It seems like it happens to every woman at some point in their life. One day, you might wake up wanting a change; perhaps you’ve seen too many social media posts claiming that bangs will frame your face and give you a French chic vibe, or maybe you’re experiencing a breakup or another difficult time, and getting bangs feels like a cry for help. Either way, we’ve all been there, and we all know what a huge risk getting bangs is. It’s a decision that will alter your life for the next 12 months minimum, and you don’t really know if it’s a good or a bad one until it’s too late.
Bangs can really change a person’s appearance. If you’re lucky, you’ll look awesome and feel like you’ve completely reinvented your look. The downside is that you can completely ruin a good haircut with a few snips. But when they work—they work. And who can prove it better than celebrities who completely reinvented themselves overnight by getting bangs. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Dakota Johnson
If there were a Bangs Hall of Fame, Dakota Johnson would be featured there front and centre. Before she adopted her now-iconic thick fringe, she was just another pretty actress in Hollywood. Beautiful—but not instantly recognizable. Then she got bangs, and suddenly her face was everywhere.
Apparently she’s got quite a strong cowlick, so styling her bangs takes a lot of patience with a roundbrush and starting with sopping wet hair is non-negotiable. Yet it seems like Dakota’s stylist has mastered that art, because her bangs look effortlessly perfect every time. That French art film cool-girl vibe? That’s all thanks to bangs, baby.
Zooey Deschanel
You could argue Zooey Deschanel invented the concept of “bangs as a personality trait.” Take them away, and she becomes practically unrecognizable — as the internet discovered during her 2013 Met Gala appearance sans fringe.
Zooey once joked that even her forehead is pale from years of bang coverage. And honestly? We believe her. She’s been a “bangs girl” since childhood, and she’s not letting go anytime soon. They’re whimsical, retro, and charming—just like her. In a world of shifting trends, Zooey’s bangs are the most consistent thing since the New Girl theme song.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry might be over her bags now, but back in the day her pin up style bangs in electric blue were a full-blown cultural moment. We’re talking blunt, Bettie Page-inspired perfection. During her California Gurls phase, those bangs were basically pop royalty in themselves.
Katy must’ve known they were a very recognisable look, because it got to the point where she burned her blue wig in 2013 to signify the end of that chapter of her life. Very dramatic, but also kinda iconic, right? These days she goes back and forth with her bangs but sticks to black hair.
Kim Kardashian
Kim is mostly known for her signature sleek, middle-part, glossy, and bang-free look. But when she changes up her hair, it becomes front-page news. And Kim has tried out quite a few fringes over the years. Most of them were probably clip-ins, but the instant transformation effect was there nonetheless. Kim, however, says that every time she tries bangs, she regrets it almost immediately. What do you think?
Lily Collins
When Lily Collins debuted her fringe in season 3 of Emily in Paris many thought it was a cry for help. It makes sense, since her character in the show cut those bangs herself when she’s going through a moment of crisis. But while the internet has collectively proclaimed them to be “trauma bangs,” the reality behind that chop couldn’t be further from the truth.
Lily says she just wanted a fresh new change. Her bangs were cut by a professional and turned out pretty flawless. They really do add a bit of that French chic to her look, and we love the flirty yet sophisticated energy they give off.
Kaia Gerber
Kaia Gerber already takes after her mother, Cindy Crawford, when it comes to her looks and just the overall vibe of out-of-this-world beauty. But when she got bangs, it was a style transformation that made her look like she time-travelled from the 70s. Those long shaggy bangs looked so perfect and lived-in. She appeared as if she had graced the cover of a vintage magazine.
They suited her to feel it cause a lot of us to google how to look like Kaia Gerber and quite a few brought photos of her new fringe to the hair salon for their new haircut. But you gotta remember, it’s not just the fringe that makes Kaia look like model royalty, it’s her genes and bone structure too.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston is not known for bangs and there’s a reason for it. The Rachel—the famous haircut inspired by her character from Friends—didn’t have bangs. And Jennifer has been mostly known for her long blonde layers since then. Yet there was a time when Jennifer used to have bangs, before her world fame, and there was even a short time when she revisited the idea of bangs for movies like Murder Mystery 2 and The Yellow Birds.
However, it was Jennifer’s stylist who convinced her that bangs are not the look for her, and he was right. The long layers she usually has are iconic and make her look like she’s never had a bad hair day in her life. This is proof that while we all go through that “I’m gonna cut bangs” stage, ultimately it doesn’t work for everyone, and there’s power in knowing that.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift used to be a little-known country girl, and then she got bangs, and it was like watching her shed the small-town persona and step into pop superstardom. Interestingly enough, she got her bangs for the Vogue photoshoot in 2011 and it was almost on a whim, she was like “let’s just cut them, it’s Vogue, why not?” And she’s been rocking bangs ever since.
Over the years, they’ve evolved into every version imaginable: side-swept, curtain, micro, wispy. But one thing’s for sure: no matter how her music changes, the bangs stay. They’re the visual signature of every Swift era—as iconic as her red lipstick.
Sabrina Carpenter
In 2024, Sabrina Carpenter became the poster girl for curtain bangs. Inspired by Brigitte Bardot, her soft, bouncy fringe went viral—mostly because every Gen Z salon customer wanted “the Sabrina.”
She later admitted she cut them after a breakup, feeling like she just needed to do something different. Very relatable. The secret to the bounty bangs according to Sabrina’s stylists is velcro rollers, volume spray, and divine heartbreak energy.
Nicole Kidman
Earlier this year Nicole Kidman debuted fresh bangs and considering what we know about her breakup the internet immediately dubbed it “the post-divorce haircut.” It’s almost ironic that bangs are the go to when your relationship status changes, but it looked great on her.
Her stylist described the look as “broken but expensive”—which might just be the most poetic phrase ever uttered about a haircut. The fringe gave her an effortlessly undone, Jane Birkin-inspired softness. And Nicole has never looked more confident.
Michelle Obama
Few bangs have sparked as much national debate as Michelle Obama’s. When she revealed them at her 49th birthday in 2013, the internet melted down. Even Barack Obama joked they were his wife’s “midlife crisis.”
The look was so famous it got its own nickname—“The Bangs.” Michelle later admitted she found them “a little irritating” and hard to manage during public speeches. Still, for a brief, glorious moment, the First Lady’s fringe had more press coverage than Congress.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart’s bangs are pure chaos—in the best possible way. During her Love Lies Bleeding press run, she rocked a jagged mullet with choppy micro-bangs that screamed punk rebellion. She said she couldn’t stop trimming them herself and that’s why they always look a bit like she cut them herself in the middle of the night. But that’s kind of the point. Kristen’s whole energy is messy, androgynous and these types of bangs fit her style perfectly.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway has built an entire career on transformation—The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada, Les Misérables. So when she brings back bangs, it feels like another movie makeover moment.
Most recently she went for a ’70s-inspired, soft Jane Birkin-style fringe. And we think it was a great choice that added both a touch of glamour and that effortless cool-girl vibe to Anne’s already amazing style.
