Zooey Deschanel Looks Different Without Her Signature Brunette Hair Color — Here's Why

It's true that going blond can totally transform your look, but a darker shade can be just as much of a change. Take Zooey Deschanel, who is known for her fabulous hair as Jess Day on "New Girl," and briefly went blond in the early 2000s. The actor's lighter strands made her whole appearance look so different compared to the darker hair she normally sports. In the side-by-side comparison below, you can see how striking Deschanel looks with brown hair compared to blond. In the left photo, which was taken in 2001 during a Sundance Film Festival party, Deschanel's hair was cut in a lob and highlighted blond. 

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She was also missing her signature bangs, parting her hair in the middle instead. The TV star looks like a completely different person in the photo on the right, from the 2002 film premiere of "Big Trouble." With her dark brown locks and bangs, the first thing we notice is how much her blue eyes pop. She also looks a bit paler in this picture, which stands out even more with her ruby red lips (it's totally giving Snow White vibes). Brunette gives the "Elf" star's features a much bigger contrast than the blond, and it's easy to see why she has mostly kept the darker shade around in the years since. 

Zooey Deschanel may not have kept her blond hair for long, but she did dabble in some lighter shades again years later. But, outside of wearing a blond wig for an appearance in Season 3 of the Apple TV+ series, "Physical," which she debuted in a selfie on Instagram (pictured above) on May 30, 2023, the "Elf" star has typically rocked brown hair throughout her lengthy entertainment career. During a March 2019 chat with StyleCaster, Deschanel revealed why she decided to go blond temporarily. "I had to dye my hair blond for a screen test for a movie that never happened before I did 'Elf,'" she explained. The actor got "Elf" and was asked to keep her hair light for the film. As such, "I had to wait until I was done with that movie. But as soon as I was done with that movie, I pretty much dyed it back." 

According to the Emmy nominee, her natural color is "dark brown," so she's actually stuck close to it for the most part. Deschanel joked about her short-lived stint as a blond in a March 2024 Instagram post. She shared several throwback pictures of her with lighter locks, writing in the accompanying caption, "To all my fellow natural brunettes: did you also have a blonde phase?? Is this universal???" The List wondered whether Jonathan Scott and Zooey Deschanel should go blond for their wedding, so we made it happen using Photoshop magic, but it seems more likely the "New Girl" star will stay dark for her big day.