Reba McEntire Doesn't Look The Same Without Her Signature Curly Blowout

Over the years, country music legend Reba McEntire hasn't been afraid to push the boundaries of her fashion sense and experiment with new styles, evidenced by her stunning style transformation. So, it only stands to reason that McEntire has had quite the hair transformation as well. And if we had to pick McEntire's most iconic look this side of Y2K, it would almost certainly have to be her signature curly blowout. In fact, those bouncy curls have become such a staple of the "Fancy" singer's public persona, she almost looks like an entirely different person when she opts to wear her hair flat and straight.

There are a number of throwback photos featuring McEntire sporting that sort of hairstyle, such as the picture McEntire shared as a tribute to her late stepson Brandon Blackstock. It's unclear exactly when that photo was taken, and some more recent examples of her publicly breaking out the flattening iron came in late 2023. For example, in a collaborative Instagram post she made with CMT in November 2023, McEntire's hair was a shaggy flat and straight 'do as she recalled the story behind her and Linda Davis' 1993 hit song "Does He Love You."

McEntire has also been known to rock her straight hair on "The Voice," and posted a couple of behind-the-scenes videos to her Instagram in February 2024 — including one where she invades Dan Smyers' (of Dan + Shay) dressing room and discovers, among other things, a framed photo of Chance the Rapper. Yet, McEntire's fiery red locks still have a way of drawing the eye.

Part of the reason Reba McEntire just looks right with some bouncy curls may partially come down to the fact that her hair is actually naturally curly as opposed to pin-straight. Don't believe us? Just check out this young pic of McEntire, which also proves that she's a natural redhead (even if she does artificially boost the color for performance purposes). But while the curly blowout we all know and love today is certainly iconic, McEntire did have to go through a bit of trial and error when it comes to wielding her curls responsibly. For instance, one embarrassing hairstyle McEntire may never live down was her '80s perm, which she openly expressed regret over many years later.

"Yes [I have hair regrets]," McEntire told Glamour in November 2024, adding, "In the early '80s I got a perm. I have natural curly hair. And so when my hair would be a little past my shoulders with a perm, it was just super tight because if you add a perm to natural curly hair, it looks angry. And it did." With that in mind, it's no wonder McEntire decided to cut her hair short in the '90s. And while we're glad she eventually grew it back out and found a curly style that looked great (without being too "angry"), her pixie-cut era was iconic in its own right, and it's something she clearly looks back on fondly. "It was freedom. I loved it," McEntire told Glamour.