Jennifer Aniston on September 15, 2009 at the premiere of her new movie "Love Happens."
Discrete braided bangs at the 2009 Oscars (81st Annual Academy Awards). Sweet, sophisticated, and rare.
The Rachel
It all started in
the mid-1990s. Since the Rachel hairstyle
was introduced in 1995, no other female
star has inspired women seeking a hot
hairstyle more than Jennifer Aniston.
She played Rachel
Green on Friends, and got a new
haircut for the second season. It was
very popular and so many girls and women
all over the United States copied it.
It was in fact
requested so often at hair salons, it
became the most popular hairstyle of the
year, then the decade, then in all
recorded history!
The Louise Brooks
bob was a big hit in the 1920s; Farrah
Fawcett's big winged hair style was hot
in the 70s; but The Rachel in the 90s was
more popular than them all; it was the
top cut of all time. Jen is #1.
CNN
did a story on Jennifer's hair style in
August 1995. ("Want Rachel's
hair? Get in line.") And it was highlighted on Jennifer Aniston: Style Star.
Courtesy Life Network
When celebrity
magazines talk about hair, they talk
about Jennifer Aniston's hair. When they
sell an issue on celebrity hairstyles,
Jen is on the cover; because she has the
best hair in Hollywood.
Hairstyles Magazines
For over ten years
Jennifer has been on the cover of hair
styles magazines either as the main cover
model, or in an inset picture.
Indeed she has been
featured more than any other famous woman.
Jen is the choice of beauty editors
because she is the favorite of the people.
There were a few
years at the turn of the century when it
seemed there wasn't a single issue of the
top hairstyles magazines without Jen on
the cover.
One hair magazine,
in fact, asked women what kind of
hairstyles they wanted to wear, and one
category was "anything Jennifer
Aniston is wearing."
That speaks volumes
to her fame and consistency. For many
years she has had hair styles that are
worth copying and avoided bad haircuts
altogether. She simply hasn't made any
mistakes. Even the haircuts Jen had that
she didn't really personally like, other
ladies liked.
What makes Jen's hair styles so
popular?
Glamour magazine did a feature on popular modern
haircuts, and it included the best of the
best, according to the public: "The
top 5 all-time most requested haircuts"
(Glamour, January 2004, pp. 26-27).
Jennifer Aniston's
layered hair style was featured. "Long
with lots of layers." Glamour
said it was a classic, one of the hairdos
that "never go out of style."
And that's why still today women want to
see her hair cuts.
As a lead actress on
Friends, the most popular TV
comedy in the 1990s, Jennifer came into
our homes every week. She was seen by
millions of us across America and around
the world, and we fell in love with her.
Most Popular Celeb
Why? Jennifer
Aniston has a wonderful heart; its warmth
warms us. She is such a genuine person, a
rare woman in Hollywood who is beautiful
on the inside and outside. In 2009 she did a commercial for St. Jude's Hospital to help children with cancer.
After the final
episode of Friends, she
continued her acting career in movies.
She was married to Brad Pitt and they
were a Hollywood power couple. And so she--and
her hair--continued to be shown to us
regularly by the media. The exposure was
immense.
Following the
unfortunate break-up of her marriage to
Pitt, due to evil home-wrecking by the
trashy celebrity Angelina Jolie, Jennifer
became a tabloid favorite all over again.
The tabloids milked the Pitt-Jolie-Aniston
saga week after week, month after month,
for years.
"Put Jennifer on The Cover!"
Studies have shown
that magazines with Jennifer Aniston on
the cover sell better than any other
celebrity. She just has incredible mass
appeal to the general public. Women
admire her and they can relate to her.
There is a lot about her to like, and
very little not to like.
Jen is a caring
person and down to earth. She rarely if
ever says bad things about other people,
and doesn't do a lot of stupid things
like many other stars. She is a good
person, clean-living, and sensible.
Beautiful Woman
Of course Jennifer
is also easy on the eye. She has
beautiful blue eyes, a svelte figure, and
great hair. Jennifer Aniston indeed bears
a striking resemblance to a world-famous
Brazilian beauty, supermodel Gisele
Bundchen. Even their haircuts and colors
are very similar!
So here you have a
beautiful woman, world famous, with a
great heart, and a fun personality, who
has beautiful hair and amazing hairstyles.
And gets tons of media exposure. In other
words, everything needed to be a
hairstyles icon. And that she is.
This site is for the
many women who like Jen, are inspired by
her, and wouldn't mind having their hair
styles look like hers... if at all
possible.
Modern Version
The woman in 2008 who had the
best chance of inspiring a resurgence of
The Rachel is Gerri Willis, the financial
expert on CNN.
Gerri is one of the best tressed
ladies in the news reporting business.
Other CNN women have bobs but her medium
haircut is a cut above.
She always has beautiful blonde hair
and an amazing hairstyle! Look how it
flatters her cheekbones and face shape.
Gerri Willis with The Rachel Haircut
on Larry King Live (March 17,
2008) [Courtesy CNN]
Did she get a new stylist?
Jennifer Aniston's hairstylist is Chris McMillan. He has been cutting hair for 20 years and cutting her hair for 15 years. He has his own hair studio in Beverly Hills, California called Chris McMillan: The Salon.
In 2008 McMillan wrote a piece for Allure magazine entitled "How to Break Up With Your Hairstylist." In 2009 ironically it was reported that Aniston had broken up with McMillan. Did she read his advice and follow it? CelebTV.com posted a YouTube video entitled "Jennifer Aniston fires her famous stylist, Chris McMillan."
It was surprising to hear she had left her "mane man," because they had known each other since 1995. They first met on the set of the TV show Friends; he created her famous hairstyle called The Rachel. Later, she entrusted him to design her unique wedding hairstyle when she married Brad Pitt.
Aniston, furthermore, moved in with McMillan in 2005 right after she had broken up with Pitt. He had been a shoulder to cry on for many years, so she had a very strong bond with him. He seemed to be her BFF (Best Friend Forever). He had been her confidante partly because they had seen each other so often. McMillan said he cut her hair "religiously every six weeks."
But it proved to be a false rumor. Aniston did not break up with her hairdresser. In 2010 he did an interview with W Magazine for its April issue; he talked about his work for the photo shoot. Jennifer Aniston was on the magazine cover and he did her hair for it. He said they had been together for about 15 years, and he is still her hairdresser.
"She's been a great loyal friend and client," he said.
New Hairstyles Ideas for 2011
What are Jennifer's hairstyles going to look like in 2011? We can assume that she and Chris will still be a team. He revealed (or confirmed) that she is very conservative in the way she looks; he said she doesn't like to do anything wild. Instead the actress prefers understated glamour that is pretty and sexy. She really didn't try anything new in recent months; hopefully she will be inspired (or he will) to try a fresh cut in 2011. Although she is now in the mature age bracket after hitting the 40-year milestone, women of all ages would like to see her hairstyles 2011.
A poll in 2010 showed two out of three women think it's time for her to get a new style. That was not really a rude opinion. The icon still changes her color now and then, but not the hairstyle unless it's just for a photo shoot. Chris himself seems fairly conservative. It's unlikely that he even recommends makeovers for her. He is not flashy like some celebrity hairstylists; he is not an attention-seeker. He could do a hot new haircut for her knowing everybody will ask who did her hair. Instead he just goes about his business of giving his clients the perfect cuts they want.
It's still kind of surprising that even though Jennifer's acting gig on TV led to her most famous hairstyle, she has starred in many movies since then, but none of the roles required a cool new haircut. Other actresses have had to get makeovers for their roles and some of their styles even became big hits. Let's see if she does something new in 2011. In the next year look for her in: Wanderlust; Horrible Bosses; and Just Go with It. |