A Brief History of Big Hair: Catherine Deneuve, Cindy Crawford, and More

Tom Wolfe began his 1964 New York magazine profile of Baby Jane Holzer with a list that began with “Bangs, manes, bouffant, beehives . . .” His famed New Journalism It-girl profile went on from there, but clearly her infamous big hair left a lasting impression. He goes on to describe Holzer as “gorgeous in the most outrageous way.” Her signature balloon-like coif fits the description perfectly.

The Warhol superstar celebrates her birthday this weekend back-to-back with Catherine Deneuve, another ’60s blonde who embodied the more-is-more philosophy when it came to hair. Throughout her famed performance in Belle de Jour in 1967, as a housewife who becomes a call girl, her blonde lengths are always piled on high in a glamorous mess. Unlike sleeker, straighter looks that are all about practicing control while projecting precision, big hair seems to be followed naturally by its famous qualification, “don’t care.” Even though in practice it usually means loading up on hairspray, using teasing combs, and applying hairpins, the effect isn’t fussy—it’s freeing. It’s no wonder it was the preferred mode of spirited, take-no-prisoners performers like Amy Winehouse, the Supremes, and Dolly Parton.

It’s also a timeless provocation. High volume was the calling card for mid-century voluptuous sex symbols like Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot, as well as ’80s and ’90s icons of excess such as Cindy Crawford and Debbie Harry. The same is true by today’s logic: If straightened strands signify Instagram-ready composure, big, vertical hair is a small rebellion—if only because it might not all fit in a square frame. Here, 17 women who wouldn’t be tamed.

 

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