Britney Spears is widely known for her signature blonde hair, but the pop icon recently set the record straight—she’s not naturally blonde at all.
In her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Spears shared a surprising personal detail. “I’m not offended by all the dumb blond jokes because I know I’m not dumb. And I also know that I’m not blond,” she wrote. “My real hair color is black.” This revelation challenges the long-standing image of Spears as a golden-haired star.
While Spears described her natural color as “black,” childhood photos she posted in 2023 show her with glossy, dark chestnut brown hair. In one Instagram post, a young Spears posed in a pink dress with brown locks, revealing a color lighter than jet black.
When she rose to fame in the early 1990s, Spears initially wore her natural hair color. At the 1998 American Music Awards, she appeared with a dark, brunette mix of wavy strands. This darker tone gave her a youthful and natural look, quite different from the bright blonde that would soon become her trademark.
It wasn’t until 1999 that Spears began to lighten her hair. Over the years, she has experimented with many colors, including platinum blonde, jet black, chestnut brown, red, and even pastel pink.
Hair has played a deeper role in Spears’ personal expression. In a 2024 Instagram video, she danced to her hit “Gimme More” and revealed it marked the first time she went platinum blonde. “Honestly it was a huge difference!!! I became this cool character right when the camera came on!!!!” she wrote.
In 2021, she debuted pink hair on social media. Her hairstylist, Dimitris Giannetos, told Page Six that he suggested the color because it suited her skin tone and personality. “It’s always so much fun doing her hair. It’s like a spring break,” he said.
Throughout her career, Britney Spears has used hair color as a tool for transformation. While she may not be naturally blonde, her bold hair choices have always helped define her iconic image.
