I’m feeling a bit mischievous lately and I think it might have something to do with my blood red hair. I’m not a natural redhead, although my grandfather was. But I’ve always had an affinity for gingers. My favorite dolls had fire red hair and one of my earliest crushs was a carrot top. As soon as I turned eighteen (and told my dad that he wasn’t the boss of me anymore so I could do what I wanted), I colored my hair red. I know that blond is the most popular hair color in the States (even though most are natural brunettes) and black is considered mysterious and sexy. But I think I’m in good company as a redhead. Here are some redheads that I identify with:
Katherine Hepburn
- internationally known actress
Why I admire her:
She had sharp, beautiful, athletic and progressive.
Interesting fact:
Her mother was co-founder of Planned Parenthood.
Interesting quote:
“Everyone thought I was bold and fearless and even arrogant, but inside I was always quaking.” ~Katherine Hepburn
Leeloo
-heroine in the film The Fifth Element, played by Milla Jovovich
Why I admire her:
She is both kickass and sensitive.
Interesting quote:
“I went to England, and the family that lives next door to my fiancé Paul [W.S. Anderson]’s sister is Indian. They have five girls between the ages of 6 and 12 […] I knew that the family was kind of depressed because every time they went to their church, all the people would look at the mother like, “Oh, I’m so sorry you have four girls and now you’re pregnant with a fifth girl . . .” There’s just this cultural thing where they favor boys, and so I wanted to empower these girls. The older ones had seen the Resident Evil movies, and they all wanted my autograph and stuff, so I went next door and was taking pictures with the kids. And then before I left I said, “You know, women are so much cooler than guys because we can do more martial arts. Martial arts are pretty much made for women because we’re quicker and we’re smaller than men, and so we’re faster. You girls really should take martial arts.” And so now Elizabeth, Paul’s sister, told me that four of the girls have signed up for martial arts classes.” ~ Milla Jovovich *
Siryn
-one of the heroines of the X-Force comics
Why I admire her:
She’s Irish, can scream really loud, and has the superpower of flying
Interesting fact:
This woman warrior actually has a drinking problem.
Another interesting fact:
Syrin is named after the Greek myth of sirens, women who lure men to their deaths with their beautiful songs.
Red Fraggle
-one of the female Fraggles on the children’s cartoon Fraggle Rock
Why I admire her:
She’s both adventurous and playful.
Interesting fact/quote:
Jim Henson articulated a vision of Fraggle Rock as depicting a colourful and fun world; "It is a high-energy, raucous musical romp. It's a lot of silliness. It's wonderful." Also a world with a relatively complex system of symbiotic relationships between different "races" of creatures, an allegory to the human world, where each group was somewhat unaware of how interconnected and important they were to one another. Creating this allegorical world allowed the program to entertain and amuse while seriously exploring complex issues of prejudice, spirituality, personal identity, environment, and social conflict. **
Alyson Hannigan
-actress who played Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and now plays Lily on How I Met Your Mother
Why I admire her:
She plays strong, smart, feisty characters.
Interesting fact:
In Season Two of HIMYM, Lily keeps her maiden name even though it’s obvious that she and her hubby are soul mates. She’s a modern, feminist woman who maintains her individual identity without becoming a man-hater.
Interesting quote:
“In elementary school, people made fun of me because my skin was so white and I had black hair and wore black clothes.” -Alyson Hannigan
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Comments
Natural redheads have more individual hairs on their heads than anyone else?
Natural redheads have greater sensitivity to pain?
Natural redheads require more anaesthesia during surgery than anyone else?
Natual redheads (like me) should probably never have moved to the Mojave Desert?
Natural redheads have the most cake.
But whether it comes from granda (mine did) or from a bottle, Red Hair Rules!
Havlin, those are interesting statistics. ;) And, no, redheads do not do well in deserts.
Bob, Thanks! I have a crush on Hannigan too.
But then, Junior year we became friends and then started dating and .... nothing. zero chemistry. we should have just stayed friends!
It didn't put me off redheads though. They still have that exotic, stand-out-in-a-crowd going for them.
Owl, yes, she's great!
fins, at least you went for it. you never want to regret not trying something. glad it didn't put you off.
Sandra, I went blond for about a year, but it just didn't feel right.
Ash, my natural hair is probably brown by now. I have no idea. ;)
Kathy, I love Nicole Kidman. Especially when she takes a good role. I adored her in The Hours.
And don't forget Julienne Moore, Princess Fergie, a beautiful actress from the 40s-60s, Maureen )O'Hara, and half of Scotland.
Now Milla Jovovich... Mega YUM!!!! :)
As for hair color: I used to dye my hair a different color once a week (one 4th of July I did red, blonde and blue = looked COOL!!!) But for the last few years I've had my dreads and have gone back to being one of the three real blondes in the U.S. - at least I THINK that was the color I started with! ;)
Safe_Bet, I had NO idea Red Fraggle did those things. Shame on her! Red, Blond and Blue sounds awesome. Do you have pics?
Wally, I adore Milla too even though I can't watch Resident Evil. Those movies give me nightmares.
Now here is a sad thing: Red hair is a recessive gene. With the vast movement of peoples in the past 100 years, a trend that is expected to increase over the next 100 years, areas where red hair has traditionally been dominant are experiencing more variety in hair color. Consequently, red hair is becoming more and more rare, and is in danger of virtually disappearing eventually. Wouldn't that be a sad thing?!!
Cheryl, we should start a Redhead Support Org. for non-natural redheads who identify as a redhead.
Jeannette, hmmm. Interesting.
You should think about your own redheaded superhero character: Young-Adult-Writing Woman, perhaps. Although that is a bit long to say before disarming a criminal and crushing his gun into scrap metal.
>>This woman warrior actually has a drinking problem.
Me too. Sometimes I miss my mouth.
Your hair looks great. I am a huge admirer of both Hepburn and Hannigan.