Megyn Kelly's Most Drastic Hair Transformations

We've seen plenty of celebrities undergo major hair transformations, but it never gets old. Some stars experimented with a new hair color and ended up with a whole new vibe, such as Camila Cabello going from brunette to mint green post-Shawn Mendes breakup in 2021 and Dua Lipa switching from dark hair to hot pink tresses a year later. Others shocked fans when they unveiled huge chops like Florence Pugh debuting a buzzcut at the 2023 Met Gala 2023 just a few days after sporting a long bob and Kaley Cuoco unveiling her iconic pixie cut in 2014 after avoiding major hairstyle changes for two decades. But quite a few celebrities went for an even more drastic change by doing both. Anne Hathaway's signature long brunette hair was nowhere in sight at the 2013 Met Gala when she showed up sporting an edgy blonde pixie cut. Another such case was Selena Gomez, who cut her long dark hair short and dyed it platinum blonde four years later.

Of course, some ended up regretting their hair transformation. In January 2025, Julia Fox posted a TikTok video of herself cutting several inches off her silver hair and admitted in the caption that she "immediately regretted it." But for "Abbott Elementary" star Quinta Brunson, the big chop was a liberating moment. "Like, I have never felt better. I just feel very much like myself. It's like a piece of me that I was trying to get for a long time," Brunson said in a 2024 Primetime Emmys red carpet interview (via People).

While she's not an actress or musician, conservative media personality Megyn Kelly has also undergone quite a few drastic hair transformations throughout her career as a journalist. While she's mostly been committed to shades of blonde, the former "Fox News" host isn't afraid to try different lengths and styles. Let's take a look at the evolution of her tresses through the years.

Megyn Kelly's blonde hair is a major part of her signature look, so she was totally unrecognizable in throwback photos she shared from her high school years. Instead of the sleek blonde hair she's sported her entire career as a journalist, Kelly had curly brown hair during her childhood and teenage years. Her voluminous brunette locks and bangs in the photo above from her 1988 high school graduation at Bethlehem Central High School in New York were quintessential '80s, and so was the big curly hair and even bigger bangs she rocked in another picture of herself as a teen.

Around this time, Kelly experienced a major setback when she was rejected by her first choice, Syracuse University's communications program. She instead got a political science degree from the university in 1992 and pursued a law degree at Albany Law School, where she found a new goal: to become a prosecutor. But she later gave up this path once she got her J.D. and instead chose to be a corporate lawyer amid the pressure from needing to pay off her student loans. She worked as an associate at Bickel & Brewer in Chicago straight out of law school and then as a corporate litigator at the firm Jones Day.

Kelly was making big bucks and expected to become a partner at the international law firm, but burnout led her to pick up an old dream and try to get into media once more. After taking a broadcasting class and undergoing an informal internship, she landed her first job as a TV journalist in 2003 at ABC affiliate WJLA-TV, where she unveiled her stunning transformation from brunette to her iconic blonde.

Though she entered the field quite late compared to many of her peers, it didn't take Megyn Kelly very long to find success in television journalism. She was 32 when she realized she wanted to quit being a lawyer and find a profession where she could thrive. "I knew I wanted out, but I still had to find an escape route," Kelly wrote in her book "Settle for More" (via Forbes). "I wanted to leave the practice of law ... I hated the anger. Hated the hours. Hated what I'd become."

Kelly was still working for Jones Day when she got a part-time position as a reporter at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., in 2003. Still married to her first husband Daniel Kendall, she was going by Megyn Kendall and sported a straight shoulder-length bob with a center part. She hit her stride as a journalist after she joined Fox News a year later. During her first few years at the network, she grew out her cornsilk blonde hair a little and started curling the bottom half so her tresses fell into soft waves on her shoulders. But in 2010, she decided to celebrate getting her first solo show, "America Live," by debuting a new look, a chin-length wavy bob, making her first major chop as a journalist. While there was little to no change in terms of how her hair was styled, taking several inches off her tresses gave her a very different vibe and highlighted her cheekbones and jawline.

As Kelly's first marriage crumbled, and she found love in second husband Douglas Brunt, her star continued to rise at Fox News, and in 2013, she scored a nightly program called "The Kelly File."

The year 2016 was pivotal for Megyn Kelly in terms of not only her career and fame but also her hair. The journalist, who sported long hair during the 2015 GOP presidential debate that ignited her feud with Donald Trump, debuted a dramatic short haircut while moderating another Republican debate in January 2016. Kelly's look later made an appearance in People, where she explained why she got what she called "the big chop." "We change when we get in a different phase. I think I was just in a stronger mood," she said. "I think hair is sort of emotional for all women."

Kelly's comments sparked speculation that her decision was related to Trump, who by then had been lambasting her for months for grilling him during that first debate, including for his numerous misogynistic remarks about the appearances of women he didn't like. But she later clarified that Trump wasn't really the cause of her transformation. While speaking to Entertainment Tonight about the scrutiny her cropped hair had garnered, she said, "It was so funny. I was doing the profile for Vanity Fair at the time, and it was wrapped, and we had to have a follow-up interview about the hair! [The reporter] called me back and said, 'I need to know why you cut your hair!' and I said, 'Because it was long and I wanted it short.'"

However, she suggested to People that her short hair, which she wore slicked back, was her way of showing she was ready to face any attacks head-on — even if they were from a presidential candidate. "There's something about putting your whole face out there that is just empowering: Here I am, have at it," said Kelly.

After 13 years at Fox News, Megyn Kelly left the network following the end of her contract and moved to NBC News, where she reached new heights in her career. She interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin and got two programs, including a daytime talk show called "Megyn Kelly Today." She was reportedly bringing in nearly $20 million a year. But her time with NBC ended up being much more short-lived. Her show was canceled in fall 2018 after she made comments on air defending blackface, which remains one of the biggest controversies of her media career. She later issued an apology for her inappropriate behavior, but she and the network officially parted ways in early 2019, with Kelly leaving with the entirety of her $69 million contract.

By October 2018, Kelly's hair was back to shoulder length (above left), but following her scandal and subsequent firing, she decided to make another drastic change and lopped off her blonde locks. A video taken by a paparazzo and obtained by E! News showed Kelly sporting short hair reminiscent of her 2016 chop while out and about with her husband Douglas Brunt in New York City in December 2018. When the paparazzo pointed out her new look, Kelly turned around to show off the back, saying, "I got it chopped! You know, it's like coming on the new year. New beginnings."

Despite the huge change it brought to Kelly's appearance, the hair she cut wasn't long enough to be used for any charitable causes. "I didn't have enough to donate, no. ... I had about one inch to go," she explained. But Kelly reiterated that the haircut signaled a "new beginning" and "fresh start" after a major career blow.

Megyn Kelly didn't return to TV after being fired by NBC, but that didn't mean she wasn't busy. The political commentator launched the media company Devil May Care Media and podcast "The Megyn Kelly Show" in 2020. She then signed a deal with SiriusXM and brought her show to live radio. Following her successful venture into independent media, she started the news show "AM Update With Megyn Kelly" and announced the launch of her video and audio podcast network MK Media in 2025.

Entering a new chapter in her career also meant changing up her look. While she sported a shoulder-length wavy bob with a side part and bangs in the early years of her podcast, she changed her style in 2023 and started regularly wearing her hair long with a center part and curtain bangs. As of 2025, her blonde tresses hang down to her chest with the help of hair extensions. She admitted to using them during a 2024 episode of her show while brutally criticizing Kristi Noem boosting her own length with extensions. "I'm not opposed to fake hair at all. I...put a couple extras in here, and I love it. And sometimes they're in, sometimes they're not," Kelly said before adding of Noem, "She's gone full — I mean, she's like Lady Godiva with the extensions down here."

But while Kelly was ridiculing Noem's hair fails, she was also getting clowned by social media users over her fake hair. "Megyn Kelly is hard to take seriously with her Kristi Noem hillbilly hair extensions," one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Even her fans weren't sold on the hair, with one tweeting, "I love Megyn Kelly, but her godawful hair extensions and sexed up wardrobe detract from her otherwise great work."