Julia Roberts turned 59 on 28 October, and Vanity Fair Italia has marked the occasion with a look back at one of the most recognisable heads of hair in Hollywood. Her latest change is a soft, warm blonde that stylists have nicknamed “hot honey blonde”: golden and wheat-coloured strands with slightly deeper roots, long layers and loose, lived-in waves with a gentle 1970s feel. She hinted at the shift back in January at the Golden Globes, where she wore long, undone waves in a shade somewhere between honey and light copper.
The curls that started it all
Roberts made her name with a mane of natural red-brown curls. She wore them to the 1989 New York premiere of Steel Magnolias, and again when she collected a Golden Globe for that role in 1990, pairing the wild curls with a now-famous oversized Giorgio Armani trouser suit. For a while it was hard to picture her any other way. Yet she rarely kept a look for long. Through the 1990s she tried a short, choppy layered cut, a bleached platinum bob that drew comparisons with Marilyn Monroe, shoulder-length hair with a side fringe and a golden layered bob with a full fringe, before returning to long, darker hair at the end of the decade.
From Oscar chignon to beach waves
At the 2001 Academy Awards, where she won Best Actress for Erin Brockovich, she chose an elegant retro updo that still appears on lists of great Oscar hairstyles. Since then she has moved between cinnamon, mahogany, deep brunette, every kind of copper and strawberry blonde, which seems to be her favourite. Her long-time colourist Kadi Lee told The Cut that Roberts is one of the lucky few who can wear blonde, red or brown and look good in all of them. These days she tends to stick with a centre parting and relaxed beach waves.
Her warm palette is easy to echo with jewellery. Honey tones work beautifully with citrine earrings, copper shades come alive next to garnet pendants, and soft strawberry blonde suits the blush of morganite earrings. Add a relaxed leather shoulder bag and you have her easy, polished style. Explore more in our jewellery collection.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia (Ilaria Perrotta, “#Goodhairday: Julia Roberts, 59 anni e mille sfumature di capelli”, 1 November 2026); The Cut (interview with colourist Kadi Lee); Wikipedia, “Julia Roberts”.
