Many bald female celebrities have owned their bald pate publicly with confidence, inspiring others to do the same.
Whether it’s for a role, a stylistic choice or a struggle with hair loss, let’s take a closer look at some female celebrities who have dealt with baldness.
Bald Female Celebrities
Let’s take a closer look at how or why some female celebs went bald.
Jada pinkett Smith
One of the most prominent bald black female celebrities has been Jada Pinkett Smith, who has been very open about her struggles with alopecia areata.
Dominick D, Jada Pinkett Smith at NY PaleyFest 2014 for Gotham, Cropped, CC BY-SA 2.0 (left) and imagepressagency/Depositphotos.com
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune cells start attacking healthy cells.
With the hair cells getting swept up in this fight, the person is left with round or oval-shaped bald patches on the scalp.
While Jada wasn’t always bald, she eventually decided to “take it down to the scalp,” as she didn’t want people speculating that she had “brain surgery or something.”
Viola Davis
The Oscar-winning actress and producer Viola Davis has also had many experiences with hair loss.
In an interview with Vulture, she recounted that in her 20s, she woke up with a “splash of bald” on the top of her head. She also had alopecia areata, which can be triggered by stress (as was in her case).
In the same interview, she also said, “I am telling you, I have spent so much of my life not feeling comfortable in my skin. I am just so not there anymore.”
While Viola still wears wigs, she says that now she considers her “hair to be an option in the broad spectrum of whatever I do as an actress”.
Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons, Viola Davis in 2016, Cropped, CC BY-SA 3.0 (left) and Jean_Nelson/Depositphotos.com (right)
Naomi Campbell
Supermodel Noami Campbell also lost her hair as a result of traction alopecia. When hair follicles are under a lot of pressure from tight hairstyles, weaves and extensions, they can develop this condition.
Photos of her receding hairline surfaced a few years ago, which sent the media into a frenzy, especially considering that long, straight hair was a part of the model’s signature look.
However, in an interview, the model said that her hair has grown back, “Thank God.” She also said that she takes better care of her hair now and even does “different things.”
Keep in mind that traction alopecia can be permanent (especially if the traction persists for years), so Naomi was rather lucky to get her hair back.
s_bukley/Depositphotos.com
Ricki Lake
Among celebrities with female pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, is actress and TV show host Ricki Lake.
This type of hair loss is due to a combination of genetic and hormonal factors which result in the thinning or miniaturisation of hair follicles.
Taking to Instagram she said, “It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things. There have been a few times where I have even felt suicidal over it. Almost no one in my life knew the level of deep pain and trauma I was experiencing.”
She does, however, seem to be in a better place now.
Gail Porter
TV star Gail Porter suffers from a rare subtype of alopecia areata known as alopecia universalis.
This condition causes a complete loss of her on the scalp, face and body. Unfortunately, it’s chronic and can come and go.
The actress was first diagnosed in 2005 and has chosen to completely embrace her condition.
In the Sacrifice and Success podcast, she said, “My personality took a bit of a knock. Jobs just stopped, because you don’t look the same. ‘Would you wear a wig, would you mind wearing a wig?’ No, I don’t want to wear a wig. This is how it is.”
thenews2.com/Depositphotos.com
Lupita Nyong'o
The Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has also shaved her hair off and on over the years.
In a 2018 interview with Allure, she shared that she’d actually gone completely bald even as a teenager “almost a dare” to herself, and she found the experience quite “liberating.”
ZaraLena Jackson
Similar to Gail Porter, model and reality TV star ZaraLena also suffers from alopecia universalis. She experienced her first episode in 2020, and in just 6 weeks lost all the hair on her scalp, face and body.
Initially, ZaraLena felt quitting social media, fearing she would break under the pressure. However, she has since come to terms with her condition.
Rosie O’Donnell
Also among the celebrities with female pattern baldness is comedian Rosie O’Donnell. Rosie tweeted a picture of her temple hair loss with the caption, “male pattern baldness … aging is fun.”
Amber Rose
Among the many female celebrities with bald heads is Amber Rose, whose signature blonde shave goes back as far as her teenage years.
“...my friends said, 'Please don't do it, Amber, you're gonna look crazy.' And, of course, me being me, I rebelled against everyone and went straight down the middle at a barber shop. Fourteen years later, I still have it.”
photoworksmedia/Depositphotos.com
Sinead O’Connor
Sinead O’Connor’s shaven head was a part of her identity.
In an interview with Oprah, the late Irish singer and songwriter explained why she had shaved all her hair off.
"I got put into the record business at a time when record executives were a little frisky. Put it that way...They (record executives) wanted me to grow my hair really long and wear miniskirts and all that kind of stuff because they reckoned I'd look much prettier. So I went straight around to the barber and shaved the rest of my hair off."
Kristen Stewart
In 2017, Kristen Stewart shaved all her hair off to debut a platinum blonde buzzcut, adding herself to the list of famously bald female celebrities.
During an interview with The Today Show, the actress explained why she changed her hairstyle.
"I'm doing a movie in a couple of weeks called Underwater and I play a mechanical engineer that is working on an oil rig on the bottom of the ocean floor, so for me it's practical. I mean I'm not going to be able to have touch-ups once I put the helmet on (so) I must shave my head!"
Kristen, however, also stated that she has wanted to have this haircut for a long time “for novelty’s sake.”
Gerald Geronimo, Stars of Twilight CC 2011 (cropped), Cropped, CC BY-SA 2.0 (left) and Condé Nast (through Vogue Taiwan), Kristen Stewart VF 2019, Cropped, CC BY 3.0
Cynthia Erivo
For her role as Elphaba, Cynthia Ervio shaved all of her hair as she wanted to paint her scalp as well. She imagined the character to be a “green-scalp Cynthia…like a little bald-headed green lady.”
Britney Spears
The pop icon’s head-shaving incident in 2007 sparked extensive media coverage. As explained in her memoir “The Woman in Me,” released in 2023, she had a reason for doing so.
"Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back."
Halsey
The Without Me hitmaker Halsey has also sported a shaved head because it was something she missed having.
"I was growing it out for so long and I told myself I wouldn’t shave it till I saw what it was like healthy and long and then I saw it healthy and long and said “mm this is nice but I miss bald.” and then so I did it!"
Tilda Swinton
Rather than wearing a bald cap, Tilda Swinton shaved her own head for her role as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange.
In an interview with amNewYork, Swinton explained the story behind the decision.
"It was my suggestion actually. … We went through all sorts of variations with hair and various shapes of head. But my original suggestion was that she should be bald with these scars which show a kind of — not just history, but survival of really brutal stuff that you don’t want to know about, and you never do know about. … And I kept thinking of the merch. I kept thinking, I’m saving so much plastic because Lego isn’t going to have to make a little wig for me.
Gage Skidmore, Tilda Swinton by Gage Skidmore (cropped), CC BY-SA 3.0
Emma Corrin
Emma Corrin famously shaved their head to play the villainous Cassandra Nova Xavier in Deadpool and Wolverine.
Doja Cat
On Instagram Live, Doja Cat explained that she didn’t like having hair, hence shaved her head (and eyebrows).
"I don’t like having hair. I’ve never liked having hair. I cannot tell you one time since the beginning of my life that I’ve ever been like, ‘This is cool.’ I just do not like to have hair"
Clay Junell from austin, texas, Doja Cat in 2024, CC BY-SA 2.0
Karen Gillan
In the first instalment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Karen Gillan also went bald so Nebula’s makeup could be applied more easily.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Karen Gillan (9364342954), CC BY-SA 2.0
Demi Moore
Back in 1996, Demi Moore made the decision to go bald to play the titular role of G.I. Jane, though the actress says she wouldn’t do it again.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman was another notable celeb who went bald for her movie V for Vendetta. One of the scenes in the film shows her with her real hair getting shaved.
Erik Vanden from Berlin, Germany, Natalie Portman, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cate Blanchett
The Australian actress Cate Blanchett also had her hair cut down to the scalp for the role of Phillipa in the film Heaven. Cate was reported to said the following about her experience:
"Shaving off my hair is so liberating. I had to do it once for a film role, but I've done it periodically too. At school it was probably to rebel, but I cut my hair short a few years ago and I'm thinking about doing it again."
Joey king
Joey King is no stranger to a buzzcut. She has shaved her head three times, the first time when she played young Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises.
Most recently, she did it for Hulu’s crime drama The Act.
Are You Experiencing Permanent Hair loss?
You may be surprised to learn that women can also successfully get hair transplants for different types of hair loss, such as female pattern baldness and traction alopecia.
If you’re interested in learning more about this, feel free to get in touch with us!
