Does Platinum Blond Hair = More Fame?

[Nikki]

I do think when a performer is on stage, the bright blonde hair may be done on purpose.. it could be coincidental but it kinda makes sense to have a lighter color on a stage. works even more like a magnet to the people, more visible and stands out more compared to the dancers etc. especially when she wears black outfits. very striking contrast. even when she had a brunette era, the tours were always done with blonde locks. (in fact I think most of her dancers always had darker hair as well.. so the star of the show stands out even more)

it doesn't appeal to more fame, imo. but on a stage I do think it's a deliberate decision (or at least it came deliberate later on)

[Guest Sweet Tooth]

I love Madonna with Red or Dark brown/black hair.

The honey colored shoulder-length waves is tired.

[dollhouse]

I love Madonna with Red or Dark brown/black hair.

The honey colored shoulder-length waves is tired.

+1

[IsaacHarris]

She needs to be reintroduced to hairweaves; that way, she can change her hair color weekly, even daily. Everybody wins.

[Guest]

She needs to be reintroduced to hairweaves; that way, she can change her hair color weekly, even daily. Everybody wins.

She uses the clip ins ALL the time. Too bad Andy can't color match to save his life.

[Glindathegood]

I do think when a performer is on stage, the bright blonde hair may be done on purpose.. it could be coincidental but it kinda makes sense to have a lighter color on a stage. works even more like a magnet to the people, more visible and stands out more compared to the dancers etc. especially when she wears black outfits. very striking contrast. even when she had a brunette era, the tours were always done with blonde locks. (in fact I think most of her dancers always had darker hair as well.. so the star of the show stands out even more)

it doesn't appeal to more fame, imo. but on a stage I do think it's a deliberate decision (or at least it came deliberate later on)

I think lighter hair tends to photograph much better because it reflects light, while dark absorbs light. I prefer her with blonde hair because even though it's not her natural color it goes better with her coloring the light skin and the light blue eyes. Darker hair tends to wash her out. I think darker hair looks better with slightly darker/more olive skin and green or brown eyes. I think she could try a darker blonde, more like the honey color she had in the Beautiful Stranger video or a strawberry blonde like during ROL, but I don't think she should go brunette.

[Larkspur]

No platinum hair does not = more fame. The colour of someone's hair doesn't matter. People become famous for different reasons and if you ask every famous person why they think they became famous I doubt the answer would be the colour of my hair.

[peter]

No offense, but it's not as dumb as a thread about Madonna's alleged drug use.

I remember the interview about her wanting to keep her hair brunette. I was surprised that they didn't do some pics with her hair dark before the bleach job. For variety's sake at least. Lol!

I do think her hair looks better platinum blonde, as opposed to the middle of the road honey color she's been sporting for the last 6 years.

I was going to say ... there's only one expert who needs to answer this question! lol! Glad to see you weighed in. Tresses crossed for you that you'll find a connection to work with her.

[peter]

I guess blondes get more attention, but I would love for her to go brunette again

I love that you can see A CHEEK here. (It's a lovely picture.)

Not that it matters to anyone, but she also went dark briefly during ROL phase -- POG and NRM. Her hair looked amazing around the time of the NRM video and the Larry King interview. It was so straight and soft-looking. Then the curl started to come back a little bit. (It was still very straight for the Grammys, too ... but it did look slightly different than the Bazaar shoot, the NRM video, and that Larry King interview.)

[Guest Sweet Tooth]

She uses the clip ins ALL the time. Too bad Andy can't color match to save his life.

Time to fire that young hairstylist and get a new one who's more adventurous.

[Guest Sweet Tooth]

+1

Loved your sig. M took a tiny risk with the hairdo for the Turn Up The Radio vid. Too bad it never lasted....

[Guest]

I was going to say ... there's only one expert who needs to answer this question! lol! Glad to see you weighed in. Tresses crossed for you that you'll find a connection to work with her.

Thanks peter :-)

I really think the last time her (blonde) hair looked really good was sticky and sweet round 1 (particularly at the rock-n-rolla premeire w/ Guy R) but I'm down to see a brunette M, or even an ombré look. The honey and golden blonde of late doesn't look good unless it's filtered to death on IG

[IsaacHarris]

I'd love a platinum-blond, BONE STRAIGHT hairstyle. Maybe Nicki can let her borrow the IDGAF MDNA wig?

[Guest]

I always preferred Madonna with dark brown or black hair.

[Guest]

I'd love a platinum-blond, BONE STRAIGHT hairstyle. Maybe Nicki can let her borrow the IDGAF MDNA wig?

It's strange how Minage loves blonde wigs. I do like it in her though.

[albertogerard]

It's strange how Minage loves blonde wigs. I do like it in her though.

Speaking of Minage, artists of all ethnic backgrounds have tried the blond look. I have to wonder; did they just want to try the look on themselves OR did they do it to stand out because they were famous artists/celebrities?

Just off the top of my head certain ones come to mind: Etta James, RiRi, Shakira, Sisqo, Mary J Blige, Dionne Warwick, Nene Leakes, Lady Gaga, etc..

[IsaacHarris]

Well, blond hair fits into the American/ "Western" standard of beauty, and it definitely stands out.

[Guest]

Speaking of Minage, artists of all ethnic backgrounds have tried the blond look. I have to wonder; did they just want to try the look on themselves OR did they do it to stand out because they were famous artists/celebrities?

Just off the top of my head certain ones come to mind: Etta James, RiRi, Shakira, Sisqo, Mary J Blige, Dionne Warwick, Nene Leakes, Lady Gaga, etc..

Ultra Blonde hair has been the high standard for Glamour since the beginning of Hollywood. Every "it" girl that's every had "it" had been through the transformation (even Julia Roberts had her bleach blonde short hair at the height of her early fame, today it's Miley and Jennifer Lawrence) truly platinum hair is high maintenance and damaging to the hair, so I understand why Madonna (and all the others mentioned above) opt for wigs, but it's still considered a statement that says "powerful, sexy, and expensive" which are traits Madonna has always exuded, especially when she's high glamour platinum blonde.

[Larkspur]

^ Marilyn was 10 years old in 1936 and I thought she went the way of platinum blonde because she was such a fan of Jean Harlow? Jean Harlow even made a movie called " Platinum Blonde" in 1931.

I think natural platinum blonde hair is rare. I don't think Jean was naturally platinum blonde or maybe even blonde for that matter. Was she? I think it stood out because not many people naturally have that colour hair so it was just different. I don't know how many women outside of hollywood who were dyeing their hair platinum blonde before Jean Harlow. I never bothered to look up the history. I just know it's simply not a natural hair colour for most people.

I think Jean and Marilyn had more to offer than the colour of their hair. I think they would have been equally as famous if they were not platinum blonde or blonde. I just think with women people tend to not look past their looks. If she's blonde she is not taken seriously. Is it because they think platinum blonde hair is so different and just used to get attention because it's different? If she's brunette she is taken more seriously.

I think their platinum blonde hair affects the perception of why these women were famous but I don't think it is the reason for their fame.

[albertogerard]

^ Marilyn was 10 years old in 1936 and I thought she went the way of platinum blonde because she was such a fan of Jean Harlow? Jean Harlow even made a movie called " Platinum Blonde" in 1931.

I think natural platinum blonde hair is rare. I don't think Jean was naturally platinum blonde or maybe even blonde for that matter. Was she? I think it stood out because not many people naturally have that colour hair so it was just different. I don't know how many women outside of hollywood who were dyeing their hair platinum blonde before Jean Harlow. I never bothered to look up the history. I just know it's simply not a natural hair colour for most people.

I think Jean and Marilyn had more to offer than the colour of their hair. I think they would have been equally as famous if they were not platinum blonde or blonde. I just think with women people tend to not look past their looks. If she's blonde she is not taken seriously. Is it because they think platinum blonde hair is so different and just used to get attention because it's different? If she's brunette she is taken more seriously.

I think their platinum blonde hair affects the perception of why these women were famous but I don't think it is the reason for their fame.

Thanks for saying that.

Madonna goes for the brunette look whenever she wants to be taken "seriously" as an artist. I think with a lot of the responses to this thread, I have my answer.

If you're a woman, platinum blonde hair gets you more ATTENTION. And usually (NOT always) will get people to NOT take you seriously as an artist.

Madonna went brunette for "Like A Prayer" and "American Life" to be taken seriously as an artist. LAP got her universal critical acclaim (yet shockingly no Grammy nominations for the record itself). AL didn't do much for her.

Yet it was with "Ray of Light" that she FINALLY go recognized by the music industry. And she was neither platinum blond or brunette. This time it was all about the music, not the image.

[Rugbyguy]

Im not a fan of her platinum hair, as she gets older it suits her less and less. When she's not all made up sometimes she looks a bit cheap which is a dreadful word to use to describe M but I think it's accurate. The 2006/2007 honey blonde hair looks best on her now as she ages.

[promise to try]

Red hair! I want her to try the red hair again!she hasn't use it enough

[Roland Barthes]

Expand

While, these days, "platinum blonde" is commonly used to describe hair color, the term actually wasn't coined until the thirties when Howard Hughes wanted to come up with a moniker to increase the popularity of actress Jean Harlow. Eventually, his publicity director came up with the "Platinum Blonde." Back then, Harlow's hair color was almost entirely unheard of — Hughes even offered up a reward of $10,000 to any stylist who could match it and no one ever lived up to the task.

While Harlow always claimed that her white blonde hair was her natural color, the truth was that she went through painful weekly color appointements with celebrity hairstylist Alfred Pagano who once explained the process thusly: "We used peroxide, ammonia, Clorox, and Lux flakes! Can you believe that?"

Ammonia and Clorox, when mixed together, creates hydrochloric acid, a noxious gas that when inhaled can lead to kidney damage. Harlow died of kidney failure at the age of 26, leading Taylor Orci at the Atlantic to posit that the toxic hair dying process might have played a key role in her tragic and brutal death.

Harlow was forced to stop dyeing her hair a couple of years before she died — primarily because it all started to fall out — and began wearing wigs instead. While her hair color — which she attributed to her success, once saying that, without it, "Hollywood wouldn't know I'm alive" — can't be entirely to blame for her kidney failure (she was also plagued with a lifetime's worth of health problems including scarlet fever, polio, multiple bouts of influenza and — perhaps most damning — serious alcoholism) it certainly could have been a contributing factor.

[Roland Barthes]

What about Pink hair Madonna and Redhead Madonna ?

[Roland Barthes]

[Larkspur]

Expand

While, these days, "platinum blonde" is commonly used to describe hair color, the term actually wasn't coined until the thirties when Howard Hughes wanted to come up with a moniker to increase the popularity of actress Jean Harlow. Eventually, his publicity director came up with the "Platinum Blonde." Back then, Harlow's hair color was almost entirely unheard of Hughes even offered up a reward of $10,000 to any stylist who could match it and no one ever lived up to the task.

While Harlow always claimed that her white blonde hair was her natural color, the truth was that she went through painful weekly color appointements with celebrity hairstylist Alfred Pagano who once explained the process thusly: "We used peroxide, ammonia, Clorox, and Lux flakes! Can you believe that?"

Ammonia and Clorox, when mixed together, creates hydrochloric acid, a noxious gas that when inhaled can lead to kidney damage. Harlow died of kidney failure at the age of 26, leading Taylor Orci at the Atlantic to posit that the toxic hair dying process might have played a key role in her tragic and brutal death.

Harlow was forced to stop dyeing her hair a couple of years before she died primarily because it all started to fall out and began wearing wigs instead. While her hair color which she attributed to her success, once saying that, without it, "Hollywood wouldn't know I'm alive" can't be entirely to blame for her kidney failure (she was also plagued with a lifetime's worth of health problems including scarlet fever, polio, multiple bouts of influenza and perhaps most damning serious alcoholism) it certainly could have been a contributing factor.

That's sad. It's a shame she went through that. I wonder how many guys in Hollywood back then that would have endured that. Her death at such a young age was so sad. I never thought of her hair dye possibly contributing. Like you said she had other health problems.

I personally think people look their best naturally. I'm not against playing with your look but I really think enhancing your natural features makes you look your best. My favorite "look" of Madonna's was her more natural look during the Ray of Light years. Is Madonna's natural hair color dark blonde or light to medium brown? It actually looks dark blonde on the Ray of Light cover. If she dyed it dark blonde then that doesn't go too far away from her natural color. It looks like the same color that she had in 84-85. I actually only recall Madonna having "platinum blonde" in 86 and edit: 87 as well. What she wears now would be a very light blonde.

[Glindathegood]

I love it! This would be a great color on her. It's sort of a strawberry blonde. It's not too dark which is kind of unflattering with her skin tone. Also, it's something a little unusual, everyone has either blonde hair or very dark hair.

[MerGirl]

Is Madonna's natural hair color dark blonde or light to medium brown? It actually looks dark blonde on the Ray of Light cover. If she dyed it dark blonde then that doesn't go too far away from her natural color. It looks like the same color that she had in 84-85. I actually only recall Madonna having "platinum blonde" in 86. What she wears now would be a very light blonde.

Madonna is a natural brunette, her hair color is medium to dark brown

[Larkspur]

Madonna is a natural brunette, her hair color is medium to dark brown

Thanks! I always think of her hair when she first started in music to be her natural color but I know your right.

[Guest Rachelle of London]

Strawberry blonde would warm up her skin time for sure. As of recent her hair has looked really bright. People don't understand that the older you get the lighter your skin gets too. A colour which probably looked amazing on her in 2004 may not be the best option now. I would love to see M experiment with her hair more nowadays.