The moment when you discover your first grey hair is a milestone that you don’t easily forget. And while it’s long been deemed as a symbol of ‘getting older’, a growing number of people are normalising, and even embracing grey hair. In fact, there are plenty of actors and other celebrities with grey hair, and the different ways they approach it are a reminder that it’s a natural part of being human.
Because the reality is, if we’re lucky, it’s an experience we’re all going to encounter at some point in our lives.
So if you want some inspiration or reassurance, here are 16 celebrities who’ve spoken openly about going grey and how they felt about it.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston has shared her extremely relatable reaction when she discovered a particularly wiry grey hair before her 40th birthday.
“I found a really long grey hair, and it kind of flipped me out,” Aniston admitted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2009.
“It’s not my first, but it’s the fact that it was so long. I was like, ‘Oh that’s been there. How many others are there, and what does that mean?’ It actually brought me to tears, slightly.”
In a September 2022 interview with Glamour, Aniston also shared that she feels everyone should embrace their natural hair colours and textures.
“You do you! If you want to go grey, go for it,” she told the publication. “If you want to keep colouring your hair, that’s great too.”
“I think everyone should feel confident in whatever choices they make, including embracing natural colour or texture. Hair is a creative way to express yourself, and I love that your mood and energy can change with the change of a hairstyle, cut or colour. Embrace whatever is going to make you happy.”
Jen looks to be living by her own advice, too. In 2023, the actress (and her grey hair) made headlines after she took to Instagram to promote a new hair treatment from her brand, Lolavie, and rocked noticeably greyer locks in the process.
The video was met with waves of support, with comments like, “Your grey hair is BEAUTIFUL!! It suits you so much and makes your eyes pop even more” and, “Thank you for leading the way on grey!!!”
We couldn’t agree more.
Sarah Jessica Parker
In an interview with Allure, Sarah Jessica Parker opened up about how it frustrates her when society considers her “brave” for going grey.
When she was told that she sports ‘herringbone highlights‘, Parker asked what they were, and when she was told that it was a colouring technique to weave in natural greys to avoid constant full-on colouring, she agreed on its ability to do so.
“I can’t spend time getting base colour every two weeks,” she told the publication. “Can’t do it. Nope. Too much.”
However, Parker has a problem with the fuss made over choosing to embrace her greys. She recalled the countless media outlets applauding her bravery when photographed out at dinner in New York City with her grey hair pulled up.
“It became months and months of conversation about how brave I am for having grey hair,” she said. “I was like, ‘Please, please applaud someone else’s courage on something!’”
In fact, in those photos, her hair wasn’t even grey. The herringbone highlights that people had applauded her for were just strands that were bleached from the summer sun.
“When I walk out the door, I want to feel okay—according to my standards. I can’t even tell you what those standards are. But you know how you feel when you feel most like yourself, whatever that means. I’m not without vanity. I guess I just don’t care enough about everybody else’s opinion.”
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek has shared her her feelings about going grey on multiple occasions, previously saying she is “proud of” her “white hair” accompanied by a selfie featuring a few silvery strands.
In September 2020, the actress (then aged 54) once again took to Instagram to share her take on grey hair with the above photo, writing:
“The white hair of wisdom. Las canas de la sabiduría. Les cheveux blancs de la sagesse. #whitehair #hairspiration.”
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow turns 52 in 2024 and the actor and Goop founder hasn’t been shy about ageing (or going au naturel). Her outlook on embracing changes as she ages extends to her greying roots, which she sometimes leaves exposed.
In fact, she has said she’s interested in growing grey hair out but unsure if she will at this stage.
“I feel like there’s something really amazing about letting nature take its course and really fully embracing it,” Paltrow said in a 2023 interview with PEOPLE.
“I don’t know if I’m totally brave enough to do that, but I’m very curious.”
She’s also previously said on Instagram that she considers her wrinkles a sign of wisdom.
Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross is another actor with grey hair who has gone through a range of emotions about them.
“I was like, ‘Yes! I’m grown up!’ But I do go to a person and have the grey hairs dyed,” she said of her changing locks in 2017.
“I’m not ready to embrace them that much.”
But just a few years later she was more open to her grey hair, posting a series of stylish photos on Instagram with natural, grey roots.
Jennifer Lopez
The 55-year-old star may have some of the best hair in Hollywood, but she hasn’t yet allowed her greys to go wild.
“I was prematurely grey at 23. I have to have [my roots] touched up every couple of weeks,” Lopez told PEOPLE magazine in 2011.
“I’m kind of tempted to one day just let it go. It’d be kind of exciting! Maybe someday we’ll go really far away for like two months and I’m just going to see what it looks like.”
Chrissy Teigen
While she might not show it off, Chrissy Teigen has previously expressed her delight at finding a patch of grey locks in her hair.
“I have a skunk like streak of grey hair and I’m actually very into it. My Cruella dreams are coming true,” she wrote on Twitter, referring to the half-black-half-grey-haired villain from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.
Naomie Harris
Moonlight star Naomie Harris has openly admitted that she’s not thrilled about having grey hair, attributing her sudden onset of silver streaks to at traumatic car accident.
“I actually had a car accident and when I woke up the next day I had loads of grey hair which I didn’t have before,” she told PEOPLE in 2017.
“I hate it, I keep plucking them out, dyeing them, I hate them.”
Susan Sarandon
While she’s yet to allow her greys to grow freely, Susan Sarandon is looking forward to the time when she can enjoy a completely silver coiffure.
“I have a little tiny bit of grey hair but some of my sisters that are really blessed with really thick, fabulous hair turned grey much faster,” the Thelma & Louise star said in 2017.
“So mine was really late, really really late. I’d like it if it was a really dramatic streak like in 101 Dalmatians, one of those things, I think that would be cool but at the moment I don’t really think I have enough to go grey and mean it. That’s going to be a little while coming I think.”
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren has long enjoyed a gorgeous grey toned bob, and has called for people to recognise the shade as a ‘positive as opposed to a negative.’
“I think women were just so terrified of having white or grey hair because it immediately put them into a different category,” Mirren said. “And of course, you are in that age group. I’m sorry, but you are! So, why not just embrace it, go a long with it and welcome it? Make it a positive thing as opposed to a negative thing.”
Alexandra Grant
Los Angeles-based visual artist Alexandra Grant (who is also Keanu Reeves’ partner) has previously spoken candidly about why she’s chosen not to dye her hair.
In December 2019, Grant shared a post on Instagram, warning her followers about the reported link between breast cancer and permanent hair dyes.
“Wow. Today’s news… the numbers are staggering, especially for womxn of colour,” she wrote.
“I went grey prematurely in my early 20’s… and dyed my hair every colour along the way until I couldn’t tolerate the toxicity of the dyes any more.
“In my 30’s, I let my hair turn ‘blonde’… I love and support that every womxn can choose how she wants to look at every age. But/and if womxn are perishing from beauty standards… then let’s talk about those beauty standards. Love to all womxn!”
Shay Mitchell
Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell might just be entertaining a few grey hairs at the moment, but the mother-of-one isn’t particularly concerned about discovering more.
“I’ve definitely found a grey hair, probably like five of them,” Mitchell said in December 2016.
“I call them like wisdom hairs. Like more wisdom, great. You can’t freak out about it. I am getting older. I am happy. You know what that means? I have more experiences.
“It’s made me even more old to who I was yesterday like cool. I don’t ever really freak out about them. Plus, if you don’t like it, then dye your hair, no problem.”
The YOU actress did, however, also confess that she does pluck them out for the time being.
“Yeah, I definitely take them out,” she added. “Put a collage [of them] next to my bed—no, I am kidding! I don’t do that, but yeah, I take them out.”
Jamie Lee Curtis
In a twist of irony, the Knives Out star first realised she no longer wanted to cover her greys while in her colourist’s chair.
“The epiphany came when I was sitting in a hair salon thinking, ‘What the eff am I doing putting a chemical on my head that burns?'” she told Everyday Health in 2017 (quote via Insider).
“What does it say that you walk into a room and not one person’s hair is her natural colour?” she added. “You go, ‘What?'”
Charlize Theron
While The Old Guard actress typically flits between shades of blonde (and occasionally, brunette), Charlize Theron has previously revealed that she has plenty of silver strands.
“I’m very grey,” Theron said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, confessing that she turned grey prematurely.
Selma Blair
Actress Selma Blair hasn’t been one to be fussed about having grey hair, but did cheekily call out tabloid media for creating a story about her between-touch-ups roots.
0“Happy Monday. Things to do: turn off Google alert. Stop eating four cupcakes a day. Ask The Daily Mail if they could possibly start using filters. Wear exquisite hats!” she wrote in a post on Instagram.
The Cruel Intentions star added that she would like to embrace hers her silver strands one day, but she’s not quite ready just yet.
“I think I have a fantasy I will grow my hair gloriously grey,” the star said. “But it doesn’t seem a real option. Thanks to this thoughtful paparazzi dude who has given me such a warm and fuzzy feeling.”
Christie Brinkley
The ’80s supermodel may just have a few grey strands to contend with, but she’s definitely open to embracing them, even putting it to her Instagram followers via selfie she posted in January 2020:
“I was scheduled for colour before I left NYC 3 weeks ago but decided I would go easy on my hair and just do it when I got home … as a result, I have gone back to my roots …and boy was I was ever surprised to see my ‘nature’s highlights’ are more silver than gold! Sooo what do you think? Embrace the silver? Or go for the gold?”
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