Downton Abbey Star Michelle Dockery Is Unrecognizable Without Dark Hair

We've become so used to seeing "Downton Abbey" star Michelle Dockery with brown hair that it's easy to forget that she was once blond. You read that right: Dockery fleetingly appeared with blond locks for a role in the series "Good Behavior" in 2016. Much like Nina Dobrev's blond hair transformation that switched up her entire vibe, this unexpected look really suited Dockery. The reason for her sudden shift to lighter hair occurred because her character Letty Raines (a con artist) changed her identity.

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Dockery's character didn't dye her hair — she frequently changed wigs and her blond look was just one of many. Even so, we love how this look complements her natural beauty, with the brow-grazing bangs drawing attention to her eyes. This particular shade of buttery blond is also one of the hair color trends that will define fall 2026, so if Dockery decided she wanted to give this a go in real life today, it would be very of-the-moment. 

The actor dove a little deeper into her character during a 2016 interview with Moviefone, discussing what it was like to switch up her look at the drop of a hat, and how the array of wigs that she wore influenced her performance. "With the first wig, there's a business-like quality to that character," she shared when talking about one of her character's many false identities. "She wants to just get the job done, so it's like that sort of toughness to that one. Whereas the blonde one, that's a contrast because she's a little bit more fluttery, and she's flirting with Javier. It's really fun playing those characters-within-a-character ..." 

When it aired, we often wondered what the cast of "Downton Abbey" looked like in real life, but never did we imagine seeing Michelle Dockery with blond tresses. We also never thought we'd see the actor with bob and wedge cuts, either! Among Letty Raines' many looks was a chic auburn bob, and a blond wedge reminiscent of Dorothy Hamill's. After seeing Dockery don these two looks, we doubt there's much that she can't pull off. Like her longer blond hair, these shorter 'dos were the result of a stream of wigs. In 2018, Dockery jokingly told Variety that she named her wigs — Britney for the longer blond look she wore and Veronica for the shorter redhead look, while the others are Annie, Betty, and Katya. 

While the actor clearly had fun with her many different hairdos, she also admitted to Town & Country in 2017 that going through the process of nailing these different looks wasn't always easy. When discussing another film she worked on called "The Sense of an Ending," she mentioned how much less demanding the hair and makeup requirements were in comparison to those on "Good Behavior," thanks to the many wigs she had to wear. "And just spending less time in the morning in hair and makeup, it was very, very easy, which was nice as opposed to 'Good Behavior' where we spend a lot of time in make-up and putting on wigs," she said.