Olivia Colman has unveiled a dramatic new look, marking a major departure from the hairstyle audiences have become accustomed to seeing on the British star.
The 52 year old actress stepped onto the green carpet at the Zurich Film Festival on September 28 with long, voluminous grey curls cascading past her shoulders, replacing the short pixie cut that has become one of her signature looks in recent years.
The transformation immediately attracted attention, not only because of the length of Colman’s hair, but also because she embraced its silver grey colour and natural looking texture.
It marks the longest hairstyle the actress has publicly worn in nearly a decade. Colman was last seen with hair of a comparable length in 2017, during the promotional period for Murder on the Orient Express, although at the time she wore it dark brown rather than grey.
Olivia Colman’s long grey curls steal the spotlight
Colman revealed the look while attending the Zurich premiere of her upcoming movie Wicker, where she appeared alongside co star Alexander Skarsgård.
Her silver curls were styled with a deep side part and swept largely over one shoulder. She paired the hairstyle with an all white ensemble featuring a bow detailed top and matching trousers, while keeping her makeup relatively understated.
The contrast with her recent appearances was considerable.
Earlier this year, Colman had been seen with much shorter brunette hair, making her latest red carpet appearance particularly noticeable.
Images from Zurich quickly prompted enthusiastic reactions online. The Evening Standard reported that fans praised the new style, with some describing the transformation as particularly flattering and celebrating her decision to wear longer grey hair.
The reaction has also tapped into a wider conversation around women in Hollywood embracing natural grey hair rather than feeling compelled to conceal it.
Is Olivia Colman’s new hair real?
One question inevitably raised by such a dramatic transformation is whether Colman has actually grown her hair or whether extensions or other styling techniques were involved.
There has been no definitive public confirmation that the entire length is natural.
Harper’s Bazaar noted that extensions could potentially have been used to create the dramatic style, while highlighting how prominently Colman embraced grey colour and curly texture in the finished look.
Whatever styling technique was involved, the transformation represents a substantial visual change from the cropped hairstyle associated with many of Colman’s recent public appearances.
Why Olivia Colman was in Zurich
The actress was not in Switzerland simply to debut a new hairstyle.
Colman attended the 22nd Zurich Film Festival to promote Wicker, an unusual fantasy romance directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson.
The movie is based on Ursula Wills Jones’ short story The Wicker Husband and stars Colman as an ostracised fisherwoman who commissions a basket maker, played by Peter Dinklage, to create a husband for her from wicker.
Alexander Skarsgård plays the resulting wicker husband, requiring extensive prosthetic work for the role.
The unusual relationship at the centre of the story begins to disrupt life in the surrounding village as other women start questioning their own relationships.
Colman has described the screenplay as one of the most original she had encountered in years, according to coverage from the Zurich event.
Wicker is scheduled for release on October 30.
A busy period for Olivia Colman
The transformation arrives during an especially active period in Colman’s career.
The Oscar winning actress, whose credits include The Favourite, The Crown and Broadchurch, is also part of Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Netflix has confirmed that Colman will play Mrs Bennet in the new six part series, which is scheduled to arrive on December 3.
She has also joined the London set sixth season of Only Murders in the Building, alongside a large British guest cast that includes David Tennant, Martin Freeman, Nicola Coughlan, Richard Ayoade and Jodie Whittaker.
But for the moment, it is Colman’s appearance in Zurich that has generated attention.
After years in which audiences became accustomed to seeing her with closely cropped hair, the combination of long curls, natural looking silver tones and a dramatically different silhouette has given the actress an unexpected red carpet transformation.
Judging by the reaction to her latest appearance, Olivia Colman may have found one of her most talked about looks yet.
