The Rare Times Reba McEntire Exposed Her Natural Hair To Millions

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Reba McEntire is one celeb who looks nearly unrecognizable with her natural hair. She's rocked her red tresses since the start of her music career in 1974, and despite the stigma often associated with having ginger hair, Reba wears hers like a badge of honor. "I've always been very, very proud of it," she told Dallas Voice in 2015. "My mom was a redhead, so I felt she gave me her red hair."

But the so-called "Queen of Country" has been known to trade her natural hair for wigs on occasion. In fact, there have been times when Reba has been caught wearing wigs on stage and at award shows, such as the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards (as seen in the photo above). However, she's no stranger to showing off her rarely-seen natural hair, either, posting a throwback snap of herself in honor of World Redhead Day in May 2024.

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The Grammy winner took to Instagram in May 2025 to post the photo, showing her much-younger self with her gorgeous curls on display. "A little birdie told me it's #WorldRedHeadDay!" she captioned the photo. "The only person who can rock the red hair," one fan gushed, while another exclaimed, "Love the big hair on u!! I miss the big hair days." Of course, that was hardly the first or only time Reba had exposed her natural hair to millions.

Before she started wearing wigs, Reba McEntire proudly embraced her natural hair. Seen here performing at the 21st Music City News Awards in 1987, now known as the CMT Awards, Reba sported thick, rounded, and curly hair in lieu of her feathery layers and signature bangs. In 2024, she spoke to Glamour about the beauty trend she regrets trying in her mid-20s. "In the early '80s, I got a perm," she said. She revealed she was born with naturally curly hair. "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 naturally curly hair, it looks angry." And, sure enough, "It did."

Reba McEntire performed the song "I'm Checkin' Out" from the Oscar-nominated film "Postcards from the Edge" at the 63rd Annual Academy Awards in 1991. It was during a tragic time in her life after a devastating plane crash had taken the lives of Reba's entire band while they were on their way to Indiana for a concert. By then, she had grown out her curls into a thick, voluminous style, complete with soft fringe, as pictured above. She opted for a black floor-length gown embellished with green studs and beading that ran from her sleeves down to the center of her hips. 

Reba McEntire embraced her natural tresses while attending the 1992 People's Choice Awards with her then-husband and manager, Narvel Blackstock. She wowed in a stunning off-shoulder number with intricate beading along the panels, her hair styled in a teased crown with bangs framing her face. She won the trophy for Favorite Female Musical Performer that night (and then again in 1994 through 1998). In her book "Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots," Reba said she used a blow dryer and hot rollers to tame her natural curls. "[Next I] pick out curls and tease to desired height and fullness. [I then] spray with mega-hold hair spray. I like Aveda Witch Hazel," she added.

"The higher the hair, the closer to heaven," as Reba McEntire's fellow country queen Dolly Parton famously said. Throughout the mid-'90s, the Oklahoma native continued to sport thick, voluminous curls, which have become a signature part of her look. In "Not That Fancy," Reba — seen above performing at her concert in 1994 — emphasized that style goes beyond choosing the right clothes. "It's also about how you carry yourself. Hair and makeup are a big part of that," she added. She also joked that the size of her hair made it easy for fans to recognize her just by the outline of her head. "But I didn't just wake up like that," Reba noted. "It took hot rollers, more hot rollers, teasing, and enough hair spray to choke a horse."

In 1996, Reba McEntire unveiled her short hair at the Country Music Association Awards after keeping it a secret from her fans for many months. Ahead of releasing her studio album, "What If It's You," she decided to get a big chop after growing tired of her thick, long locks. "I had actually cut my hair off in June, but the album didn't release until November," Reba explained in her book "Not That Fancy," adding, "So I had to wear a wig until we were ready to reveal the new look."

Reba described feeling "free" once she went through with the haircut, though getting her team and hairstylist to support her idea took some convincing. "An entertainer cutting her hair today might not exactly be breaking news, but the nineties was a very different time," Reba pointed out. "Once you found something that worked, you stuck with it, come hell or high water." At the time, long hair was the go-to look for most country singers, but Reba was ready to try something new. She trusted her instincts and went for it.

Speaking with Glamour, the country icon recalled how her management reacted when she revealed her plan to switch up her look. "'You got your big hair all jacked up to Jesus. You can't cut your hair off,'" she remembered them telling her. "And I said, 'Well, it'll give you something else to talk about.'" Eventually, they were sold. "They said, 'Oh okay. That's an idea.' So we did."