Too often, society views wigs as items worn exclusively for costumes or by only a few select individuals. But this view underestimates the countless women who wear wigs as part of their normal ensembles and how a wig can transform a personal style. In fact, some of the most fabulous and fashionable women of color have been known to grace the red carpet with their incredible wigs. These are just a few famous Black women who wear wigs with style.
The Supremes
In the 1960s, it seemed like everyone was wearing a wig, whether to achieve more volume for their hair or simply because it was convenient. The wig was all over the music world as well, and the Supremes took wigs to new heights.
The Motown girl group was the height of fashion during its heyday. The members’ style influenced the fashion choices of women everywhere—Black and White—and their wigs were part of their look. The bouffant hairstyle was already popular, but the Supremes made it more stylish than ever. They weren’t the first to don wigs, but they were certainly some of the most famous Black women to wear wigs at the time.
Tina Turner
With her powerhouse vocals and incredible dance skills, it’s no wonder that Tina Turner is still one of the most influential names in music. But it isn’t just her talent we remember. Everyone knows and loves Turner’s iconic style, and her many wigs are just as iconic as her show-stopping fringe dresses.
Turner has mentioned several reasons why she’s sported wigs, from convenience to insecurities about her appearance. But without a doubt, her wigs have become a part of her image, from the straight brown wig from her earlier career to the teased blonde wig associated with the “What’s Love Got to Do with It” music video.
Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige has long impressed the world with her killer vocal range and putting the bold fashions of ’90s hip-hop on the map. Some of her trademark looks have been her variety of blonde hairstyles, and most of those hairstyles were wigs.
But blonde isn’t the only kind of wig that Blige wears. Blige has tried wigs of different styles in recent roles, such as the brown wig she wore for her role in the series Power Book II: Ghost. She’s even worn her natural hair on occasion, such as during her role in Mudbound. But there’s no doubt that wigs have been her go-to.
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson has been making a splash in the world of hair care in recent years. Her natural hair-care products, TPH by Taraji, have helped women practice good scalp care and moisturize hair types from straight to coily. Because of that, people are often surprised to find that she often wears wigs on screen. The star of Empire, Hidden Figures, and Proud Mary is known to put her hair in a protective style before putting a wig on top of it. For her, the goal is to protect her hair from damage.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Queen Bey is often considered one of the most beautiful Black women in music and film, and she’s known to switch up her hairstyle a lot. That’s because the songstress tends to rely on a series of wigs, with long, straight, blonde ones being her wigs of choice. Still, according to her stylists, she usually switches to a different wig style once every 3 weeks to keep things fresh. In recent years, she’s been trying wigs with more natural looks to them, with curls and occasionally darker tones.
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington has been acting in TV and film for almost 30 years in everything from Django Unchained to Scandal. Recently, she’s taken to the screen again as one of the lead roles in the TV drama Little Fires Everywhere. And although she rocks curls in the show, many people are surprised to learn the bob is actually a wig. The wig is similar to Kerry’s natural hair, but the show’s stylist, Linda Villalobos, revealed that they wanted a style that fully embraced the character. Villalobos also revealed that they used hip-hop group Salt-n-Pepa’s half-bobs as inspiration for the style.
Nicki Minaj
When it comes to making a splash on the red carpet, no one does it quite like Nicki Minaj. From Trollz leggings to leopard-print bubble dresses, her style is designed to turn heads. And if there’s one way she adds to her vibrant outfits, it’s with her collection of wigs.
Her wigs, custom-made for her by stylist Terrence Davidson, come in every style and color under the sun. Some, such as her straight black bob, are more natural looks. Others, such as her aqua, green, or bubble-gum pink wigs, are more fantastical. Whichever look she goes with, she wears it with style.
Yara Shahidi
A lot of us were heartbroken about the impending ending of the hit ABC show Blackish, but we can still celebrate the stars of the show, such as Yara Shahidi. Shahidi, who stared in Blackish and the spin-off Grownish, wears her natural curls both on and off camera. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy wearing a wig from time to time. On the VMAs red carpet back in 2018, Shahidi wore a curly “lob,” also known as the long bob. But the look was actually an incredibly realistic-looking wig that tied her whole look together.
Zendaya
With all the hype from her appearance in the Spider-Man trilogy and Euphoria, Zendaya has become one of the hottest celebrities out there today. And her bold fashion choices on the red carpet have only enhanced her acclaim. Her red-carpet looks have included a variety of wigs, from a pixie cut to a red bob to a 4C Afro.
But Zendaya doesn’t just wear her wigs to dazzle the cameras. In a recent interview, she shared that she sometimes wears them around the house to motivate herself to work out. According to Zendaya, whenever she has to meet with her assistant to work out, she dons a different wig and becomes a character to entertain them both.
We may not all be as famous as Tina Turner or Zendaya, but we can fully embrace our own styles with wigs of our own. That’s why Instant Arewa Hair has a wide selection of braided wigs to help you find the one that’s just right for you.
