Some of you know that I’m naturally blonde, but that I’ve been dedicated to having redhair since I was 16 - that’s right, I’ve been a shade of red basically since my mother allowed me to dye my entire head. And I never want to have any other hair color other than red!
Left, me at age 15 and extremely blonde; right, me a couple months ago during a shoot, light, natural looking redhair - on phone in both.
The other day someone asked me who inspired me to become a redhead. I thought about it for a minutes and realized most of the cartoon ladies I admired growing up were all redheads!
So here are the beautiful, strong, cartoon ladies who inspired me to be who I am today!
Did anyone else watch Totally Spies? I loved Sam - she was so smart, always took the lead, and such a creative thinker. I almost exclusively wore my hair in this style when I first dyed my hair red and started growing out my bangs.
This one almost no one remembers, but I was such a big fan that I had the Nintendo game - Atomic Betty. She’s a fighting girl, Atomic Betty gonna save the world (yes, I loved it so much, I even still remember the theme song). One part of her life, she was a great student and daughter, the other part of her life she was a captain of a spaceship and went on adventures with an alien and a robot to save the galaxy! And also she had softball practice! So much on one little girl’s plate, and I loved it. She was determined even when faced with the worst obstacles - whether the obstacle be social in school, or the fate of the galaxy.
Call me, beep me, if you remember Kim Possible. She probably had the longest run of all the shows I was really into as a kid. She’s also who inspired me to be a cheerleader for a couple years! KP was strong, confident, and she kicked ass! Every episode left me thrilled.
The ORIGINAL Powerpuff Girls was quite the show - I even did a rewatch a couple years back, and yeah, it held up. (Don’t talk to me about the remake, I’m still upset about it.) I definitely have a thong for smart ladies, and leaders, and those are Blossom’s two main qualities. Also, while she was “everything nice” she always ended up figuring out when to stop being nice.
The Winx Club, for me, was only available during the special Saturday morning cartoons. So I was never able to watch much of it, and I feel like I never got a complete story from it, but I loved Bloom. She was just a normal girl and then suddenly she finds out she’s a fairy - and not just any fairy, but she ends up being the most powerful of them all. Although I was never able to finish it, she was still an inspiration.
I was an avid fan of the Teen Titans when I was younger, I even read all of the comics. The reason this one is different, though, is a truly grew up loving and wanting to be Raven, and yet I turned into Starfire. Comfortable with my body, strong, and redheaded!
Last, but definitely not least, is the Little Mermaid. Ariel was, and still is, my favorite Disney Princess. I will defend her until I die. For so long I felt like I didn’t belong where I was - I was a strong young woman, sick of swimming, ready to stand. And, like Ariel, I’m standing now - I will never forget my past, but where I am now, I am on my feet, and I am happy.
I normally go for a more natural red, but I’m really loving my BRIGHT red hair.
Have you ever been inspired by something/someone you admired? Be it cartoon or real? Let me know in the comments! (@rambo @missy)
