Mandy Moore's Natural Hair Color Isn't The Brunette She's Known For

Singer and actress Mandy Moore is well-known for her girl-next-door charm, which includes chestnut colored locks. But the brunette beauty isn't naturally so dark haired. "My natural hair is like dirty dishwater," Moore told Refinery29 in 2017, a reference to the way dark blonde is sometimes described as dishwater blonde — though it might more charitably be called dark blonde. Clearly, she's one of those celebs who can pull off dark and light hair. Still, Moore has been clear that she doesn't miss that color and has no plans to go back. "​​I feel most like myself when I'm a brunette, even though I was bright blond for the early portion of my career."

When Moore shot to fame with the 1999 bubblegum pop song, "Candy," her hair was practically platinum blond, which suited her public persona as a new pop star. She toned the color down with warm, caramel highlights to play mean girl cheerleader Lana for her first film, "The Princess Diaries." But then, as she moved away from her hyper-pop beginning and started finding her path as a more serious actress, she also found the hair color that best suited her. She colored her tresses for her first starring role in the romantic teen drama, "A Walk to Remember," and it instantly clicked. "There was a real significance to coloring my hair," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. "As silly as it sounds, there was a real significance in the way that people saw me, but also in the way that I carried myself and that I saw myself.

Mandy Moore revealed she loved both the pixie hairstyle and brunette color that she donned for her starring role in "A Walk To Remember." According to the star, wearing short hair for the first time was liberating. Plus, she felt a deep connection to the chestnut color. "It was really the first time that I felt, This is me. This is who I am," she told Refinery29 in 2017. "It allowed this other layer of my personality to surface, and I felt very comfortable in my skin." The dark hair looks beautifully suited to her high-contrast features, and that's what to look for when you're trying to find your perfect hair color match.

vMoore's "A Walk To Remember" co-star Shane West weighed in on how Moore appeared to evolve after changing her hair. "I remember that Mandy was very nervous about dying her hair," he told Entertainment Weekly. "It's amazing how it really changed her life — well the movie changed all of our lives — but hers especially, aesthetically. She kind of went with that look after that — she didn't go back to the platinum blonde." Since then, Moore has pretty much stayed brunette, and she joins a long list of celebs who are nearly unrecognizable with their natural hair color. The dark color revamped Moore's image and supported her pivot away from cotton candy pop to more serious music endeavors like her 2007 pop-folk album "Wild Hope" as well as serious acting roles like her Emmy-nominated turn as Rebecca Pearson in "This Is Us."