Sarah Jessica Parker's Natural Hair Color Proves What You're Born With Isn't Always A Match

"I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it," Carrie Bradshaw once said. She was comparing herself to Natasha, the willowy, aspirational interloper with immaculately sleek hair and a neutral wardrobe free of coffee or cosmopolitan stains. But comparison, as they say, is the thief of joy. Carrie's hair was perfection in its own register. That mane of spun-gold, wind-tossed curls became as essential to her character as the Carrie Bradshaw outfits that would still be totally on-trend today, the Monolos on her feet, and the musings in her voiceovers. They were the living proof of her hard-won (however short-lived), post-Big epiphany that "Maybe, some women aren't meant to be tamed."

The influence of her hair was undeniable. "I HATED my curly hair growing up. Carrie Bradshaw taught me to love my hair," one fan confessed on Reddit, adding, "I'll always be grateful to CB for teaching a generation of curly girls to embrace ourselves." And of course, those curls were blonde: a shade with as much light and high-maintenance energy as the character herself. And yet — plot twist — Sarah Jessica Parker isn't a natural blonde at all. She's a brunette, which only proves that the shade you're born with isn't always the one you're destined for. "Sex and the City's" first season offered a glimpse of this ill match, with a single, uniform brown that some viewers found less transformative. As one put it on Reddit, "Her hair is always gorgeous except when it was one tone brown in Season 1! Once they lightened it up, every other style is great."

Even the woman responsible for Carrie Bradshaw's iconic hair transformation will tell you, "We've gone darker in the past and it doesn't flatter her skin as much." That woman is Gina Gilbert, a longtime hair colorist at Serge Normant in New York, who has been stewarding Sarah Jessica Parker's blonde shades for 16 years. A single-process tint, painted only along the parting and hairline — never the full scalp, because "she doesn't like to have dye sit on her scalp" — followed by a meticulous balayage.

"I paint her ends with a higher volume of peroxide (40) so it moves from dark roots to lighter on the ends — it looks like the sun's touched it that way," Gilbert told Vogue. Around the face, she adds money pieces (much like the other celebs who have rocked the chic hair trend). "It's a technique that really brightens up the face and makes eyes stand out," Gilbert said. "Sarah has these beautiful crystal blue eyes, and they're highlighted by these lighter pieces."

That said, whilst blonde undoubtedly suits her best, Parker hasn't gone fully anti-natural. As seen in "And Just Like That," she's been embracing the aging process and rocking gray hair with confidence. "Whilst filming, she wanted the gray to blend in with her blonde," added Gilbert. Letting the silvery strands sit alongside the highlights creates what Gilbert describes as "really nice dimension." It makes sense, of course; leave it to Carrie Bradshaw to continue being a style icon — well into her widow era.