Remember The Little Sister From 27 Dresses? Here's What She Looks Like Today

If you're a sucker for a 2000s rom-com, there's a good chance you've seen the 2008 masterpiece that is "27 Dresses." Starring Katherine Heigl opposite James Marsden, the wedding-themed flick brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "always a bridesmaid, never a bride," and it has all the makings of a perfectly charming, funny, and heartfelt love story. But the film isn't just known for having some of the most iconic on-screen dress moments of all time – "27 Dresses" also introduced rom-com fans to the gorgeous actor Malin Akerman. She played the role of Tess Nichols, younger sister to Heigl's character Jane Nichols, who causes all sorts of chaos when she visits town and winds up engaged to Jane's boss, George (Edward Burns). Although you may remember her as the inconsiderate and deceptive little sister who weaves a whole web of lies throughout the movie, the real-life actor behind the character is truly loveable, and she still looks stunning almost 20 years later.

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Nearly two decades after playing the role of Tess, Akerman's mesmerizing beauty is just as powerful as ever. Akerman marked her 48th birthday in May 2026 — though she hardly appears to have aged a day. The photo above shows Akerman at a red carpet event in September 2026, still with a strikingly youthful appearance and radiant glow. Unlike her character's look in "27 Dresses," Akerman is no longer rocking the side part and long side bangs that Tess had, but she still has the same rich shade of buttery blond hair. Just as Tess' hair was curled in most scenes from the movie, Akerman also frequently wears her hair in loose, beachy curls, and she definitely has one of those haircuts that are made for wavy hair.

Fans might not have recognized Malin Akerman when she appeared in the Netflix series "The Hunting Wives," looking totally different from how we remembered her in "27 Dresses." Instead of her recognizable blond locks, Akerman appears in the show as a brunette, wearing multiple warm honey brown wigs to play the role of Margo Banks. The actor was reportedly unable to dye her real hair due to health issues she was dealing with off-camera. She explained during a 2025 appearance on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast, "I have a thyroid issue, and so my hair quality just wasn't great at the time. And so thinking of, like, dyeing it and putting extensions in and stuff, it was just gonna start falling out."

But her character's wigs ended up causing quite a bit of chaos among fans online, with many viewers of the show criticizing the quality of the wigs throughout the series. Akerman admitted during the same podcast appearance that the wig situation was "not great," and that there was actually a problem with the custom wig she was initially fitted for. Since it wasn't the right shape or color, Akerman ended up wearing a temporary wig while a new one was being made. By the time the new one was ready, it was lighter than the temporary wig, so the show had to add in a scene of Margo with foils in her hair, supposedly getting it lightened, to explain the new wig's lighter, caramel color. But just like many other celebs who went from blond to brunette and stunned both ways, Akerman's transformation for the steamy Netflix series proves that her face card never declines, no matter the hair color.