Jennifer Lawrence has made a name for herself as quite the character actor—the 27-year-old has been nominated for four Academy Awards—and from an aesthetic perspective, her aspirational mane has proven to be equally chameleonic. For her latest metamorphosis in spring s blockbuster thriller Red Sparrow, which hits theaters today, the actress transformed into Dominika Egorova, the ballerina-cum-spy assassin, with the heavy curtain of bangs, piercing gaze and ruthless cheekbones to prove it.
But the much-buzzed about part, which Lawrence herself has boldly characterized as a reclaiming of her sexuality, was just the latest in a long series of big-screen beauty wins. The actress kicked off her career with Winter’s Bone and center-parted, baby blonde lengths ideal for tucking under beanies and flowing in the wind during frenzied runs through the woods. The following year, she refined the same style for X-Men: First Class, adding layers and a bit of body to hyper-feminine effect and soon after came The Hunger Games, Katniss, and that seminal, slightly undone side braid colored a burnished shade of brown.
The brunette hue darkened—along with her temperament—for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, a high, swingy ponytail serving as the very embodiment of Tiffany Maxwell’s slightly petulant demeanor. But it was all about a brilliantly disheveled back-to-blonde updo in American Hustle, followed by a pale chop and 1920s-era coif in Serena; and a sunny, shoulder-skimming bob that epitomized her character s take-matters-into-your-own-hands attitude in Joy.
Above, 8 on-screen hair moments that prove why for this leading lady, it s never about playing it safe.
