Barbiecore may be in our rearview mirror, but its accompanying barrage of blonde (and blonde celebrities) remains one of 2023’s most enduring beauty legacies. As with the collective lean into copper colors, the year s bevy of blonde represented the entire shade spectrum, from frosty platinums to toasty toffees, woven highlights to single-toned hues.
Shades appeared selected to enhance specific styles, furthering funk or keeping things sleek to mark each occasion. Take Ryan Gosling, who ditched Barbie movie Ken s bleached blonde for a golden-tinged shag that elevated his promotional tour to swoon-worthy levels, or Beyoncé, who sampled a duet of hues (from caramel to silvered) throughout this year s Renaissance World Tour and subsequent film promotion. Florence Pugh s mutable buzz cut has been dyed nearly every color imaginable, but it s the chantilly blonde that s enjoyed the most staying power, providing a blanched canvas for punkish and slicked styling, depending on the day.
Time will tell if the lightened-up mentality will continue into the new year, but one thing is certain: 2023 was all about the pursuit of more fun. Here, nine celebrities who embraced blonde this year.
Ryan Gosling
You can’t talk Blondes of the Year without discussing Ryan Gosling’s Ken-inspired highlights. Since spring, the actor has rocked a mop threaded through with ribbons of golden blonde worthy of a Y2K boy band.
Sophie Turner
Red hair has long been a hallmark of Sophie Turner’s look, but this year offered an ideal climate for a return to her natural blonde. The lightening came after a myriad of reds ranging from ginger to cherry to copper, as if Turner was making a point to prove the power of the redhead realm before settling into her reinvigorated buttery blonde.
Florence Pugh
Florence Pugh’s buzz cut is known for its chameleonic nature, shifting from cotton candy blue to bubblegum pink to ombré flame to her organic brunette depending on the day. So it’s only natural that both midsummer and the autumn months saw Pugh tinting her grown-out buzz blonde, a platinum shade, brushed-up for maximum funk.
Emma Stone
Another natural blonde who kicked off her career with copper lengths, Emma Stone debuted a bleached blonde hue in late summer, the shift supported by a zhuzhed-up asymmetrical bob.
Rihanna
Rihanna typically embraces the visual impact of her raven lengths—so when the pop star went blonde in November, the change served to cement the trend. Rihanna went warm, her rooty honeyed lengths initially debuting with a coordinated camel coat.
Kim Kardashian
Though it may have been a trompe-l œil choice, Kim Kardashian’s toasted honey lengths helped to round out the year’s color wheel of warmth. Worn pin-straight and waist-long, the toffee shade found grounding via deep brunette roots and a complementary tawny ensemble.
Beyoncé
Hairstylist Rita Hazan created Beyoncé’s shade of sun-washed blonde for her Renaissance World Tour, resulting in the warmed lengths the pop star has been sporting since spring. And for the London premiere of her Renaissance World Tour concert film in December, Bey went even lighter, stepping out in a mane of sleek and icy platinum worthy of a chillier season.
Olivia Coleman
Another proponent of icy platinum? Olivia Coleman, who switched her silver-tinged brunette for a slicked bleach-blonde coiffure worn shaped polished, slightly retro perfection.
Keke Palmer
Oh, honey! The new mother went lighter and warmer for the BET Soul Train Awards in November, adding warm highlights to her lengths.
