How Lucille Ball Became A Redhead From Her Natural Hair Color

UPDATED 4/5/2023

Lucille Ball is easily one of Hollywood’s most favorite redheads! However, that was not her true hair color. The actress was actually born a brunette, but with the help of Sydney Guilaroff, Lucille was able to transform into the beautiful redhead we know and love! Prior to Sydney’s hairstyling magic, Lucille would often appear in movies as a blonde or with her natural color.

Achieving the bright red color actually required a lot of maintenance for Lucille, just as it does for any other unnatural redhead today. Lucille’s on-set hairstylist Irma Kusely describes to Television Academy Foundation how the actress would achieve this shade of red.

From her natural hair color (brown) to a fiery red

“A lot of people think of the color as red, but [her hair was] a golden-apricot color,” Kusely explains. “I used regular hair dye [to color it], and then a henna rinse, which she was famous for. She had a safe of [the henna] in my garage.”

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Kusely would also mention that Lucille found the solution to her red hair maintenance while in Las Vegas. “She met a wealthy [man] and he heard about her problem with the henna and said he would send her the henna. He sent her a huge box of henna which was in my garage.”

In the photo above, Lucille sports her natural brown hair color. She looks gorgeous as a brunette!

The actress also looks stunning with blonde hair, which we definitely don’t see enough of! Of course, nothing beats the class I Love Lucy red though.

What is your favorite Lucille Ball hair color? I honestly have to go with red. She was born to be a redhead!

Take a look at six of the most inspiring quotes said by the legendary Lucille Ball.

FAQs

When did Lucille Ball change her hair to red?

Lucille Ball was urged to dye her hair red by MGM in the early 1950s. Her hair was originally brunette, according to her hairstylist.

Why did Lucille Ball change her hair color?

Lucille Ball changed her hair color because she was told by her modeling agency that it would help her succeed in film. She eventually settled on a “golden apricot” color that is widely recognizable to most fans as red.

Was Lucille Ball’s natural hair color?

Lucille Ball’s natural hair color was brunette. She dyed her hair red in the late 1940s/early 1950s.