Reba McEntire Is Almost Unrecognizable Rocking Her Natural Hair
Aside from her powerhouse vocals, Reba McEntire is known for her legendary look. She has flaming locks that make a statement no matter what she's wearing, and they're nearly always styled to perfection. She's a fan of wispy bangs that graze (or pass) her eyebrows, face-framing layers, big barrel curls, and, as is appropriate for a country star, sky-high volume. As such, seeing her with her natural hair can come as a bit of a shock, but in the best way possible.
The best thing about spotting celebrities with their natural manes is the reminder that it takes work and effort to look like goddesses, so us mere mortals don't need to feel bad if we wake up with bedhead or have to fend off frizz. In a photo posted to Instagram by fellow music veteran Carole King in March 2025, we can see a relaxed-looking McEntire with her natural curls on full display. Wearing her hair in a half-up, half-down style, the "You Lie" singer still has her signature bangs and some of her go-to volume, but her hair is missing its usual refinement. There's bounce, but the natural curls have a life of their own rather than being uniform. This is in stark contrast to another photo in the same Instagram post, where McEntire appears with her usual blowout.
"I have natural curly hair," she confirmed to Glamour in 2024, just in case there were any doubts. "And so when my hair would be a little past my shoulders with a perm, it was just super tight because if you add a perm to natural curly hair, it looks angry. And it did." While McEntire might regret the perm she had in the '80s, her hair journey since has been full of standout moments.
Reba McEntire has transformed her hair many times
Volume is a staple in Reba McEntire's hair story, whether she's going for a polished blow-dry, a perm (one of the things people actually found attractive in the '80s), or a natural look. In honor of Mother's Day in 2025, she posted a throwback photo to Instagram that let her natural curls once again shine. This time, she'd pulled her locks back with a bandana, but there's no denying the body and bounce.
One of the few times that the "I'm a Survivor" hitmaker has strayed from the hair height is when she went for the big chop in the late '90s. Unlike the makeup mistakes that Reba McEntire probably regrets, she loved her choice. "It was freedom," she recalled to Glamour. "I had to talk to my management and my stylist who did my hair, because it took almost a year for me to talk them into letting me cut my hair. They told me my hair was my image. 'You got your big hair all jacked up to Jesus. You can't cut your hair off.' And I said, 'Well, it'll give you something else to talk about.'" At the time, McEntire incorporated hair pieces into her look, as some appearances still called for long hair, but she clearly loved her pixie, rocking it again at the 2002 People's Choice Awards.
Through the early noughties, she toned down the volume, opting instead for the ultra-layered look that was popular at the time, but by the 2010s, she was firmly back in her big-hair era, frequently ironing out her natural curls for looks that favored heat styling and hairspray. She's also a fan of an updo, and these can mostly be seen in Reba McEntire's best and worst red carpet looks.