Why Nicole Kidman is now opting for wigs – insights from a professional hair stylist

Nicole Kidman, once recognized for her lively natural red curly hair, was seen sporting a different appearance at the Cannes Film Festival this year by wearing a wig.

The 57-year-old Australian-American actress has frequently used wigs for her acting roles, citing that her own hair is fragile and not suited for frequent styling. It now appears that she has incorporated wigs into her everyday look as well.

During the 2025 Kering Women In Motion Awards and Cannes Presidential Dinner, Kidman encountered a hair mishap while donning a weave to enhance the volume of her strawberry blonde locks.

However, her mesh wig cap became visible as she posed on the red carpet despite her real hair being woven into it.

It’s quite the change for the star, who burst into the spotlight in the 1980s with curly red locks, before adopting her poker-straight blonde style in the noughties. 

Speaking to the Daily Mail, hair stylist Adem Oygur, founder of Adem London, said that Hollywood stars often wear wigs and hair extensions to achieve a more youthful appearance as hair thins and loses volume with age.

Kidman’s drastic change in hair colour and frequent heat styling to straighten her locks could have caused damage to her natural curls, while hormonal changes associated with menopause and perimenopause can also lead to hair loss and thinning.

‘As a leading stylist, I see many women – especially those in the public eye – choosing wigs for a variety of personal and practical reasons. In Nicole’s case, there could be several factors at play,’ Oygur explained. 

‘Firstly, frequent bleaching or heat styling over the years can cause significant damage to the hair’s structure, leading to breakage, thinning, and a loss of elasticity,’ he said.

‘Wigs offer a protective alternative while allowing her to maintain the high-impact looks she’s known for without compromising the health of her natural hair.

‘Another possibility is hormonal changes, especially around perimenopause or menopause, which can drastically affect hair texture, volume, and growth patterns. 

‘It’s incredibly common for women to experience thinning or dryness during this time. Wigs can provide both a confidence boost and a low-maintenance way to manage these changes.

‘There’s also the creative freedom aspect – wigs allow for instant transformation without the long-term commitment or potential damage. For many women, especially in entertainment, it’s a smart and empowering choice.’

Nicole’s changing look is something of a hallmark of her many film roles and TV appearances.  

The Hollywood star has rarely showcased her natural hair in films since the early days of her career, and almost exclusively wears wigs for all of her movie roles.

In the 1990s however, she rocked her natural red hair in the early days of her career, and was known for her bright and shining auburn locks, featuring in films such as Practical Magic and Moulin Rouge. 

Famously, she was pictured punching the air following her divorce from Tom Cruise in 2001 – again with wavy red hair. 

But in the 2000s, she turned away from her red roots and went blonde – with only a brief return to her natural colour in 2019 for The Undoing. 

Speaking to the BBC previously, Kidman commented on how her red hair made her feel separate to the ‘popular’ kids at school. 

She said: ‘I was very tall and very pale. I had red, curly hair and I was covered in freckles.

‘I think my sense of belonging, in terms of belonging to the cool kids, wasn’t there. 

‘Primarily being an introvert, I’ve subsequently found out, there was an innate shyness, but there was something I could do and that was act… that became the place that I felt comfortable.’

The actress’ hair has attracted much speculation in recent weeks, as fans wondered whether her new cropped pixie hair style at the 2025 Met Gala was also a wig. 

And on May 9, she kept fans guessing once again as she sported long blonde tresses again to the Country Music Awards, where she was accompanied by her husband Keith Urban. 

Speaking of her new look, Zoe Adams at Taylor Taylor London’s Notting Hill salon added that a wig may help to reduce the hair challenges posed by the Cannes Film Festival. 

‘The humid coastal climate can wreak havoc on even the most carefully styled locks, causing frizz and limpness,’ she said.

‘A high quality wig eliminates those concerns, allowing for a flawless weather proof finish that holds up under bright lights, long hours and endless camera flashes.

‘With multiple appearances over several days and photographers capturing every angle, many celebrities choose wigs to ensure their look remains identical throughout. 

‘For someone like Nicole, who is known for shifting between dramatically different hairstyles for film roles, a wig also allows her to separate her red carpet persona from her on screen characters without putting stress on her natural hair.

‘With years of colouring, heat styling and extensions taking their toll, wigs provide a protective barrier allowing celebrities like Nicole to maintain healthy hair underneath while still delivering high-octane glamour on the world’s most watched red carpets.’

The hair gaffe was Nicole’s second mishap of the day after her hair piece was seen off-centre to her natural scalp line when she sported an all-black ensemble to give her talk for the award. 

An Aussie stylist has since weighed in on her most radical red carpet look at the 2025 Met Gala, where she debuted an edgy new haircut.

Bixie Colour hairstylist Andrew Newport believes her new short style could be a mix of her real hair and extensions.

‘This could be Nicole’s real hair with the length at the back disguised under some artfully placed, clipped or glued in hair pieces,’ he said.

‘This look, which appears to have been achieved by hair magic, could have been created by taking the hair at the back of the head and braiding tightly to the scalp. Nicole’s real hair is featured at the front fringe, plus the hair extensions at the nape would be dressed over the disguised hair.

‘This would take a bit of work and considerable time but is 100% achievable.’

The actress, who accepted the 2025 Kering Women in Motion Award, showed off her sexy yet conservative red dress as she posed for the cameras at the exclusive event.

Established a decade ago, the honour is given to women who have made a groundbreaking impact on the big screen.

As she accepted the honour, Nicole said she would continue to use her platform to fight for continued gender equality in the film industry.

She said: ‘I’m just an advocate and want to continue to keep moving forward with that.’

Previous winners of the Women in Motion Award include Susan Sarandon and Salma Hayek.

Nicole added: ‘I am proud to join the list of extraordinary women who’ve received this honour before me – artists and trailblazers I deeply admire.

‘The Cannes Film Festival has been a part of my life for over 30 years and I am thrilled to add this incredible recognition to the many memories I’ve made here.’

This consisted of a tightly-fitted leather jacket and black denims that were styled with a large belt.

The actress explained that as part of her commitment to helping women in the industry, she vowed in 2017 to work with a female director every 18 months.

Since then, she revealed, she has worked with 27 women on several projects, including those yet to be released.

‘Part of it is protecting and surrounding the women with almost like a force field of protection and support,’ she said.

One of the few times Nicole has displayed her naturally curly hair in a movie was in her first feature film, 1983’s BMX Bandits.

Interestingly, she is known to get a little touchy when asked about her use of wigs.

She hung up on The Kyle and Jackie O Show last year when asked about her wigs and also shut down a similar question from a journalist at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2018.

Footage surfaced of the cringeworthy moment the star rolled her eyes and swiftly branded the question ‘awful’.

The Oscar winner appeared dumbfounded after a male podcast host asked her to to rank her favourite films according to the wigs she wore in them.

As the press conference burst into laughter, Nicole responded in disbelief: ‘It’s a very wiggy movie, did you say?’

The panel adjudicator then repeated the question, saying: ‘He [the podcast host] was saying… he was ranking all your movies by wig and where do you feel like this [Destroyer] falls in terms of that?’

Nicole widened her eyes and pursed her lips, before declaring: ‘That is an awful question! I am shutting that question down!’

The adjudicator agreed Nicole didn’t need to entertain the discussion and suggested they ‘move on’ to a more suitable question.

Nicole’s caginess on the subject has led to some wild conspiracy theories.

During an episode of their What’s The Tee podcast, RuPaul and Michelle Visage jokingly suggested the actress could be using wigs to hide the fact she is bald.

RuPaul said ‘absolutely nobody does wigs like Nicole’, sparking a lighthearted debate about her changing hairstyles.

‘The irony is that we rarely ever see Nicole Kidman’s hair,’ RuPaul said.

Michelle swiftly responded: ‘I think she’s bald!’

‘She’s not bald!’ replied RuPaul, correcting her. ‘She’s just got curly hair that ends up being very brittle.’

Nicole has been one of Hollywood’s biggest names since making her acting debut way back in 1983 in the Australian film Bush Christmas when she was still a teenager.

She has since gone on to star in several blockbusters including Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Moulin Rouge! (2001).

Some of Nicole’s more recent projects are Babygirl, Netflix’s murder mystery The Perfect Couple, season two of Lioness, and the romcom A Family Affair.

Having played so many characters over the years, she admitted at Cannes that she’d be up for starring in a TV show featuring them all.

‘That’s hilarious. I’d be up for it,’ she said. ‘As you know, I’m up for most things. I like to be able to say I’m game. So I’m always ready to try things.’