Keira Knightley Has Dyed Her Hair So Much for Movies, She’s Been Driven to Wigs

Keira Knightley on the red carpet. (Photo: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Being a Hollywood superstar has its perks — the fame, the fortune, the lavish awards-show gift bags. But as Keira Knightley has revealed in a new interview, it can also be absolute murder on your hair.

In a Q&A with InStyle U.K, the Pirates of the Caribbean actress revealed that, thanks to years of dyeing her hair for various roles, the damage was so bad she started to go bald — thus requiring her to employ the aid of wigs. “I have dyed my hair virtually every color imaginable for different films. It got so bad that my hair literally began to fall out of my head! So for the past five years I’ve used wigs, which is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my hair,” she said.

Certainly, a look back at some of Knightley’s roles reveal that she is nothing if not a coiffure chameleon.

She was blond and long-locked in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean (as well as its first two sequels, in 2006 and 2007):

“Pirates of the Caribbean.” (Photo: ©Walt Disney/courtesy Everett Collection)

In 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, she sported long, brunette locks:

Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen (Photo:Working Title/Kobal) — “Pride and Prejudice.” (Photo: Working Title/Kobal)

Immediately after filming Pride and Prejudice though, she drastically changed her look with a highlighted cropped cut for the bounty-hunter drama Domino:

'Domino' (Photo: New Line Cinema/Kobal) — “Domino.” (Photo: New Line Cinema/Kobal)

In 2010’s Never Let Me Go, she sported deep brunette locks with some serious bangs:

'Never Let Me Go' (PHoto: Fox Seachlight) — “Never Let Me Go.” (Photo: Fox Seachlight)

According to Allure, every one of her dark and curly hairstyles in 2012’s Anna Karenina were achieved via wigs:

'Anna Karenina', (Photo: Laurie Sparham/©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection) — “Anna Karenina.” (Photo: Laurie Sparham/©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection)

While Knightley’s hair-dyeing habits may have left her follically challenged, she isn’t alone. Back in 2011, Lady Gaga told People that bleaching her hair has caused it to start falling out, forcing her to get special “chemical haircuts.” And in 2013, Mad Men actress January Jones confessed to British magazine Grazia Daily that “I have been every color and now my hair is falling out in clumps … I’ve been blonde, red with extensions for this film, then blonde, then black, and now blonde again. I’m going to have to shave it off and wear a wig.”