There comes a moment in every life when we are doing our hair and we catch a glimpse of something in the mirror. A closer inspection reveals a milestone event: the first official gray hair. It can be rather amazing to see how quickly that first gray hair is joined by similarly silver or white-colored friends, and many of us face a new decision. Do we grab a box of hair dye, or do we decide to embrace the new strands as they start to become more plentiful?
As with so many things in the realm of beauty, there is no one right answer. Some people hate the gray and will happily pay a visit to the salon for the rest of their lives, pleased to be rocking a head of dyed hair until they are kicking it in the retirement home. That's a totally valid choice! On the other hand, there are some of us who either know we are too dang lazy to commit to a hair routine that requires the kind of rigorous upkeep as keeping grays covered does (guilty as charged!) or who are just taking a more relaxed approach to the bodily changes we often associate with aging.
No matter what camp we fall into, we're still inspired by the celebrities who choose to proudly rock their gray hairs, both on and off the screen. Here are some of them.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is all about aging with grace and keeping things natural. In 2021, she told Irish broadcaster Lorraine Keane: "I have been an advocate for natural beauty for a long time, mostly because I've had the trial and error of the other part. I did plastic surgery — it didn't work. I hated it. It made me feel worse. I tried to do everything you can do with your hair. Personally it felt humiliating. I would go into the nail salon, the smell of the chemicals, the feeling of that color on my hair, the wearing the thing, sitting under the hair dryer. I was like, for what?"
Tan France
Queer Eye style guru Tan France has a lot of experience with embracing the grays. He revealed in an interview with The Guardian that he's been going gray since he was 12. "People assume I'm older than I am, which is frustrating," he said. "I still feel 21, but when I get out of bed, my knees creak and I think, 'How am I nearly 40?'"
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper is the quintessential example of a silver fox. He's so associated with his white/gray locks that it's genuinely really difficult to imagine what he'd look like with any other color of hair. He reportedly had brown hair until he was in his 20s, but we just can't see it!
Hilarie Burton
One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton shared on Instagram in 2020, amid the height of the pandemic, that she was growing out her gray hair in support of frontline workers.
"For all of our frontline and essential workers who are too busy to fuss with things like hair color, I grow mine out in solidarity with you," she wrote. "When I see it, I'm reminded of all you're doing to keep us safe. I'm reminded that you deserve to be taken care of. I'm reminded that any spare time I have shouldn't be spent on vanity, but rather on helping our heroes."
She went on to add: "I can make 5 masks in the time it would take me to dye my hair. It's a small, silly symbol. Gray hair. Who cares, right? But I hope the nurse or the vet or the store clerk who is feeling tired and overwhelmed knows that it's a visible thing I can show that says, 'I'm with you.'"
Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell has been hair goals for forever (Those curls! That length!), and we love her current salt and pepper look a lot. She told Vogue that gray hair is a power move, noting that George Clooney makes it work. She said that since she's embraced her grays, she's "never felt more powerful."
"I feel more honest," she explained. "I feel like I'm not pretending. I feel like I'm embracing right where I am. I feel really comfortable. And in a lot of ways, I think it's more striking on my face. I just feel like it suits me."
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is iconic in her 80s, and we love that she is clearly in the gives-no-craps phase of her life. "I tell you, I'm so happy I let it go gray," she told Ellen DeGeneres. "Enough already with so much time wasted, so much money spent, so many chemicals — I'm through with that."
Lily Tomlin
Jane Fonda's Grace and Frankie costar Lily Tomlin also proudly rocks a salt and pepper look. We also like that she's another example of the fact that there is no law that says older ladies are required to have a short and sensible haircut. Cheers to both her gray hair and for letting it stay long and a little wild.
Elizabeth McGovern
We of course love Elizabeth McGovern as Cora in Downton Abbey, and we think she looks positively regal with her head of gray hair. The multifaceted strands really set off the gorgeous color of her eyes. She looks pretty darn amazing, whether she's in full red carpet glam or not!
Allison Janney
Though she still colors it or wears wigs for some acting gigs, we were excited to see how fab Allison Janney looks with her gray hair. "I cannot tell you how amazing it is to feel free — free from hair color, and hair extensions, and hair tapes, and blah blah blah," she said during an April 2021 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Andy Cohen
Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are famously friends, so do we think they share gray hair tips? Hmm, we wonder! Bravo king Andy has quipped on Instagram about the root cause of his grays, saying, "I'm not saying the Housewives turned my hair entirely gray, but they did."
Eric Dane
Well helllllloooo there, McSteamy! He may have starred on Grey's Anatomy but in real life, actor and father of two Eric Dane (who is almost 50) has been going gray for almost a decade. He is proving that gray hairs do not at all make a fictional doctor any less attractive!
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton has always seemed like a celebrity who is comfortable in her own skin and who dresses the way she wants and shapes her own appearance to make herself happy first. We should all totally embrace that energy, whether or not we embrace the grays as beautifully as she has!
Glenn Close
Seventy-five-year-old Glenn Close has spoken candidly about wanting to embrace her age and take pride in her power as she enters what she called the final chapter of her life. But she's also talked about a more pragmatic reason for embracing the gray hair, noting in an interview with Today: "Personal maintenance has always been, to me, very boring. That's why I have short hair."
Patrick Dempsey
Attention, Grey's Anatomy fans: Both McSteamy and McDreamy are now fully in the silver fox stage of life. Although he was recently spotted with shocking bright white hair (dyed for an upcoming movie role), Patrick Dempsey is better known these days for having a full head of salt and pepper strands.
Jon Bon Jovi
Whoa, we're halfway there! Whoa, rocking gray hair! Sorry, not sorry! But we can't help but sing the praises of one of the all-time big hair rock gods, Jon Bon Jovi, who is now rocking a full head of gray hair. He's still a classic, and we'll still sing along to Livin on a Prayer any time.
