Hot Gallery: The Most Surprising Real Hair Colors in Hollywood

Heather Renée Sweet Dita Von Teese blonde high school yearbook photo

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Then: Dita Von Teese

Back in her early ballerina days, Heather Renée Sweet (a.k.a. Dita Von Teese) was achieving en pointe with the natural blonde hair she was born with—until her teens, anyway.

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Now: Dita Von Teese

When Dita adopted her stage name and transitioned into fetish modeling and burlesque dancing, Von Teese also transformed into a bottle-black gal, going DIY with her hair color. She keeps her blonde roots at bay in favor of a more seductive, classic black.

Britney Spears young school yearbook photo

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Then: Britney Spears

Is Britney blonde or not? Just take a look back at little Britney Spears during her stint on The New Mickey Mouse Club and it’s no secret that the precocious performer was rocking her natural brown hair color.

Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library, Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Now: Britney Spears

In her solo performance years, Spears went for the full blonde look and has maintained it, or various shades of the sun-dappled color, ever since.

brooklyn decker young high school yearbook photo

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Then: Brooklyn Decker

Way before admirers came to know Brooklyn Decker through Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated modeling, the gorgeous lady was wearing her tresses au naturel (or what we like to call brown).

Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library, Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Dolce & Gabbana

Now: Brooklyn Decker

Since bursting on the scene in 2006 as a swimsuit model, Brook’s had a variety of hair lengths, from long to a bob, but she’s maintained her blonde color through it all.

jennifer lopez young high school yearbook photo

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Then: Jennifer Lopez

Guess what? Jenny from the Block had naturally brown hair back in the day, but it started to gray at the tender age of 23! Once she hit Hollywood as a dancer and then actor, Lopez got on the coloring bandwagon.

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Now: Jennifer Lopez

As we saw on American Idol last season, Lopez is now an expensive-looking honey blonde who keeps her signature long tresses always looking thick and luscious.

ABC

Then: Cynthia Nixon

Most people forget that Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon is actually a natural blonde. Nixon went red to play her signature role as Miranda on the hit series and now most people assume that’s the color God gave her.

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Now: Cynthia Nixon

Nixon says she only goes red when she’s shooting a Sex and the City film now, and that returning to her natural blonde look helps her stay under the radar in her hometown of New York City.

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Then: Emma Stone

Believe it or not, Emma Stone is a natural blonde, not the saucy redhead audiences have come to associate with the red-hot starlet. Stone says she dyed the blonde away because it gave her a “stuck-up air."

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Now: Emma Stone

Emma Stone says people embraced her funny (a la Lucille Ball) when she had red locks, so she’s kept the color, or some variation, for all her major roles.

rachel maddow young high school yearbook photo Castro Valley High School

Then: Rachel Maddow

Back when Maddow was attending Castro Valley High School in California, Rachel looked like the epitome of a California girl, complete with sun-kissed tan and long blonde hair.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Now: Rachel Maddow

Now a fixture on our TV sets, the MSNBC host has embraced the short-cropped brunette look that goes well with her direct-to-the-point style.

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Then: Sofia Vergara

Wait, who would believe that Modern Family’s sexy, sultry second wife Gloria isn’t a natural brunette? Actress Sofia Vergara fesses up that she is a natural blonde but began coloring her hair when casting agents didn’t know what to do with a curvy Latina woman with blonde hair.

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Now: Sofia Vergara

Vergara admits that after she turned her blonde hair to brunette, the color change softened her whole appearance and demeanor and made it easier for the actress to land better roles. See, not all blondes have more fun.