How Bangs Became Part Of Zooey Deschanel's Signature Look

Being known for a certain look can be a hit-or-miss endeavor for people in the public eye. You either become unrecognizable if you ever make a change, or people get bored of seeing the same hairstyle, outfit, accessory, and so on. However, Zooey Deschanel is lucky that bangs can be styled in a myriad of ways, and she can rock every single one of them. In fact, despite Deschanel's stunning transformation over the years, the bangs have been a staple part of her signature look since she was 2 years old. And the "New Girl" actor has no plans on getting rid of them.

Deschanel told the origin story of her bangs in a 2013 interview with Glamour. "It all started at age two, when, at my very first haircut, the stylist lopped off the front of my waves into girly, face-framing fringe," she said. "I've had bangs for most of my life since." She added that although there have been different experiments with the style of her bangs, "Now I'm very specific about how they look and feel." That makes sense considering how bangs have, at times, transformed a celebrity's entire look. Deschanel even told the outlet that she's cut her own bangs in the past, though she cheekily refused to give away all her hairstyling secrets.

Besides her bangs, Zooey Deschanel is also known for usually rocking darker hair. Surprisingly, she has been blond before (and she looks very different without her signature brunette hair color). One instance was in 2023 when she wore a long blond wig for her role on the TV show "Physical." "Elf" fans will remember that she also had light-colored hair for that film — a holdover for when she dyed it blond for a separate film's screen test. Deschanel told StyleCaster in 2019 that she dyed her hair its natural brown shade again shortly after production on "Elf" finished.

Despite her reputation for being a brunette, there was much speculation and false claims that Deschanel was naturally blond. The "500 Days of Summer" actor set the record straight in that same interview with StyleCaster. "My hair is naturally dark brown," she said. "If you look at my family, my dad has dark brown hair. My mom has dark brown hair. My sister has brown hair. All signs point to brown hair." She added that any outlets reporting that she was blond were flat-out "wrong!"