an exciting start to a new era," she captioned the photo.

Anne Hathaway ditched long hair when she landed her iconic role as "Fantine" in "Les Misérables", first debuting the extremely short crop in May 2012 for the Stella McCartney Spring Presentation. Her look was strikingly different to the flowing, long tresses fans were used to in movies like "The Princess Diaries" and "The Devil Wears Prada." Though many stars return to their original style after a movie wraps, Hathaway kept her cropped cut for a little while longer. "It really wasn't about me and my security," she explained to Vulture the following month. "I'm just so pleased with how I look, so I now quite like having short hair."

Carrie Underwood has had long hair ever since she won "American Idol" in 2005, but after a decade of similar blond styles, she gave a sophisticated lob a go. Speaking to Elle in 2016, the country singer admitted that her decision to make the chop came because of big life changes, as taking off the inches meant she could spend more time with her son. "Cutting my hair was a mom move," she said, explaining she would previously spend around 30 minutes of her day just drying her long mane. "Things have just definitely gotten simpler [since having a baby]. I blow out my hair with a round brush and I'm good."

When Florence Pugh hit the Met Gala red carpet in May 2023, the "Oppenheimer" star wowed audiences with a daring buzzcut far shorter than the collarbone grazing style and bangs she sported the month prior (which was actually long for her). Speaking to Radio Times two months after getting close to the clippers, Pugh shared she did it for her role in "We Live In Time" but clarified it was her decision. "I purposefully chose to look like that. I wanted vanity out of the picture. Hollywood is very glamorous — especially for women — and it's hard for an audience to see past that," she explained (via HuffPost).

Rita Ora attended the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2023 with striking long hair that featured blue feathers cascading down her back. That changed in February 2024 when she co-hosted "Today" alongside Hoda Kotb with a classic bob cut. "I cut my hair off at 7 o'clock this morning," she admitted on the NBC show. "Wait, you just had cut it now?" Kotb then asked, to which Ora replied, "Yes! Well, I guess for this. I didn't even know this was happening, honestly!" We wouldn't recommend such a dramatic cut so close to a big event, but fortunately, Ora's "New Look" was totally gorgeous.

Demi Lovato is known for regularly changing up their hair, but one of the most dramatic overhauls happened in 2021. That year, the former Disney star attended the iHeartRadio Music Awards debuting a short and choppy mullet, which came as a shock to some as the singer was previously seen at the Grammys in February 2020 with extra long, black tresses.

Nevertheless, that style was long compared to the cut Lovato later showed off on Instagram in December 2021. In a since-deleted post, Lovato sported a very bold buzzcut alongside the caption "#FreshStart" (via E! News).

You may think Charlize Theron had to get a buzzcut for her role in "Mad Max," but it was actually her decision. The actor debuted a barely there, dark look in candid photos snapped in November 2022 and looked almost unrecognizable compared to when she had collar-length, warm blond locks at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards five months earlier. Theron spoke to People about the chop, explaining she wanted it because her hair showed signs of damage. "I was glad to get rid of it. I was also a new mom and just loved the idea of not having to style my hair every morning. The timing was perfect," she said.

In July 2009, Solange Knowles attended the Essence Music Festival with a curly mane that stretched down past her chest. But when she and her famous sister Beyoncé appeared at Disneyland Tokyo the following month, that length was long gone. The "Losing You" singer rocked a natural crop that highlighted her stunning facial features. Unfortunately, some social media users weren't the kindest about the change. After many vocalized their thoughts about the cut on X (formerly known as Twitter), Knowles clapped back in a series of now-deleted tweets defending her decision. The singer explained she'd gone that short twice before and noted (via Seventeen), "I just wanted to be free from the bondage that Black women sometimes put on themselves with hair." She continued, in part, "This phase of my life I want to spend the time, the energy, and the money on something else. Not in the hair salon." So it totally makes sense why she went for such a low-maintenance hairstyle.

In 2012, country singer Kellie Pickler swapped long and blond for buzzed-off tresses to support a friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The former "American Idol" contestant spoke about the decision on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," sharing, "I think the last thing you want anyone that you love to feel like, you don't want them to walk through the valley alone." She added, "I think it's important to have a cancer buddy." Not only did Pickler look breath-taking with cropped locks that suited her enviable bone structure, we couldn't love her more for the sentiment behind the brave move.

"The Big Bang Theory" fans will remember Season 8 when Kaley Cuoco's character Penny suddenly had very short locks after wearing her hair long for years. That was no wig, as Cuoco really cut several inches off for the movie "Burning Bodhi." "Something needed to shake up. I was bored and sick of the hair," Cuoco explained in the book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series." But she found her short mane was actually harder to style and, although she looked stunning, she regretted her choice. "I was like, this is the worst decision! What was I thinking?!" she said.

In March 2024, Gigi Hadid went from extra-long beach waves to a more manageable bob. Ever the trendsetter, plenty of Hadid's followers were in love with the supermodel's dramatic chop, as it inspired the flippy bob trend that had us all curling out the ends of our locks. Hadid debuted the beachy cut, and what appeared to be her natural sandy blond, on Instagram, captioning the breath-taking outdoor shots, "Sunshine & my new 'do!"

Rihanna had the world in a tizzy in 2012 when she swapped her chest-length curls for a dark and choppy layered cut that was just a few inches long. Rihanna's hairstylist at the time, Yusef Williams, opened up about what inspired the piece-y change, telling British Vogue it happened on a flight. "We started shaving off the sides and before we knew it, it was all gone. I didn't want to shave it completely though, but she's so pretty she could pull it off," Williams recalled. Rihanna has changed things up multiple times since then, including rocking the divisive chunky highlights trend in 2024.

Kate Hudson had the world doing a double take when she stepped out with a buzzcut in September 2017. The extremely short style was totally different from the long, blond hairstyle she wowed us with at the premiere of "Snatched" a few months earlier (and for many years prior). Hudson underwent the transformation for the movie "Sister," and had no regrets about getting more than a little trim. "The shaved head was awesome," she told Harper's Bazaar U.K. in 2018. "I didn't think I'd love it so much. The connection to it was powerful and I wasn't prepared for that. It's so liberating," she added.

Pamela Anderson's long blond 'do is iconic, so it was a shock to many in December 2013 when she was photographed with brunette pixie. The dark aesthetic came a month after the former "Baywatch" star debuted shorter tresses in her signature color. When asked why she said goodbye to a lot of length on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in November 2013, the actor explained, "I just thought my hair had a life. And I wanted to kind of put that behind me and start fresh." 

Julianne Hough took to Instagram in January 2024 to share a video that showed her cutting off several inches of hair to create a crisp bob. "Out with the old energy, and in with the new," the "Dancing With the Stars" co-host captioned the clip, explaining that she was inspired by a rainy day. "It made me start to think about the seasons of life, and the decisions we make as we progress. Hair is such an outward expression of what those decisions are... of the internal journeys that we go through," she continued. And the end result sure was gorgeous.