30 of the Best Ponytails in History
Photo: Jack Burlot/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The bob haircut is many things — graphic, sexily jawline-skimming, totally in right now — but one thing it can’t do is be made into a classic ponytail. The typically elastic-wrapped look is one of humble beginnings: We imagine that even when Eve was having a bad hair day, she’d rip a vine off the Tree of Good and Evil and whip her boob-length hair back into a swingy ponytail. But decades after (our imaginary) Bibilical times, the ponytail — usually reserved for high school babysitters or anyone who plays a sport — has recently popped up in more runway-worthy (Alexander Wang, Donna Karan) and red-carpet (Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore) contexts. While we simply couldn’t list everyone’s best ponytails (don’t worry, we’ll highlight dudes with ponytails tomorrow), click through our slideshow to see some of the most famous heads to regularly go for the look — from the original Barbie and Blake Lively to SJP and Sarah Silverman. Then, of course, add your own outliers in the comments below.
The Blink-Worthy Ponytail Barbara Eden in I Dream of Jeannie, 1966 Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Red Carpet Retro Ponytail Part I Reese Witherspoon at the 2011 Academy Awards. Photo: Chris Pizzello/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Red Carpet Retro Ponytail Part II Drew Barrymore at the Hollywood premiere of He's Just Not That Into You, 2009. Photo: Frank Trapper/© Corb...
The Red Carpet Retro Ponytail Part II Drew Barrymore at the Hollywood premiere of He's Just Not That Into You, 2009. Photo: Frank Trapper/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Don't Call Her Mulan Ponytail Lucy Liu at the Primetime Emmy Awards, 2012. Photo: Byron Purvis/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Over the Shoulder Ponytail Megan Fox at the 7th Annual Hollywood Life Magazine Breakthrough of the Year Awards, 2007
Photo: Krista Kennell/©...
The Over the Shoulder Ponytail Megan Fox at the 7th Annual Hollywood Life Magazine Breakthrough of the Year Awards, 2007
Photo: Krista Kennell/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Madonna on her Blonde Ambition Tour, 1990 Photo: Ebet Roberts
The All-American Ponytail Shawn Johnson at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, 2008. Photo: Rob Carr/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Royal Ponytail Kate Middleton on day five of her official visit to Canada, 2011.
Photo: Allpix / Splash News/© www.splashnews.com
The Katy Perry Ponytail My Little Pony Photo: RAY STUBBLEBINE/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The
My Little Pony Ponytail Katy Perry at the 25th Annual Kids Choice Awards, 2012. Photo: Russ Einhorn / Splash News/© www.splashnews.com
The Ponytail as Eye/Face-Lift Nicole Kidman visits the Omega flagship boutique, 2009.
Photo: John Spellman/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Ponytail That Matches Her Skin Color Jennifer Lopez at the 2006 Women in Film Crystal & Lucy Awards.
Photo: Lisa O’Connor/© Corbis. All...
The Ponytail That Matches Her Skin Color Jennifer Lopez at the 2006 Women in Film Crystal & Lucy Awards.
Photo: Lisa O’Connor/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Holla Back Ponytail Gwen Stefani at the MTV Video Music Awards, 2005. Photo: Mario Anzuoni/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Bump-It Ponytail Zoe Deschanel at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards, 2013.
Photo: PAUL BUCK/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The "Healthy" Competition Ponytails Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan training during the Winter Olympics, 1994. Photo: Dimitri Iundt/©...
The "Healthy" Competition Ponytails Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan training during the Winter Olympics, 1994. Photo: Dimitri Iundt/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Neck-Straining Ponytail Lady Gaga at the Narita International Airport, 2012. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Verklempt Ponytail Jennifer Aniston at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards, 2003. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Pint-size Ponytail Rainbow Brite Photo: Buyenlarge
The Sexy-Blonde Ponytail Blake Lively at the MTV Movie Awards, 2011. Photo: Hubert Boesl/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Midriff-Emphasizing Ponytail Sarah Jessica Parker at the 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, 2001. Photo: Frank Trapper/© Corbis. All Ri...
The Midriff-Emphasizing Ponytail Sarah Jessica Parker at the 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, 2001. Photo: Frank Trapper/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Plastic Ponytail Barbie, 1959. Photo: Frederic Neema/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The "In Deep Thought" Ponytail Kristen Stewart at the German premiere of The Twilight Saga: Beaking Dawn - Part 2, 2012. Photo: enewsi...
The "In Deep Thought" Ponytail Kristen Stewart at the German premiere of The Twilight Saga: Beaking Dawn - Part 2, 2012. Photo: enewsimage.com / Splash News/© www.splashnews.com
The Knotted-Around-Itself Ponytail Kim Kardashian at the World's Most Beautiful Magazine launch party, 2011. Photo: Russ Einhorn / Splash News/©...
The Knotted-Around-Itself Ponytail Kim Kardashian at the World's Most Beautiful Magazine launch party, 2011. Photo: Russ Einhorn / Splash News/© www.splashnews.com
The Girl-Woman Ponytail Sarah Silverman at the 2nd Annual Evening of Environmental Excellence, 2013. Photo: Xavier Collin ./© Corbis. All Right...
The Girl-Woman Ponytail Sarah Silverman at the 2nd Annual Evening of Environmental Excellence, 2013. Photo: Xavier Collin ./© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The "Is That All Her Real Hair?" Ponytail Brigitte Bardot, 1963. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Hair Fountain Ponytail Paula Abdul in the music video for "Forever Your Girl," 1988.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives
The Most-Likely-Not-Her-Real-Hair Ponytail Naomi Campbell at the Pantene Pro-V Awards, 2003. Photo: Rune Hellestad/© Corbis. All Rights Reserve...
The Most-Likely-Not-Her-Real-Hair Ponytail Naomi Campbell at the Pantene Pro-V Awards, 2003. Photo: Rune Hellestad/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The GOOP Ponytail Gwyneth Paltrow at the 2012 Academy Awards. Photo: Russ Einhorn / Splash News/© www.splashnews.com
The Winning Ponytail Beyonce at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, 2013. Photo: MARIO ANZUONI/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The French Ponytail Catherine Deneuve in Manon 70, 1967. Photo: Jack Burlot/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
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