Am I the only one who still has some strange affection for Holly Madison, one of Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriends (and “Girls Next Door”)? Like, I enjoy her. She’s proof that not every reality star is destined for failure and/or will do anything to get a fraction of their fame back. Holly lives in Las Vegas full time now – she does paid appearances on behalf of whatever or whoever wants her. These are photos of Holly at some celebration for “Sprinkles Cupcakes” – a new cupcake shop inside The Linq.
As you can see, Holly has radically changed her appearance – she is no longer a Playboy Blonde. She is a redhead now! She dyed her hair several weeks ago, debuting the new color to Us Weekly. She said at the time:
“I’m tired of looking the same. People judge you on your appearance. It’s frustrating when you go about your daily life and people assume that just because you look the same way you did 10 years ago, you’re the same.”
Well… okay. It sounds like she has really strong feelings about this, so let’s be gentle. I actually like her as a redhead, although I think the color ages her. Her blonde was never bad – she didn’t go too light, and if there’s one thing about keeping the same hair color and style for ten years, it’s that people think you’re still the same age as when you got famous in the first place. Holly is 34 years old now, so this is a mature look for her and I guess she wanted to differentiate between her bubbly, blonde 20s and who she is now – a woman in her 30s, a wife and a mother (to daughter Rainbow Aurora).
I actually like the shade of red/auburn/burgundy/whatever. It really brings out her eyes. It also makes her look very pale, and almost delicate. It’s a complete change and it really makes her look different. I approve! But I also liked her as a blonde, so maybe she’s just one of those women who can pull off any color.
PS… I wouldn’t mind seeing her take off about three inches… she could still do soft waves and she would still have long hair, but it would feel fresher.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
She looks so much better!
And smarter too.
Yes, because all blondes are dumb. *eye roll*
I think she meant smarter as in more elegant.
@eliza, It gets old, doesn’t it? Why do people find it OK to perpetuate this stereotype? Any stereotype?
O c’mon Eliza & EK. We’re discussing Holly Madison not blonde hair. The red makes her look like a young Julianne Moore. Very flattering. okay let’s list some intelligent/classy blondes: Princess Di. Hillary Clinton. Emma Thompson. Emma Watson. Yeah it’s not hair color that makes a woman.
Emma Watson doesn’t have blonde hair…
Exactly. And there’s a difference between natural elegant blonde (Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts) and pr0n star bottle blonde. The latter elicits no intellectual respect.
Ditto.
And aren’t they usually bleached blondes anyway.
Everybody knows bleach kills brain cells.
I agree. Platinum hair and orange skin are really played out. Someone should tell Christina Aguilera.
Oooh, I like. Her eyes look lovely. Yes, it does “age” her, but not in a bad way. She looks like an attractive, grown woman. Red is tough, but I like it.
Much much much better. Anything would be better than that awful platinum blonde.
It really does make a difference. She does not look so washed out.
I think she needs darker brows and it would look better, the red kind of washes her out without a darker brow to tie things together. Other than that, I like the color on her.
Totally agree about the eyebrows.
+1
100% with your on this, I didn’t even realize how odd the combination of dark blonde brows and the rich red hair is. The change is definitely for the better, she looks so much classier.
I noticed the brows too. She should change them. Otherwise, I think red is a pretty color on her. Actually, I think she is probably one of those woman who looks good with any hair color, given her hair is naturally dark brown.
Agreed! The pale brows suited the blonde hair, but she needs to darken them up with the new haircolor.
That said, I love the colour! It really is pretty and very flattering.
It’s so hard to get a natural looking red artificially, and I think hers had a slight purple tinge, but I think red might be her color. It looks lovely with her delicate complexion. I agree with Jessica above that her brow color needs work. But she’s headed in the right direction. She looks pretty.
Definably agree her brows need work- a few inches off would improve the look too.
Right, they are very unnatural looking.
Wow, she looks like a classy dame now! I agree that it both ages her and looks way better than platinum. Platinum is a color that nobody should have for too long in their lives. Hopefully Holly sees herself in a new light, too.
Except Gwen Stefani she works that platinum the best! It suits her! Holly looks great but +1 on the brows being too light. Hopefully she will figure that out, she is a gorgeous womans and actually very sweet!
I always liked her on GNS too- she always seemed sweet and sincere. Like the red hair on her- and REALLY like the cupcake-LOL!
I always liked Holly too. She looks lovely and much improved, tho ditto on the brow issue. She’s one of a few that got plastic surgery right (on her face anyway).
Ehh, I think it ages her. I wish she would have done a darker blonde with Carmel highlights. That would have looked better.
I’m with you there
It would be interesting to see Pam Anderson, with her new ‘do, with this shade. Sadly, for Holly, his is the wrong colour – the red is good but it is not the right shade. Strawberry blonde would be a better choice.
and what happened to Bridget? 😀
Didn’t Bridget have a travel show for a while about beaches? She was my favorite.
I like Holly’s hair, but she is almost unrecognizable now. Almost like when Jennifer Grey changed her nose.
Big improvement – she looks great. IMO, the only ones who look good as blondes are natural blondes.
To be fair it looks better when she’s not standing against a red background. I like it. I’d go the same color if I didn’t hate the maintenance needed for red.
I like it! Much better. But before all the plastic surgery she was as homely as a hedge-fence, too, so… huge improvement. She always did have a nice smile.
Yes, cut 6″ of hair off, go a bit lighter of a red shade, darker brows, and gain 10 pounds. She’d have it just right.
I always liked Holly. She seemed rather genuine surrounded in a world of plastic. Right or wrong I think she actually cared for Hef (her Puffin) unlike the other bimbos (this includes his current wife)
Thinking the same way. I never got the impression that she was happy sharing him with two other girls but only went along for the show.
She looks gorgeous
She looks pretty. I agree with what others have said– makes her look delicate.
It’s better than the bleached blonde which she looked very washed out with. I wonder what her natural hair colour is. Most women look best with their natural colour.
You are not the only one Kaiser, I have always had a soft spot for her and wanted her to get the family she so wanted.
I acrtually think she looks younger. But she really needs to darken her brows.
Anything is better than that fake bleached blonde she used to sport. Dark eyes with fake blonde hair is an awful combination.
[*side eye to Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears*]
I hate when people with dark eyes have blonde hair… it’s totally irrational of me though because it can occur naturally… It just irks me.
I love it because it’s totally not what you’d expect. Parasite Hilton’s eyes are naturally brown.
It looks great! Maybe she can score a Vogue cover! I hear they take anyone now!
LOL.
She looks awesome.. The color does not age her.. The whole new look is sophisticated so it makes her look maturer…unlike the blonde hair and bimbo outfits she wore which made her image seem young and unsophisticated. I hope she sticks with this look.
Very flattering. Hope she keeps it!
So, I don’t mean this in a rude “she looks old” kind of way at all…but that pic where she’s looking back over her shoulder, she totally looks like a slightly younger Susan Sarandon. Is it just me?
What happened with her husband? I thought he was going to jail.
It looks good but she needs to darken her eyebrows more to match it. Then also she’d look a smidge more natural and her skin would appear paler without so much make up caked on.
Holly was always the one I thought had a genuine love for Heff. If Heff wasn’t rich, I had the impression she would still be with him anyway.
Love this look on her but she needs to darken those brows stat and I wish the color was a little more on the brown side.
I like it. She looks great. She does remind me of a grown up Ariel in that blue dress. Not a slam, though.
She looks like a cross between Phoebe Price and Christina Hendricks. Her natural hair color is brunette, and I actually like the red on her, although I wish it was softened up just a bit like another commenter was saying. Like a strawberry blonde would look less harsh and cartoony. I think she’s a lot smarter than the other two girls, Kendra and what’s her name.
The Platinum blonde made her look much older. This is an awesome look for her. Love the color.
It doesn’t age her at all! Her skin looks luminous compared to how it looks when she was blonde. Way to go!
Who?
Like you really don’t know.
She looks great! Way better than with blond hair.
Ahh, the days on E! before the K family took over…..
Honestly, I liked her better with the blonde. To me she looked the best when she was pregnant and her hair was a dark blonde/light brown. I think she’d look amazing if she gained 10 pounds or so, she looks really thin. I hope she’s happy in her new life away from Hef, he should have married her.
I like it.
/she’s an old looking 34
she needs to change her eyebrow powder. Can’t use the same one you did when you were blonde…need one with a reddish/chestnut tint to it.
Absolutely!! Good call!
Love the colour, but the hair needs more ‘bounce’..looks like its too weighed down by products
For some reason, she looks like a dark haired version of Leslie Mann.
I love it. I think she looks great.
Is she even relevant anymore????
It does age her, but in all fairness her face has always belied age. The auburn does age her, but it ages her in a way that gives her a certain sophisticated maturity and removes her from the bleached vapidness of Playboy. Looking a little bit older is not always a bad thing even in the entertainment industry. I approve.
I also think it ages her. Maybe a red shade would have been better. Her skin tones are too light to carry this darker shade off. Your skin gets lighter as you get older, just like the hair going grey. She needed an update, but this color doesn’t suit her. Not flattering, keep trying, Holly…Also, not slam but maybe an observation .. I wish that she would update her image now too. Too much old moldy Playboy vibes floating around her. Time has moved on…Just sayin’
She looks spectacular w that color!
I’ll give her a brow break, she prob needs to adjust to it and learn the do’s & don’t…hopefully!
She looks great though.
Hilarious! I remember Dolly Madison Cupcakes.