If you're considering a short hairstyle, you've probably thought about the pixie cut. Known for its versatility—you'll see what we mean in a moment—and its ability to suit different age ranges and face types, the pixie has long been favored by celebrities across the board.
Despite needing upkeep (especially if your hair grows quickly) and styling, the right pixie is the perfect balance of cool and sweet. With the wide variety of pixies worn by celebrities on this list, you'll find one that works for you, from the edgy almost-a-buzzcut styles to long, layered cuts.
Cara Delevingne
Cara Delevingne's now-iconic pixie included some long, angular bangs, long front pieces, and short cut through the body. It has a lot going on, which means it probably needs even more upkeep than normal, but the throwback '20-esque style is chic as heck.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson famously cut off her long Hermione hair after Harry Potter wrapped production, and the new, modern cut really suited her. Even by pixie standards, this one is short (it's giving me modern Mia Farrow vibes—more on her later) but extremely face-framing.
Princess Diana
Particularly towards the end of her life, Princess Diana favored a close-cropped long pixie (sometimes referred to as a "bixie," combining bob and pixie cuts). The shorter hair was emblematic of her post-divorce freedom and leaning into her innate sense of style.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart has given us a lot of edgy, fun hairstyles over the years (remember her mullet??), but for a number of years she graced us with a pixie that was long on top and the sides, with some highlights for good measure (and some dimension up top).
Halsey
Halsey's innate cool factor is...really, really high, and their hair is an important part of the persona. This short pixie (that includes shaved sides—so it is not for the faint of heart) that is also dyed a cool pink is about as cool as it gets. Like, this is one step away from a full buzz cut.
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron's pixie has been her signature cut for a long time (and if you need inspo beyond this list, just Google her), and—while she doesn't always favor the cut—it's considered "her" style. She often wears it with a side part, long layers on top, and smooth to the head.
Cardi B
Cardi B is really giving me "I'm not a normal mom, I'm a cool mom" vibes here. She has given us every possible hair iteration throughout her career, thanks to an impressive array of extensions and wigs, but I actually like this long layered pixie on her for being a bit more low-key.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Before lots of others were doing the functional pixie, Jamie Lee Curtis was out here making it work for her every day (and bonus points for the natural gray hair!). Even though I'm sure she needs regular cuts, she makes the short spiky hair look so practical and effortless.
Sienna Miller
When Sienna Miller got a long, bowl-cut-esque cut at the height of her Factory Girl fame (which featured a similar cut for her to play Edie Sedgewick), everyone printed out a photo and asked for the cut. With the benefit of hindsight, such a specific cut isn't for everyone, so consult a stylist.
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn's pixie was an enormous part of her identity as an icon. (If you're unfamiliar, it was an important plotline of Roman Holiday as the character wants to look less like a princess and more like a civilian). It's just a touch bushy, with sweeps across the head and short bangs.
Miley Cyrus
Leave it to Miley to style her pixie as a spike. This mohawk-esque hairdo requires some serious hair products, and note that it looks better when the top is long but the sides are short (buzzed even!). But I salute anyone cool enough to pull this off as effortlessly as she does.
Janelle Monae
A pixie with relaxed hair like this takes a talented stylist and some ace hair products to achieve a smooth, shiny, not-one-hair-out-of-place look like this. Monae's style, which is graphic and whimsical, means she can add in a curl for flourish and look just as cool as ever.
Zendaya
Whether you're experimenting with a wig or your natural hair, a bleach blonde pixie requires both the cut and color to be right for you. You can dye it all one color, as we see with Zendaya here, but note that there should be enough hair to look voluminous (otherwise a lack of highlights makes the hair look flat).
Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan, the '90s bixie queen (note how she has the best parts of a layered pixie in front and a longer bob in the back), has a short cut that nevertheless looks deeply feminine. The key is to keep all the layers long and cut strategically to frame the face as best as possible.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson gave us a few pixie cuts to choose from, but my favorite is this edgy style. The shaved sides are cool, the deep side part is architectural and fun, the long pieces in front are soft and romantic. The whole thing is a nice balance of opposites and a highly emulatable style.
Halle Berry
For a wealth of pixie inspiration, follow Halle Berry's hair over the years. Her characteristic short and curly hair is lovely, as is her more spiky trademark 'do. But I also enjoy the later iterations of her pixie, including this long version with spiked pompadour on top.
Elizabeth Taylor
When Elizabeth Taylor cut her rich curly hair into a pixie, it inspired the cut in lots of fellow curly-haired women. (Standard caveat that, with curls especially, it takes a specific cut not to end up looking like Orphan Annie/Shirley Temple.) On Taylor it's chic and upscale.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Another cut that was inspired by a role (and won the hearts and minds of anyone who saw it), Gwyneth Paltrow's character cuts her hair in Sliding Doors, and looks unbearably good. The long layers in front angle backwards with shorter layers towards the crown of the head. It's extreme but in the right hands is so so good.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman's buzz cut is a legendarily cool red carpet look, but this slightly longer (but no less cool!) cut is a hairdo I'd like to see her bring back. The shorter pieces help give her hair volume on top—this would be a good cut if you have thinner hair—but the shape is cohesive.
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams has kept her pixie for years, and we can see why: it's perfect for her face shape. The long layers and extremely angled bangs make the cut feel soft and delicate (and she probably has to cut those bangs often, FYI), and the layers within the cut add a little height.
Ruby Rose
Ruby Rose has made the pixie cut their signature cut since they burst on the scene. This dark version with soft highlights and lowlights looks deeply dimensional (and it's a nice twist from the classic blonde pixie we often see), but still looks rich, thick, and luxurious.
Angela Bassett
This kind of cut does so much. It's face-framing, thanks to the micro-bangs in front. It's sticking up on top in a spiky, literally elevated configuration. It's delivering on volume and is long on the sides without sticking out (and forming a hair circle). It's a master-level pixie.
Helen Mirren
What's great about the pixie is that, even on older, thinner hair (that may have lost volume and density over time), you can give the sense of volume and richness thanks to the short layers. Technically this one on Helen Mirren is probably a bixie, but it's incredibly chic.
Rihanna
Rihanna's pixie was a staple early in her career, and she gave us a few iterations. My particular favorite is this one, where the hair is brushed forward to give us long, thick bangs. The back remains short, but it looks like she has more hair than she actually does.
Kate Moss
It's hard to overestimate how much power '90s Kate Moss had over fashion: when she got a haircut, it became the new trend we all had to have. Her long pixie was no exception. It's so long that it alllllmost skews into bowl cut, but some smart shaping on the side leaves the front long and luxe.
Lupita Nyong'o
Lupita Nyong'o's pixie makes exceptional use of her hair texture to create a gorgeous, architectural shape. For any person with 4a to 4c hair who wants a pixie, this requires a stylist who knows how to take care of your strands, shape them effectively, and show you how to style it similarly.
Twiggy
Twiggy's pixie defined the '60s, and part of its appeal was a youthful "boyishness" that hadn't been popular in preceding decades. While today her long front and side pieces wouldn't even raise eyebrows, the fact that you couldn't see hair past her ears was revolutionary.
Winona Ryder
Our screen queen of the spiky pixie, Winona Ryder made micro-bangs look deeply, unabashedly awesome. The controversial cut is controversial for a reason (not everyone—nay, most people—can't pull off bangs that short). But a little longer in front could also look awesome on a lot of people.
Zoe Kravitz
Zoë Kravitz has evolved her hairstyle over the years, and has given us a number of pixie cuts and styles to emulate; this one is short and styled close to the scalp, but even with her more natural, less relaxed hair, her pixie looks amazing—just with more body and dimension.
Linda Evangelista
The pixie of the '90s was defined by style chameleon Linda Evangelista. She is blessed with the right bone structure to handle any kind of pixie (short, long, and everything in between), but the classic was this one: long enough to tuck behind her ears, then cut short on the sides and in the back.
Mia Farrow
A list of celebrity pixies is always going to be incomplete without Mia Farrow. If you're unfamiliar, she cut it short (herself!) and boyfriend at the time Frank Sinatra loved it. The look became iconic with Rosemary's Baby, and it remains the most recognizable pixie on this list: short, micro in front, and youthful.
