Hair Story: Natural Hair Moments On The Red Carpet
Forever Making Hair-Story—These Red Carpet Hairstyles Have Roots
- Black stars use award shows to showcase the artistry and history of Black hairstyles like afros, braids, and twists.
- Iconic looks, from Diana Ross' voluminous 'fro to Lupita Nyong'o's braided crown, have solidified Black hair as a form of cultural resistance.
- Protective styles like cornrows and locs, once born of necessity, have evolved into high-fashion statements of Black pride.
Every awards season, when the red carpets get rolled out, Black fashion takes a very special place on the main stage. Not only does Black Hollywood manage to infuse our legacy into looks on Hollywood’s biggest nights, like the Oscars, but Black icons also shine especially bright in spaces just for our culture, like the NAACP Image Awards. Where flawless Black fashion and flashing cameras go, bold hairstyles are quick to follow.
Pop culture’s most famous Black stars are beacons of the culture who show the world our beauty in gate-kept spaces. One of the biggest flexes of Black beauty is the intricate ways in which the community, especially women, celebrate identity through hair. So it’s no surprise that our favorite entertainers use the year’s biggest red carpets to highlight hair as living art. Because the Black hair-story runs back centuries, these kinks, curls, and waves can be transformed into infinite statement pieces when accepting awards.
It started when Hattie Daniels set the tone as the first Black actress to win an Oscar in 1940. Even though she was sat at a segregated table, she put those gardenias on, forever cementing an iconic style. Some of the biggest fashion moments since Hattie’s slay have turned Black hair into a hot topic. Who could forget when the so-called Fashion Police commented that Zendaya probably “smell[ed] like patchouli oil or weed” because she was wearing locs? But despite microaggressions and misunderstandings of hair culture, the creativity of styling the crowns on Black queens’ heads has never faded.
Untouchable talent like Josephine Baker, Cicely Tyson, and Angela Bassett have been making hair a moment since the 20th century. Today, beloved belles of the next generation like Yara Shahidi, Halle Bailey, and Beyoncé continue the tradition of turning out styles from corn rows, to afros, to 3D sculptural masterpieces in front of a step and repeat. They prove that the best red carpet looks are more than trendy, they’re a chance to show off Black history to the world, one laid edge at a time.
1. Diana Ross’ Afro At The NAACP Image Awards (1971)
While living legend Diana Ross didn’t invent the afro, she was a huge part of making the fierce, fluffy staple mainstream in American media as the face of The Supremes in the 1960s. The afro is a part of ancient African history that became a political rejection of European beauty standards during the civil rights movement, thanks to activists like Angela Davis. When Diana made the unapologetically voluminous ‘do her signature, she solidified that the act of resistance could be glamorous, too. Diana’s ‘fro has been referenced by many celebrities, like Ciara, Viola Davis, and, of course, her daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross.
2. Janet Jackson’s Box Braids At The Grammys (1993)
Janet Jackson is no stranger to being a trendsetter, and her memorable box braids in Poetic Justice did exactly that. Today’s box braids date all the way back to potentially 3500 B.C., originating in Namibia and the Nile, where tribal women used skull caps and nature’s treasures as luxurious braid charms. When Janet’s hairdresser character, Justice, became Hollywood history, women around the nation were inspired to revive box braids back to the top of the hair lexicon.
3. Halle Berry’s Y2K Twists At The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1998)
It doesn’t get more ’90s than this! Halle Berry’s timeless beauty is usually associated with her trademark pixie, but the only Black woman to win Best Actress has explored many cultural cuts. Back then, Blockbuster was one of the biggest companies in the industry, and Halle broke the mold by rocking twists and mini bantu knots at their award show. What’s special about this look is how Halle establishes a protective style (low-maintenance manipulation used to protect ends and strengthen locks) as a luxury aesthetic—not only something to wear around the neighborhood. This reflects the early days of braids, knots, and twists, which were created to show status through fashion and later became a product of function in the age of enslavement.
4. Mo’Nique’s Hattie McDaniel Reference At The Oscars (2010)
Mo’Nique knew she was headed for greatness the night she showed up to win an Academy Award for Precious at the 2010 Oscars, so she saluted her predecessor, Hattie McDaniel’s, as glamorous black excellence. In Mo’Nique’s own words, “The reason why I have this gardenia in my hair,” as she accepted her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, “it is the flower that Hattie McDaniel wore when she accepted her Oscar. So for you, Miss Hattie McDaniel, I feel you all over me, and it’s about time that the world feels you all over them.”
5. Rihanna’s Bantu Knots At The iHeart Radio Awards (2014)
Bantu is a Zulu word meaning “people”; it includes the hundreds of unique ethnic groups native to the South African region, where these sacred knots originated. The twisted buns are known for stretching natural coils without using heat, while looking sleek AF (case in point, Jada Pinkett Smith in The Matrix). Leave it to Bad Gal RiRi to break them out on stage, introducing the style to a whole new audience.
6. Lupita Nyong’o’s Metallic Braided Crown At The Oscars (2018)
Lupita is not only talented on screen, but she’s also a master of taking natural hair to its fullest potential. Lupita has rocked an afro pick tower at the Met Gala, referenced Nina Simone’s stacked bun, and showed off countless natural hair creations during multiple Black Panther press tours.
In some of her and her stylist, Vernon François’, best work for the red carpet, Lupita donned a modern version of the Amasunzu. The carved out crescent braids are a play on the Rwandan male marriage symbol. In Lupita and Vernon’s version, they threaded in a gold accent to match her royal Versace gown.
7. Amandla Stenberg’s Braided Fingerwaves At The Oscars (2019)
Josephine Baker was a triple threat, a sex symbol, and still today is the poster woman for the 1920s finger wave. The style, invented by French stylist François Marcel Grateau, uses mousse or gel to mold the hair into slick S-waves. Its retro appeal has evolved over time, like in 2019 when Amandla Stenberg stunned in an intricate braided variation, the same year she presented an Oscar with Senator John Lewis.
8. Lizzo’s Afro Puff At The NAACP Image Awards (2020)
Forever fearless, Lizzo combined locs and an afro puff at the 2020 Image Awards. Lizzo’s stylist, Shelby Swain, said the symmetrical design was intended to “capture [Lizzo’s] personality, playful, fun, and sultry.” Shelby’s two-hour work included locs, tracing back to ancient Egypt, Kenya, and India. The Masai, one of the oldest Kenyan tribes, used locs as both a spiritual practice and warrior armor.
9. Janelle Monet’s Scuptural Braids At The NAACP Image Awards (2020)
Sculptural braids expand hair art to the next level, literally! Janelle Monet’s 3D braided crown, which screams queen, is the type of regal elegance that signified status in early civilizations.
10. Issa Rae’s Pompadour At The Wearable Art Gala (2022)
From Awkward Black Girl to TV mogul, Issa Rae has remained loudly pro-Black the whole way. Issa’s pompadour at the 5th Annual Wearable Art Gala couldn’t be more fitting for the occasion, channeling the Black beauty gurus of the 1940s. The pompadour is another adapted French aesthetic that allowed melanated women in the age of Madame CJ Walker to build off of the silk-haired European beauty standard of the era.
11. Danai Gurira’s Bubble Ponytail At The Oscars (2023)
Danai Gurira transformed her pride in her African ancestry into a towering bubble ponytail at the Oscars. As Danai shared on the carpet, “This is my African self coming out here…a tribute to the women who carry amazing things on their heads with an astounding poise at all times.” Carrying heavy loads atop their heads became a tried and true tradition for women across the continent who had to problem-solve traveling long distances over tricky terrain to supply their families with food, water, and necessities.
12. Doechii’s Floor Length Corn Rows At The BET Awards (2025)
Most Black women have hands-on experience with corn rows, the ancient braid that got its modern moniker from the backbreaking work of slaves in the Diaspora. In the darkest days of American history, simple corn rows became a necessary time-saver, opposite to the extravagant braided patterns of back home. Even so, there’s some evidence that detailed cornrows might have been used by enslaved people to share escape routes. Doechii is certainly doing the most, in the best way, with her floor length inches at The BET Awards, showing there’s nothing basic about Black hair.
13. Teyana Taylor’s Dorothy Dandridge Cut At The Golden Globes (2026)
Though it may not be obvious, the girls who get it, get that every time Teyana sports this perfectly curled mini, she’s tipping her hat to Dorothy Dandridge. Halle Berry was the first to win the top Oscar, but Dorothy Dandridge was the first Black entertainer to be nominated for Best Actress. That was thanks to her trailblazing work in roles like Carmen Jones and The Decks That Ran Red. Dorothy’s famous wavy pixie, achieved with meticulously placed pin curls, is the ultimate effortless black girl glam inspo.
Forever Making Hair-Story—These Red Carpet Hairstyles Have Roots was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
