Cynthia Erivo has become known for her bold, clean-shaven look, but her hair journey has been anything but one-note. The Oscar-nominated actress, 38, has experimented with styles ranging from buzz cuts to vibrant braids and curls.
However, it was her role as Elphaba in 2023’s Wicked that inspired her to fully embrace the bald look, proving once again that she’s always willing to push boundaries on and off the red carpet, according to PEOPLE.
Erivo shaved her head to perfect her transformation into Elphaba in Wicked, ensuring a seamless blend between her custom green makeup and braided wigs. The process required hours of airbrushing, and in a September 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, she joked that her first reaction to seeing her green self was like looking at a “little bald-headed green lady.”
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Erivo embraced the look so much that she’s ready to shave her head again, even outside of acting.
Erivo’s signature bald look, which she has showcased on the Wicked press tour, awards season, and even at the 2021 Met Gala, has its critics.
However, she’s never let the comments get to her and in fact addressed the haters in a December 2024 interview with Elle UK, in which she said: “I keep spotting people saying, why is she bald? She needs to get a wig,’ ” adding, “Why does it bother you so much that I don’t want to wander around with blonde tresses? I like my bald head. There’s nothing wrong with my hair – it grows in very fast. I just like my face.”
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Erivo has embraced bold beauty choices, making bleached or no eyebrows her signature look—an intentional decision unlike her baldness.
In an October 2024 interview with W Magazine, she joked about wanting to look like a “pretty thumb.” This choice also influenced Wicked‘s makeup design, with artist Frances Hannon using custom eyebrow stencils to shape Elphaba’s look for the film.
In 2023, the Broadway star reflected on her early decisions to not let her hair define her after realizing she had been using a longer style to hide. “I was doing it for such a long time,” she told Shape. “I remember saying to myself, ‘I’d like to walk into a room and have people just see my face.’ ”
She admitted that her first attempt at reinventing her hairstyle didn’t go as planned. “[My hairdresser] would only cut some of it. So I left with a haircut that I didn’t want,” she told the outlet. “I allowed [my hairdresser’s] fears or something she was projecting onto me to affect how I made my decision.” So, she found her voice, ended up getting the cut she did want and realized: “My beauty doesn’t stem from how I do my hair.”
Erivo continues to make bold statements with her style and confidence. At the 2025 Oscars, she honored Wicked and Hattie McDaniel with a custom Louis Vuitton ball gown.
While fans get a brief break from Wicked until its sequel drops in November, Erivo will remain in the spotlight as the host of the 2025 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8.
