From Receding to Riveting: A-List Stars Embracing Hair Loss Drive Fans Wild

Men facing hair loss have tried various remedies such as caffeine shampoo and diet changes throughout the years. However, hope may be on the horizon with the endorsement of some high-profile individuals.

A thick head of hair has traditionally been seen as a symbol of youth and attractiveness for older men. Yet, as male stars progressively embrace their receding hairlines, the natural and distinguished appearance is becoming increasingly appealing.

Within the entertainment industry, hair transplants have been a common practice for older men dealing with hair loss. Celebrities like Calum Best, John Travolta, and Jeremy Piven have all openly discussed their experiences with hair restoration procedures.

The barnets of famous men have long caused a stir among fans, from Paul Mescal‘s curly burst fade in Gladiator II last year to Zayn Malik‘s loose strand of hair in 2014 that sent women in to meltdown.

But now it seems that balding is back, with TV and film characters proudly showing off their receding hairlines on screen. 

Stars Walton Goggins who recently made waves in the third series of The White Lotus, Jude Law and even Harry Styles are leaning in to their widow’s peaks and rising foreheads – and fans are going wild for the look. 

So who is riding the wave of receding hairlines and how have they made the style their sexy signature look?

Here FEMAIL reveals the pioneering male stars embracing hair loss as they redefine what’s considered ‘sexy’ – and send their fans into a meltdown…

Walton Goggins

Walton Goggins, 53, began acting more than 30 years ago; but despite starring in a number of hits, it’s his role in The White Lotus opposite Aimee-Lou Wood that has put him on the map as a sex symbol.

But it’s not the age-gap relationship or the bloody finale that has got people talking. 

Instead it’s the actor’s jaw-length, swept back greying bob, made more impressive by the contrast to his large forehead. 

Instead of skimming over Walton’s almost-bare pate, the TV show makes sure to linger on his receding hairline and give it as much attention as if it were an arresting head of thick hair.

And Walton has seemingly never shied away from what has now become his trademark look, strutting down red carpets with his hair blowing in the wind.

And his follicular confidence has fans going wild.

Reddit threads have been dedicated to his thinning hair with one user writing he is ‘fascinated by Walton Goggins’ hair situation’.

The writer added that his hair was also falling out but he wasn’t sure how to rock the receding look with the same level of panache as the US actor. 

He confessed: ‘My hair loss is at a similar stage to his and I’m wondering how exactly he’s pulling off the look without giving insecure combover vibes. 

‘Is it just that his hair is receding very uniformly from the front to back, so he can brush it back without needing to cover up a bald spot? 

‘Is it a very specific kind of haircut, and does it only work if the hair behind your hairline is still thick?’.

The White Lotus fans have flocked to X to confess their attraction to the star, writing: ‘Walton Goggins proves that even if you’ve got a receding hairline you can still be hot’ while someone else posted, ‘Walton Goggins is the patron saint of hair line recession. No one has done more for men in the rising generation.’

But why is Walton so attractive and why has his hair sent his fans in to a frenzy?

Stylist Daniel Johnson explained that The Righteous Gemstones star’s attractiveness actually has little to do with his hair and is in fact all to do with his confidence. 

He explained: ‘The Italians have a word; Sprezzatura, it basically means nonchalant. This couldn’t be more perfect for Walton Goggins, but a better way to describe Walton Goggins style is like he doesn’t give a f**k.’

‘Technically, Walton isn’t your typical leading man. A super high up hair line but with long hair? That shouldn’t work, but it does because Walton has the DGAF (doesn’t give a f**k) attitude that’s way more attractive and more noticeable than his hairline. Plus a chiselled jaw and 4 per cent body fat helps.

‘Nothing he wears is slick, everything hangs off him softly which just adds to the appeal. Sharp suit? Nope, if it’s a suit then the shoulders have to be big and wear it with a T-shirt, not a shirt. Forget his clothes looking like they came from the dry cleaner, they look like he just got off his surfboard in the ocean (and that’s very, very attractive by the way).

‘Pressed white shirt? No, make it linen, open the buttons to the lower chest and roll the sleeves up loosely.

‘It’s a fine line between ‘scruffy’ and ‘sprezza’ but when its done right…you’re probably Walton Goggins.’

Jude Law

It’s not just Walton who is making waves with his widow’s peak. 

As a fan wrote on X, ‘Jude Law spent his whole adult life trying to make the receding hairline hot, only for Walton Goggins to take the crown with his southern charm and big teeth. The game is so cold.’

The Holiday star, 52, has been balding for almost his entire career with his widow’s peak slowly growing more extreme after 2013.

For a while the star tried to cover up his ever growing v-shaped hairline with a long fringe and even a hat during the early 2000s. 

But by 2013, he had thrown off all disguises and shaved his head of brown hair to reveal his receding hairline in all it glory. 

And like Walton, Jude has made his widow’s peak part of his signature look – even confessing in an interview with Bullseye’s Jesse Thon that his receding hairline was ‘vital’ to his sense of self.

He told the US podcast host: ‘It’s so vital to who I am. I’ve [shaved] it off several times for certain roles and I’ve no issue with a pate.’

The actor then revealed his father is bald and surprised his interviewer by confessing he has always found fellow actor Jack Nicholson’s widow’s peak ‘unbelievably attractive and charismatic’.

Harry Styles 

Fandoms devoted to balding men are not just reserved for actors. 

Harry Styles, 31, has a legion of supporters who are totally unfazed by the singer’s receding hairline.

While rumours of hair transplants have abounded, the Matilda singer has kept quiet and continues to grow his locks long and shave them off, all while sporting a noticeable widow’s peak. 

In 2023, a top plastic surgeon claimed the hair change wasn’t a style choice but was a symptom of cosmetic surgery. 

Dr Gary Linkov said the fashion icon had noticeably thinning hair in the corners of his hairline leading up to his dramatic haircut in November 2023, which had become less extreme as his hair grew back this year.

But it seems that the star is fact is just playing around with his look; and like Jude 20 years ago, is experimenting with leaning in to as well as covering up his noticeable widow’s peak.

Whether he decides to jet off to Turkey in the future or not, his fans will continue to keep a close eye on the singer’s hairline.    

And stylist Daniel explained that the reason Harry continues to be such a style icon is that he is nonchalant and relaxed about his hair.

He added that the key to rocking a balding look was to not put too much thought in to it.

Daniel said: ‘It’s the idea that you spend a long long time and a huge amount of effort honing your personal style, but making it look like you threw it on in five seconds. It’s the holy grail of men’s style.’

Ralph Fiennes 

Ralph Fiennes’s career and his hair share one thing in common – impressive range.

Since bursting on to the screen in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List as Nazi war criminal Amon Goth, the actor, now 62, has gone through several style evolutions. 

From close cropped to long and wavy, the esteemed actor’s hair has captivated audiences for decades.

In The English Patient, the star sported a short back and sides with long blonde curtains while in Wuthering heights he had shoulder-length brown locks. 

In 1996 he was snapped on the red carpet with his then-wife Alex Kingston with 90s-style dark floppy hair, reminiscent of an early Hugh Grant and in the 2002 rom-com starring Jennifer Lopez, the Maid in Manhattan star had a short style.

But 20 years later, the actor’s luscious locks have surrendered and begun to recede, with Ralph’s forehead becoming ever-more prominent.

But it hasn’t affected the actor’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s best-looking leading men and the Harry Potter star has recently raised eyebrows with his receding hairline, long dark hair and shredded physique to play Odysseus in The Return. 

It’s not just fans who have gone wild for the 62-year-old and his hairline – with A-list comedian and best friend to several Hollywood stars Chelsea Handler also appearing to have been left hot under the collar by the thespian. 

The pair set the rumour mill ablaze after they were spotted leaving the Vanity Fair Oscars party together in March, with cocktails in hand and beaming faces.

Speaking about the rumoured romance, Chelsea said: ‘I don’t think Ralph Fiennes is marriage material and I don’t think I’m marriage material.’

She also confessed earlier in the year that she is seeing someone but it’s completely casual.

‘I have someone that I’m seeing now that I’m very attracted to and that I like having sex with, and so that’s a really good like nice little thing I have going,’ the Critics Choice Awards host said. 

Leonardo DiCaprio 

Leonardo DiCaprio’s youthful floppy blond locks are almost synonymous with his extensive acting career after he burst onto the scene as a heartthrob in the late 1990s. 

Like his fellow peer Jude Law, Leo, 50, has almost always had a v-shaped hairline, but his widow’s peak has become more pronounced over the years. 

He too has made no attempt to cover up his hairline, adopting a nonchalant attitude to his hair loss – and as he continues to date supermodel after supermodel, his approach seems to be working. 

Rather than fight nature, the Wolf of Wall Street star has adopted the same slick-backed hair cut for the past two decades or so and has remained tight-lipped about his feelings on his ever-growing forehead space. 

But it seems he may be changing his attitude and in a move possibly signaling a mid-life crisis, the star recently debuted a makeover as he attended CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas.

The star appeared to have dyed his hair as he walked the red carpet, also showing off a tinted beard and eyebrows as well while posing with One Battle After Another co-stars.

Tom Hiddleston 

Like Walton Goggins, Tom Hiddleston is an often-cited example in hair loss threads on Reddit, touted as ‘a perfect example of how to work a receding hairline’, men with thinning hair look to the Hollywood heartthrob on how to style their locks.

The actor, 44, has been embracing the slow retreat of his hairline over the past few years but that hasn’t stopped him becoming a sought-after hunk, with audiences across the UK swooning at him in The Night Manager in 2016.

Despite his prominent v-shaped hairline, his position as a leading man has never been in question with recurring roles in the Marvel franchise as Loki and performances in period dramas such as The Essex Serpent. 

And it’s not just his fans who have fallen head over heals for Tom’s blond curly hair and ever growing pate.

His partner of five years Zawe Ashton has previously gushed about the father of their son, revealing he has helped her prepare for roles.

And even before that Tom had a high profile relationship with Taylor Swift in the summer of 2016.

The popstar was clearly a fan of Tom’s thinning hair then which was described by The Guardian at the time as having a ‘boyish but unruffled quality’.