Demi Moore, 1984
A woman who seems to have lived a thousand different lives with a thousand different hair looks, Demi Moore is having another renaissance following her turn in the shocking body horror The Substance, and her recent viral acceptance speech at the Golden Globes about rediscovering her self-worth on her own terms.
“I’ll just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting,” she said, after winning the award for best actress in a musical or comedy for her role as 50-year-old Hollywood star Elisabeth Sparkle. “In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough or pretty enough, or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough. I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know, you will never be enough. But you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’”
Since her first role in General Hospital in 1981, Demi has had an uncanny ability to transform, often using her hair as a storytelling device to help define her many characters – from the voluminous, untamed brat pack waves as messy yuppie Jules in 1985’s St. Elmo’s Fire to the pixie cut (or bowl cut, depending on who you’re talking to) in 1990’s Ghost. And who can forget the cultural moments that were her G.I. Jane buzzcut and perfect beach waves in that scene in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle...
She's also one of the most enduring hair icons, influencing many to cut their hair like hers - like Monica's hair fail in Friends.
Each era of the beauty chameleon’s life has its corresponding hair moment: the fluffy youthful 80s, the experimental 90s where Demi redefined the role of an A-list Hollywood star and became the world’s highest paid actress, the shiny glam of the early noughties (remember when she was married to Ashton Kutcher?!) and today’s low-key but high maintenance long, shiny, dark hair.
Today’s hip-grazing locks worn with a centre part have become her signature, achieved with lots of dedication and hard work – and “regular tiny trims”.
“I've done everything to my hair. I've shaved it. I've dyed it. I've had a bob. When I'm not working, I try to do as little to it as possible," Demi told People magazine. “It's stressful even having someone touch it. If I don't have anywhere to go, I don't put heat on it – I just try to let it do its own thing. And I don't wash it too often.” She is, however, a “diehard Kevin Murphy Hydrate-Me Wash and Hydrate-Me Rinse person”.
Scroll on to take a look back at the actor’s ever-evolving hair and beauty looks over several decades.
Her earliest on screen role was as investigative journalist Jackie Templeton in General Hospital from 1982–1983, with fluffy blown-out hair and bouncy bangs.
Modelling in 1982, with perfectly coiffed early 80s hair (and fashion).
One of Demi's early roles was in the (quite bonkers) 1984 film Blame it on Rio, with long swept back brunette locks. Here, she's captured BTS while filming.
An 80s prom queen updo, as Jules in 1985's St. Elmo's Fire. "Jules would have loved Brat Girl Summer," wrote Demi on Instagram last year.
A curly throwback look Demi shared on Instagram; likely her pregnant era in the late 80s.
The bowl cut for Ghost, 1990. Do we really need to say anything other than ICONIC!
Short hair, 1990.
Pass the hairspray! Demi's blonde diva era, at the 1990 premiere of Dances With Wolves.
As well as her stacked filmography, Demi has been the star of some of the most famous fashion magazines of all time that would go on to influence photography for years to come - like the 1992 trompe-l'œil body painting, and the 1991 'handbra' nude photograph when she was seven-months pregnant. Both were shot by Annie Leibovitz.
A couple of years of growth, post Ghost pixie cut, with peak 90s glam at the 1992 Oscars.
Chic alert. Demi's chin-length bob with side part in 1993 drama Indecent Proposal was another influential and timeless look.
A classic blunt bob, paired with a brown printed skirt suit, choker and red lip, circa 1995.
To play a former FBI secretary-turned-stripper in 1996 film Striptease, Demi was paid a then-unprecedented $12.5 million - making her the highest-paid film actress up to that time. It's been called one of the worst films ever made, but her hair looked fab.
Another hair transformation that had the tabloids shaking. In 1997 Demi appeared in G.I. Jane, famously shaving off her hair for the role.
Beach hair in THAT running on the beach scene, as former Angel Madison Lee in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
Shiny, poker straight hair for the Fall 2005 Versace campaign, truly embodying the 'McBling' look of the era.
Demi's long, natural hair in 2019. She's talked about keeping her longer hair as she gets older. "I remember hearing someone say that when women get older, they shouldn't have long hair. And something about that stuck with me," she said. "Like who says? It made me feel like, well, if it can grow and it's not unhealthy, then why shouldn't we? I'm not comfortable with rules that don't seem to have any real meaning or justification."
Natural loose waves and her signature dead-centre part - with her famous chihuahua, Pilaf.
Old Hollywood waves for the Golden Globes after-parties, January 2025.
Nailing the hair tucked in coat look, as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance (2024). The hint of frizz showcases the character's facade of perfection cracking.
Demi doesn't often wear hair accessories, but chose a Chanel hair bow to pin back her long locks for the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Awards.
