Reba McEntire's Boldest Hairstyles Over The Years
When you think of Reba McEntire, you think of three things: country music, an Oklahoma twang, and red hair. The songstress has sold over 56 million albums and has topped the charts with 30-plus number-one hits. The entertainer and entrepreneur is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, has had her own clothing line, and earned Kennedy Center Honors. Her Okie accent has been heard on Broadway, on TV, in the movies, and from the red chair on "The Voice." McEntire also has a shelf full of awards that are possibly only rivaled in number by the number of hairstyles her famous red hair has been teased and sprayed into.
McEntire herself acknowledges her changing tress silhouettes have had a life of their own, becoming almost as well known through the decades as her songs. In fact, in a welcome video posted to her YouTube channel, the singer comments that in addition to being able to see all of the music videos she's shot over the years, you can also see "all of my different hairstyles."
McEntire has never changed the color more than a subtle shade or two away from her original red, but she has tried out all sorts of bold and stunning cuts and styles.
Volume up for this one
Country music and big hair have always been a match made in tress heaven; couple that with the popularity of perms and a teasing comb, and you have Reba McEntire, circa 1991. For the red carpet at the 63rd Academy Awards, ringlets topped ringlets in a puffed-out and puffed-up mane worthy of its own Oscar.
"My hair was so big back in those days that my fans could recognize me just from my silhouette," the singer wrote in her autobiography "Not That Fancy." McEntire's hairstyles in her early career matched the vibes of the iconic ladies of country music who became her contemporaries, including friends Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.
However, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee confessed that the big hair look didn't come naturally and was always a process. "It took hot rollers, more hot rollers, teasing, and enough hair spray to choke a horse," she said.
Short and sweet -- and sassy and spunky
Short hair, do care — because when Reba McEntire cuts her hair, it's a big, bold deal. While she's generally kept her length hovering around the shoulders, she first did a big chop in 1996, months before releasing her album "What If It's You."
"That album was really happy and upbeat," the three-time Grammy winner told New Beauty. "[It] was a reflection of how I felt at the time with a new sassy, spunky, short haircut." The record label wanted to keep her new look a surprise, and the singer wound up keeping her short snip hidden under hats and wigs until the album was released.
Years later, after growing out her first cropped cut, McEntire did the big snip again, showing off a cute pixie shape in 2003 at the TV Land awards. For those who love her best for her sharp-talking sitcom persona, they'll recognize her abbreviated hairdo from the first three seasons of her TV series "Reba."
Flipping the style script
Flippy haircuts and flat irons were a serious thing in 2004, and no one took it to the best of heights like Reba McEntire. When she stepped on stage to perform "I Can't Stop Loving You" for the "Ray Charles Tribute Concert," her hair was on point — and filled with points.
The layered cut met one of McEntire's mane requirements: big and full. As a woman who has frequently referred to her hair as being "jacked up to Jesus," the "I'm a Survivor" vocalist prefers her hair to be a little closer to the heavens. As she declared on Instagram, "This gal likes VOLUME ;-)."
And while she may play with the lengths and texture, one thing is pretty much a constant in every incarnation of McEntire's hair, including this boldly textured coif, and that's bangs. Whether wispy and swept to the side, curly and tousled, or blunt and full, this one-time barrel-racing rodeo gal always has something covering what she considers a large forehead, noting her nephew would call it a "5-head."
Bob and weave (or wig, actually)
Proving she looks good in just about every hairstyle you can imagine, Reba McEntire rocks a chic bob like nobody's business. Though it's a much smoother look than her usual textured tresses with a teased crown, the cut still has her trademark bangs and red color, marking it distinctly Reba.
This bold look is actually a wig and one she's worn on numerous occasions. You'll recognize it from her 2009 music video for "Because of You," McEntire's duet with Kelly Clarkson, and she also wore it again in 2021, performing for "Loretta Lynn's Friends: Hometown Rising" concert, as well as for an album promo.
The Oklahoma native revealed to Dallas Voice she's never been afraid to don a wig, professionally or personally. "On one tour where we went from Reba in 1974 to present Reba, I did wear the big wigs and had my short hair at the end. And I've done it on vacation, ya know. You go from the swimming pool to getting ready for dinner in 30 minutes when you're wearing wigs! They're great!"
The long of it
On the opposite end of a Reba McEntire bold, short cut is Reba McEntire with a down-to-there style. In 2013, she attended Muhammad Ali's Celebrity Fight Night XIX with layers flowing several inches past her shoulders, almost flirting with the middle of her back. When the entertainer posted a photo from the event on Instagram, she humorously captioned it, "Can you say 'Hair'?????"
McEntire loves to poke fun at herself and her big and bigger hair, but fans love what the singer is doing, and one person even found a way to associate this newer look with an old one, commenting, "I absolutely love this hair on u, Reba. An updated version of the '90s 'do."
The star has worn a lot of bold and beautiful mane looks through the years, and for those of you who have fallen in love with a certain tress silhouette, McEntire offered a piece of advice on her Instagram page, noting, "If you want to get one of my signature looks, pull out your comb and get to teasing."