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A pixie cut is a short
hairstyle A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although ...
, generally short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top, with very short
bangs Bang, bang!, or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a List of model car brands, model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Central African ...
. It is a variant of a crop. The name is derived from the mythological
pixie A pixie (also called pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, piskie, or pigsie in parts of Cornwall and Devon) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are speculated to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cor ...
.


History

The pixie cut was first popularized in the 1950s, when
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...
wore the style in ''
Roman Holiday ''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...
'' (1953). "Hepburn went a long way to making short hair mainstream and got a lot of credit for popularizing the pixie cut," explains hair historian Rachael Gibson. Jean Seberg sported a pixie cut for
Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...
's ''
Bonjour Tristesse ''Bonjour Tristesse'' () is a novel by Françoise Sagan. Published in 1954, when the author was only 18, it was an overnight sensation. The title is derived from a poem by Paul Éluard, "À peine défigurée", which begins with the lines "Adieu ...
'' (1958) and
Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...
's '' Breathless'' (1960). Further in the 1960s, the look was worn by actress
Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...
(notably in '' Rosemary's Baby'' from 1968), British model
Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949), widely known by the nickname Twiggy, is an English model, actress, and singer. She was a Culture of the United Kingdom, British cultural icon and a prominent teenage model during th ...
, American model, actress and socialite
Edie Sedgwick Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Ma ...
, and ''
Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by come ...
'' (1968–73) star
Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...
. Pixie cuts became fashionable again in 1990, with its most notable wearer being
Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
in that year's top grossing film: ''
Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
''. ''
Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...
'' declared Moore as "the only woman since Audrey Hepburn who has been able to carry off such a hairdo and still look like a woman". The pixie cut was also big in the mid 1990s, as worn by waif model
Lucie de la Falaise Lucie de la Falaise (born 19 February 1973) is a Welsh-born French design consultant, former model, and socialite. Early life Lucie le Bailly de la Falaise was born in Wales in 1973, and grew up on a sheep farm. She is the younger of two childr ...
, actress
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...
, and singer
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
during her world tour " The Girlie Show" (1993). In the 2000s,
Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry ( ; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant of 1986 and also placing six ...
appeared in the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film '' Die Another Day'' (2002) wearing a pixie cut. Pixies are also very easy to maintain and can be worn casually or dressed up for special occasions. In December 2023, Eve Gilles, while sporting a pixie cut, became the first woman with short hair to be crowned Miss France, which led to media attention both in France and internationally regarding the
cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...
she had received due to her hairstyle. "While long hair has traditionally been associated with
femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
, short hair challenges conventional beauty standards, allowing women to redefine their notions of beauty, femininity, and strength," explains celebrity hairstylist Jordan Jay Brumant.


In popular culture

Columnist Pamela Hutchinson of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' noted that the pixie cut hairstyle is often portrayed in films in a negative way, usually when actors play characters that have been traumatized, imprisoned or are undergoing
cancer treatment Cancer treatments are a wide range of treatments available for the many different types of cancer, with each cancer type needing its own specific treatment. Treatments can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targ ...
, and "embrace the extensions as soon as the fuss dies down".


Gallery

File:Eiganotomo-lesliecaron-dec1953.jpg,
Leslie Caron Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (; born 1 July 1931) is a French and American actress and dancer. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award, two BAFTA Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. Caron b ...
(1953) File:Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby.jpg,
Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...
(1968) File:InThisLifeUnderGround.jpg,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
(1993) File:Cécile De France in Auxerre.jpg,
Cécile de France Cécile or Cecile is a female given name or surname. People Given name * Ce'cile (Cecile Charlton, born 1976), Jamaican musician * Severin Cecile Abega (1955–2008), Cameroonian author * Cécile Aubry (1928–2010), retired French film actres ...
(2009) File:Morena Baccarin by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born June 2, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Adria in season 10 of the TV series ''Stargate SG-1'', Inara Serra in the sci-fi television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' (20 ...
(2010) File:Halle Berry 10.jpg,
Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry ( ; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant of 1986 and also placing six ...
(2010) File:Mia Wasikowska 2010.jpg, Mia Wasikowska (2010) File:Emmacut.png,
Emma Watson Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress. Known for her roles in both Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Emma Watson, ...
(2010) File:Ginnifer Goodwin by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg,
Ginnifer Goodwin Ginnifer Goodwin (born Jennifer Michelle Goodwin on May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She starred as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011), Mary Margaret Blanchard, Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the Am ...
(2012) File:Michelle Williams(7587128222).jpg,
Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...
(2012) File:Charlize Theron 2013.jpg,
Charlize Theron Charlize Theron ( ; ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 201 ...
(2013) File:Elizabeth Debicki 2015 Comic Con 05 (cropped).jpg, Elizabeth Debicki (2015) File:Audrey Tautou Berlin 2015.jpg,
Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...
(2015) File:Ghost In The Shell World Premiere Red Carpet - Scarlett Johansson (cropped).jpg,
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...
(2017) File:Katy Perry at Madison Square Garden (36757922714) (cropped 2).jpg,
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
(2017) File:Cara Delevingne 2018.png,
Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014, and List of award ...
(2018)


See also

*
Hime cut The is a hairstyle consisting of straight, usually cheek-length sidelocks and frontal fringe. The rest of the hair is usually worn long and straightened. The style is thought to have originated, or at least become common, in the Imperial cour ...
*
List of hairstyles This is a non-exhaustive list of hairstyles, excluding List of facial hairstyles, facial hairstyles. Short hairstyles Long hairstyles Long hairstyles may be considered those which reach beyond the shoulders on women, or require long hair to c ...
*
Pageboy The pageboy or page boy is a hairstyle named after what was believed to be the haircut of a late medieval page boy. It has straight hair hanging to below the ear, where it usually turns under. There is often a fringe (bangs) in the front. This s ...


References


External links

* * {{Human hair Hairstyles 1950s fashion 1960s fashion 2020s fashion 21st-century fashion