The 50 Most Memorable Bangs Ever
Photo: Getty Images, Everett Collection
Nothing can provoke a spirited discussion quite like announcing, “I’m thinking about getting bangs.” That’s because the five minutes of snipping required to create a facial fringe can change your entire look, for better or worse. The name even sounds dramatic: BOOM, I got BANGS!
Bangs can disrupt a presidential inauguration (Michelle Obama), help you get an Oscar nod (Rooney Mara), or cause the internet to focus on nothing but your head for one entire day (Beyoncé). Bangs are also cheaper than Botox if you’re into a more natural anti-aging strategy. It’s not a decision that should ever be made lightly, though. If you or your hairstylist make even a millimeter misstep, you’re stuck with weeks of fighting with bobby pins during the painful growing-out phase. So make an educated decision before you embark on the bang.
To prove how monumental this little facial valance can be, the Cut found the 50 most memorable bangs ever for your consideration.
Louise Brooks No one personified the Roaring ‘20s as much as Louise Brooks in her flapper bob and bangs. They are razor-sharp and perfectly press...
Louise Brooks No one personified the Roaring ‘20s as much as Louise Brooks in her flapper bob and bangs. They are razor-sharp and perfectly pressed in almost every picture of her, which is pretty impressive for those pre-modern-flat-iron times.
Photo: Hulton Archive
Bettie Page Bettie is responsible for single-handedly sexing up baby bangs. Thousands of hipster girls and dominatrices (and Katy Perry) are fore...
Bettie Page Bettie is responsible for single-handedly sexing up baby bangs. Thousands of hipster girls and dominatrices (and Katy Perry) are forever in her debt.
Photo: Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/Internatio
Reese Witherspoon Reese spawned the phrase “divorce bangs” after she showed up on the 2007 Golden Globes red carpet looking hot in a bright-yello...
Reese Witherspoon Reese spawned the phrase “divorce bangs” after she showed up on the 2007 Golden Globes red carpet looking hot in a bright-yellow Nina Ricci dress, red accessories, and the now-infamous “Go fuck yourself, Ryan Phillippe” fringe.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/2007 Getty Images
Zooey Deschanel Because she is completely unrecognizable without her “adorkable” trademark blunt, heavy bangs, Zooey is going to have to keep the...
Zooey Deschanel Because she is completely unrecognizable without her “adorkable” trademark blunt, heavy bangs, Zooey is going to have to keep them forever.
Photo: Jeff Vespa/2014 Jeff Vespa
Alexa Chung Alexa is to bangs as Gisele is to beach waves. That "It"-Brit fringe is perfect and will never look as good on you as it do...
Alexa Chung Alexa is to bangs as Gisele is to beach waves. That "It"-Brit fringe is perfect and will never look as good on you as it does on her.
Photo: Dominique Charriau/2013 Dominique Charriau
Taylor Swift Taylor’s bangs are as much a part of her persona as her perfect red lipstick. Sometimes they’re straight, sometimes they’re swoopy, ...
Taylor Swift Taylor’s bangs are as much a part of her persona as her perfect red lipstick. Sometimes they’re straight, sometimes they’re swoopy, but they’re always there.
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/2014 Eamonn McCormack
Emma Stone Emma doesn’t always have bangs, but when she does they elevate her even higher than she already is on the global beauty pedestal. She ...
Emma Stone Emma doesn’t always have bangs, but when she does they elevate her even higher than she already is on the global beauty pedestal. She knows how to make the long bang work for her.
Photo: Jason Merritt/2013 Getty Images
Michelle Obama For her 49th birthday, and just ahead of her husband’s second Presidential Inauguration, Mrs. O. decided to shake things up and ge...
Michelle Obama For her 49th birthday, and just ahead of her husband’s second Presidential Inauguration, Mrs. O. decided to shake things up and get some midlife crisis bangs. They became an international sensation and helped everyone forget about Mitt Romney.
Photo: Vallery Jean/2013 Vallery Jean
Susie Bubble The British blogger is rarely without her signature topknot and never without her long, straight bangs.
Photo: Larry Busacca/2014 G...
Susie Bubble The British blogger is rarely without her signature topknot and never without her long, straight bangs.
Photo: Larry Busacca/2014 Getty Images
Naomi Campbell Occasionally someone will give Naomi a center part on the runway, but she usually favors curtainlike, brow-grazing straight bangs....
Naomi Campbell Occasionally someone will give Naomi a center part on the runway, but she usually favors curtainlike, brow-grazing straight bangs.
Photo: Eamonn McCormack/2014 Eamonn McCormack
Sophia Amoruso The Nasty Gal founder’s bangs prove that a #girlboss no longer has to have a practical, respectable hairstyle. Baby bangs are now ...
Sophia Amoruso The Nasty Gal founder’s bangs prove that a #girlboss no longer has to have a practical, respectable hairstyle. Baby bangs are now totally appropriate in the C-suite.
Photo: David Livingston/2014 David Livingston
Beyoncé The internet generally fawns over everything Bey does, but her recent experiment with baby bangs showed that even she is human and...
Beyoncé The internet generally fawns over everything Bey does, but her recent experiment with baby bangs showed that even she is human and occasionally blinded by the siren call of the bang.
Photo: Keith Hewitt/2014 Keith Hewitt
Freja Beha Erichsen Freja is a little bit Patti Smith, a little bit Alexa, and the queen of edgy model bangs.
Photo: Donna Ward/2011 Donna Ward
Rooney Mara The nipple piercing probably helped Rooney get into character for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but those extreme bangs surely sec...
Rooney Mara The nipple piercing probably helped Rooney get into character for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but those extreme bangs surely secured her the Oscar nod.
Photo: Anita Bugge/2012 Anita Bugge
Audrey Tautou in
Amelie If you look up the phrase “French ingénue,” Audrey in this film — with her shiny, too-short bangs — will pop up e...
Audrey Tautou in
Amelie If you look up the phrase “French ingénue,” Audrey in this film — with her shiny, too-short bangs — will pop up every single time. Photo: Copyright © Everett Collection / Everett Collection
Uma Thurman in
Pulp Fiction Mrs. Mia Wallace accessorized her coke habit with a mean Cleopatra-style blunt bang.
Photo: Miramax
Princess Diana Princess Di’s bangs were a feathery, curling-ironed symbol of the ‘80s, and a true testament to the strength of the hair spray of ...
Princess Diana Princess Di’s bangs were a feathery, curling-ironed symbol of the ‘80s, and a true testament to the strength of the hair spray of the time.
Photo: PHOTO BY JAYNE FINCHER/2006 Getty Images
Baby Spice Because the two high ponytails she always wore weren’t enough to convey that Lolita look Emma Bunton was going for during her Spice Gi...
Baby Spice Because the two high ponytails she always wore weren’t enough to convey that Lolita look Emma Bunton was going for during her Spice Girls days, she also added a wispy fringe.
Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./1997 Ron Galella, Ltd.
Shannen Doherty, the
90210 years Brenda Walsh’s bangs were such an integral part of her character that Doherty was fired from the show when she ...
Shannen Doherty, the
90210 years Brenda Walsh’s bangs were such an integral part of her character that Doherty was fired from the show when she got rid of them. (Well, that and all the fights with Tori Spelling. Allegedly.)
Photo: Ron Galella
Kate Middleton Remeber when Kate had bangs? They're baaaack.
Photo: Samir Hussein/2012 Samir Hussein
Courtney Love in the ‘90s Grunge bangs were the best. One has to assume that no styling products were needed. That messy, greasy separation was p...
Courtney Love in the ‘90s Grunge bangs were the best. One has to assume that no styling products were needed. That messy, greasy separation was probably achieved by good old-fashioned personal neglect.
Photo: Terry McGinnis
Suzanne Somers No one has seen Suzanne Somers’s forehead since the '70s. What’s under there?
Photo: Imeh Akpanudosen/2014 Imeh Akpanudosen
Debbie Gibson Obviously one could fill up an entire slideshow with examples of memorable '80s bangs, but Debbie Gibson’s “Only in My Dreams” grav...
Debbie Gibson Obviously one could fill up an entire slideshow with examples of memorable '80s bangs, but Debbie Gibson’s “Only in My Dreams” gravity-defying bangs were pretty emblematic of what an entire generation of girls actually looked like.
Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./1989 Ron Galella, Ltd.
Mia Farrow Mia’s Sassoon pixie cut included pixie-length bangs that served as a cute juxtaposition to her devil spawn in Rosemary’s Baby.
Photo:...
Mia Farrow Mia’s Sassoon pixie cut included pixie-length bangs that served as a cute juxtaposition to her devil spawn in Rosemary’s Baby.
Photo: Terry O’Neill
Jane Birkin Birkin isn’t even French, but she’s become the poster girl for effortless French-girl bangs. It’s not fair that she has perfect hair ...
Jane Birkin Birkin isn’t even French, but she’s become the poster girl for effortless French-girl bangs. It’s not fair that she has perfect hair plus arguably the world’s most famous handbag named after her.
Photo: Ralph Gatti/AFP/Getty Images
Lou Doillon Proving that great bangs — her mom is Jane Birkin — are genetic.
Photo: Pierre Suu/WireImage
Marianne Faithfull The '60s and '70s were the golden age of cool-girl bangs, and none were cooler than Marianne Faithfull’s heavy, blonde version...
Marianne Faithfull The '60s and '70s were the golden age of cool-girl bangs, and none were cooler than Marianne Faithfull’s heavy, blonde version.
Photo: David Redfern/1965 Getty Images
Peggy Moffitt She may be famous for modeling that topless Rudi Gernreich swimsuit, but it’s much more impressive that she’s kept her original fiv...
Peggy Moffitt She may be famous for modeling that topless Rudi Gernreich swimsuit, but it’s much more impressive that she’s kept her original five-point Sassoon cut, complete with curtain bangs, since the '60s.
Photo: David Livingston/2011 David Livingston
Penelope Tree Iconic '60s model Penelope Tree generally had two points of view when it came to her forehead: heavy bangs or severe forehead expos...
Penelope Tree Iconic '60s model Penelope Tree generally had two points of view when it came to her forehead: heavy bangs or severe forehead exposure. Both were always accompanied by Twiggy-esque lashes.
Photo: Claire Greenway/Getty Images
Françoise Hardy Pretty sure women still take old pictures of this French chanteuse to their hairstylists to copy her bangs.
Photo: Mondad...
Françoise Hardy Pretty sure women still take old pictures of this French chanteuse to their hairstylists to copy her bangs.
Photo: Mondadori/Mondadori Collection
Brigitte Bardot Everything about Bardot in the '60s was larger-than-life: Her teased hair, her lips, her boobs, and, yes, her heavy bangs.
Photo...
Brigitte Bardot Everything about Bardot in the '60s was larger-than-life: Her teased hair, her lips, her boobs, and, yes, her heavy bangs.
Photo: Silver Screen Collection/2011 Silver Screen Collection
Jane Fonda Her groovy shag and bangs, which she sported for her role as a prostitute in Klute, put an awesome exclamation point on her 1970 mugsh...
Jane Fonda Her groovy shag and bangs, which she sported for her role as a prostitute in Klute, put an awesome exclamation point on her 1970 mugshot. (Model Edie Campbell is this generation’s reincarnation of this shot.)
Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage
Farrah Fawcett Farrah’s puffy, feathered '70s bangs and bouncy hair was an obvious precursor to the era of Victoria’s Secret Angel sexed-up hair....
Farrah Fawcett Farrah’s puffy, feathered '70s bangs and bouncy hair was an obvious precursor to the era of Victoria’s Secret Angel sexed-up hair.
Photo: Hulton Archive
The Beatles Let’s begin the “Mangs” section of the roundup with the Beatles’ bowl -ut beatnik bangs.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives
Shaun Cassidy Dreamy Shaun Cassidy and his '70s feathered bangs were essentially the male version of Farrah.
Photo: Andrew Putler/Redferns
Justin Bieber Many a think piece — and tween love poem — has been written about Bieber’s combed forward, faux-windblown bangs.
Photo: Marco Secc...
Justin Bieber Many a think piece — and tween love poem — has been written about Bieber’s combed forward, faux-windblown bangs.
Photo: Marco Secchi/2010 Marco Secchi
Harry Styles Harry likes to wear his bangs in a pompadour or held back in a headband, but ultimately, nothing can contain them and gravity will w...
Harry Styles Harry likes to wear his bangs in a pompadour or held back in a headband, but ultimately, nothing can contain them and gravity will win.
Photo: Fred Duval/2014 Fred Duval
Zac Efron Zac and his bangs have never met a gel they didn’t like. Like Harry, he favors an occasional bang updo, but it’s best when he wears the...
Zac Efron Zac and his bangs have never met a gel they didn’t like. Like Harry, he favors an occasional bang updo, but it’s best when he wears them resting gently and boyishly on his beautiful forehead.
Photo: Steve Granitz/2008 Steve Granitz
George Clooney Hey, Amal, Mr. Clooney once had a Caesar cut when he was on a TV show called ER. It was the best.
Photo: Jim Smeal
Jim Carrey in
Dumb and Dumber Great. We get to relive this bowl-cut monstrosity again, thanks to the sequel.
Photo: Archive Photos/2012 Getty I...
Jim Carrey in
Dumb and Dumber Great. We get to relive this bowl-cut monstrosity again, thanks to the sequel.
Photo: Archive Photos/2012 Getty Images
John Stamos, the
Full House years Squee, Uncle Jesse and his bangs were soooo cute, and OMG that mullet. No decade will ever be better for hair ...
John Stamos, the
Full House years Squee, Uncle Jesse and his bangs were soooo cute, and OMG that mullet. No decade will ever be better for hair embarrassment than the '80s.
Photo: ABC Photo Archives/1988 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Felicity Jones Felicity is a dark-horse contender for the “Alexa Chung Lifetime Acheivement Award for Best British Bangs.”
Photo: Alberto E. Rod...
Felicity Jones Felicity is a dark-horse contender for the “Alexa Chung Lifetime Acheivement Award for Best British Bangs.”
Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/2014 Getty Images
Audrey Hepburn Everything about Audrey was gamine, including her adorable short, curled bangs.
Photo: Hulton Archive/2005 Getty Images
The Ronettes The Ronettes proved that the Beatles weren’t the only musical act that could make history with matching bangs. Photo: GAB Archive
Joan Jett Joan’s wispy punk-rock bangs are full of stale cigarette smoke and secrets.
Photo: Larry Busacca/2014 Getty Images
Tina Turner Tina’s many wigs — always with massive bangs — could surely tell some tales.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2010 Getty Images
Linda Evans In her '80s glory days, the ends of Linda’s bangs curled up like a giant, blonde mustache.
Photo: JIM BRITT/©1980, ABC Photo Archive...
Linda Evans In her '80s glory days, the ends of Linda’s bangs curled up like a giant, blonde mustache.
Photo: JIM BRITT/©1980, ABC Photo Archives. All rights reserved. For editorial use only. NO ARCHIVING, NO RESALE.
Nicole Richie She’s had many hair colors, but one thing stays consistent: Nicole’s bangs are a work of art.
Photo: KMazur
Kerry Washington Bangs are not a signature of Kerry’s but they really should be. She looks fantastic with them.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/2013 Jon Kop...
Kerry Washington Bangs are not a signature of Kerry’s but they really should be. She looks fantastic with them.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/2013 Jon Kopaloff
Miss Piggy The pig’s gone through the same bang trends we all have throughout the decades: She’s had the Farrah, the Linda Evans, and the Reese W...
Miss Piggy The pig’s gone through the same bang trends we all have throughout the decades: She’s had the Farrah, the Linda Evans, and the Reese Witherspoon.
Photo: Paul Morigi/2012 Getty Images
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