Because of FX’s Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, there’s been a huge boom of interest in (you guessed it) John and Carolyn. So many TikToks, so many videos analyzing Carolyn’s style, her vibe, her hair, her makeup, her everything. Several people who actually knew John and Carolyn have come out to talk about what it was like back in the day, working for Calvin Klein or working for John’s magazine George. This piece is really fun though – Carolyn’s old hair stylist Brad Johns told Page Six that Carolyn panicked just before her 1996 wedding, and she begged him to dye her hair black.
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy had an iconic look, but she almost changed it up before the most important day of her life. The late fashion publicist rose through the ranks at Calvin Klein thanks to her perennially chic, minimalist wardrobe and striking beauty.
It was Brad Johns who was responsible for the “chunk” highlights CBK made famous, a technique that he invented to take her from light brown to iconic, buttery blond. But Johns tells Page Six Style exclusively that, days before her secret September 1996 wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr., the publicist was contemplating a major transformation.
“She came in a nervous wreck and she said, ‘I have something very special coming up. Dye my hair black,’” Johns recalls. “I said, ‘Absolutely not.’”
Not only was Johns set on keeping his client and friend looking fresh, but he also told us he would “never” dye her hair dramatically darker, and would advise anyone considering a major hair change to try a wig instead.
“Women, when they’re in a panic, they want something different,” says Johns, whose memoir, “Dye,” chronicles his legendary career.
While Johns had no idea that CBK would wed JFK Jr. in an intimate Georgia ceremony mere days after sitting in his chair, he said he knew she had “something special” planned. Instead of taking her dark, he added even lighter blond pieces to frame her face.
“I said to her, ‘Thank God I left that those pieces in the front because you look like a princess,’” Johns recalls.
Because Carolyn-and-John obsessives bullied Ryan Murphy last year, one of the things the Love Story series shows is Carolyn’s hair journey. In the early ‘90s, her hair was more natural, a darker dirty blonde, wavy, low-maintence in general. You can see that begin to change as she becomes more involved with John – her hair is less wavy and she’s going to get progressively blonder too. But it feels on-brand that she panicked before the wedding and wanted to make a drastic change. I’m glad Brad Johns told her no and began layering in more lighter blonde streaks.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Instagram.
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- JOHN F KENNEDY JR AND CAROLYN BESSETTE AT THE PREMIERE OF AIR FORCE ONE. WASHINGTON DC. 24 JULY 1997 .PICTURES /,Image: 546302464, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: John Harrington / Avalon
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- New York, NY – 03/09/1999 – John Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, arrive at the Whitney Museum Annual Fundraising Gala. GE3326AO Featuring: John Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Where: New York , USA When: 31 Dec 1999 Credit: STARTRAKSPHOTO.COM
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- New York, NY – 6/03/1998 -PICTURED: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Kennedy -PHOTO by: STARTRAKSPHOTO.COM -Kennedy_John_Carolyn_GE515 Featuring: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr Where: New York , NY , USA When: 22 Jan 1998 Credit: STARTRAKSPHOTO.COM
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- JFK JR. PHOTO: KEN KATZ koolphoto@yahoo.com Featuring: John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette When: 01 Jan 1998 Credit: Ken Katz
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- , New York, NY – 10/06/1996- JFK Jr. and new wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy just back from their honeymoon pose for photographers outside their Tribecca home. PHOTO by: Ken Katz/startraksphoto.com -K140002MRMRSJFK96_KK Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damages. Featuring: John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette Where: New York, New York, United States When: 01 Jan 1998 Credit: Ken Katz/startraksphoto.com
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- New York, N.Y. – 6/12/1997- Carolyn Bessette walking JFK Jr.’s dog Friday. Exclusive -PHOTO by: Ken Katz/startraksphoto.com -KK_310807 Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damages. Featuring: Carolyn Bessette Where: New York, N.Y., United States When: 01 Jan 1998 Credit: Ken Katz/startraksphoto.com
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- New York, N.Y. – 11/17/1998- Carolyn Bessette looking very alone standing on a Tribeca street deep in thought. Exclusive -PHOTO by: Ken Katz/startraksphoto.com -KK_310792 Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damages. Featuring: Carolyn Bessette Where: New York, New York, United States When: 01 Jan 1998 Credit: Ken Katz/startraksphoto.com
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- October 5, 1998: John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette leaving their apartment to attend the Municipal Art Society Benefit Gala celebrating the reopening of Grand Central Station after restoration in New York City. Credit: Paul Adao/INFphoto.com Ref.: infusny-39 Featuring: Carolyn Bessette, John Kennedy Jr. Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 05 Oct 1998 Credit: Paul Adao/INFphoto.com
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- October 5, 1998: John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette leaving their apartment to attend the Municipal Art Society Benefit Gala celebrating the reopening of Grand Central Station after restoration in New York City. Credit: Paul Adao/INFphoto.com Ref.: infusny-39 Featuring: Carolyn Bessette, John Kennedy Jr. Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 05 Oct 1998 Credit: Paul Adao/INFphoto.com
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- JOHN F KENNEDY JR AND CAROLYN BESSETTE STOCK IMAGE. NEW YORK CITY. CIRCA 1990S. PICTURES /
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- JOHN F KENNEDY JR AND CAROLYN BESSETTE STOCK IMAGE. NEW YORK CITY. CIRCA 1990S .PICTURES DENNIS VAN TINE
I’m reading she had highlights, but this looks single process to me.
NGL I was not an avid John Jr. watcher. I was my broke early 20’s when he and Carolyn got together. I always felt like his true love was Darryl Hannah. But maybe that is just wish casting.
Daryl Hannah and a very blonde CBK looked quite a bit alike; maybe he had a type?
Jackie did not approve of actresses as potential partners for her son. (Jackie was an iconic FLOTUS, but she was a bit problematic.)
They were off and on a lot. Darryl Hannah is beautiful, a good actress, and is on the autism spectrum. When a couple breaks up a lot for their own private reasons something isn’t working.
Unpopular opinion: I’ve never understood the hub bub around Carolyn’s style. She wore nice, simple clothes. She looked nice. But there’s nothing I can see that stands out about what she wore. Before Carolyn became famous, did women never wear a white shirt and black pants to work or a black dress to a formal event? Was she really super different from other women living and working in Manhattan at that time?
And I saw recently that all CK employees had to have that look – stripped down, minimal makeup, no color on nails. So I think a CK aesthetic not CB?
I’m curious about this too. CBK was from Greenwich, where I currently live. Her style, timeless as it was, was/is pretty basic. Today she’d be labeled as a basic b. Her style can be seen on any Greenwich white mom even today! Seriously, walk up and down Greenwich Avenue in the downtown and you’ll see many CBKs out in the wild.
Maybe it’s because she wasn’t a famous person and John Jr. plucked her out of obscurity. Her style was minimalist, simple, and classic and maybe so opposite the style of the celebrity women he dated? I’ve always been confused as to her style icon status.
I think it was because her style was such a contrast to the late 80s stuff that was still big, outside of NYC at the least. Big hair, shoulder pads and the like were still in fashion, at least in mainstream everyday America. Her sleek minimalism was very different when it hit People magazine.
This exactly. It feels basic now but at the time, CBK was like grunge taking over hair rock bands of the 80’s.
Thank you for your insights everybody. This helps me understand it a little better.
Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren have been making classic quiet luxury since at least the 1970s. Clean minimalism. CBK didn’t invent that. She had a lot of bad coats, plaid or belted ones.
Fixing this. How about:
“Some women, when they’re in a panic, they want something different”
Please we’re not all the same. When I’m in a panic, I’m turtling & want nothing to change.
Same. A drastic change to my hair is not my typical panic response.
I have been reading reviews of episode 5 and how difficult it was to be accepted into the Kennedy family & that you were basically signing up for a life of judgment from them, the tabloids & the general public. Sound familiar?
The series is good, the actors playing the couple are doing well. It captures the world of the eighties and nineties My negative comment is Jackie Onassis’ portrayal (the script is so bad it shows her dancing around with a record of Camelot in the background). Cringe scene.
Ryan Murphy loves to use his Muses to death. And Naomi Watts really needs to have a better think when she is approached to do these biopics about such iconic women.
I haven’t watched it. I’m not sure I will. Idk what it says about me but I’m always more interested in her than him. But together, they were an interesting couple from an interesting time period. Imagine if he’s chosen not to fly that plane. It’s always sad to think about.
@Sue, I’ve struggled to understand the fuss about Carolyn also.
When people write about her “beauty” all I see is a long “horse-shaped” face. Not trying to be mean, but she has the horse-faced look of a lot of Hooray Henriettas in the UK. The gentry, inbreeding types!
Seems like JFK jr had a type as Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker also have that face shape.
SJP, yes, but not Madonna …
Not trying to be mean? Come on. It’s a mean comment.
You may not prefer the longer face commonly found in the UK but it’s no more inherently ugly than the heavy square jaw of the germans or the heart shaped face of the koreans or the broad nose of african americans. CBK has an elegant bone structure which reads as intelligent and powerful. Beauty comes in many diverse forms.
That building they lived in gets me. Every time I see photos of them coming out, I think ick. That filthy metal door, those filthy metal steps (what is that? blood?!); I wouldn’t want to walk in & out of that every day. I imagine the hallways & elevators are equally gross. Bleh. I hope they had a lovely apartment because that entry is just gross.
I admit that I had a similar panic recently. I was just so blue about the state of the United States and the government and the feeling that none of the elites, especially the chief one, are never going to face any accountability.
I told my hairdresser to dye my hair gray. She said absolutely not — gray was not the color to cheer me up during the winter, but we could discuss it when I had some color on my deathly pale Irish-y skin. She made my hair a deeper red instead.