Happy birthday to the living legend Nia Long. Today (October 30), the beautiful actress turns 51 years old and if the phrase Black don’t crack was a person, she would be the poster child. The Brooklyn-born entertainer first stole our hearts in the 1990s when she made her debut as Brandi in Boyz II The Hood and Debbie in Friday, where she gave us face, confidence, and class. She then gave us one of the greatest Black love stories of all time alongside Larenz Tate in Love Jones and became our style goals as Lisa in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and as Jordan in The Best Man. And most recently, she’s graced our screens in shows like Dear White People, NCIS, and blackAF and by the looks of her extensive resume, she has no plans on slowing down anytime soon.
Although Nia’s characters have been quite different throughout her decades-long career, one thing that has remained constant is that she’s been our hair goals consistently! From her signature pixie cut to her short, blunt bob and everything in between, Nia has served lewk after lewk and her hair is always on point. To celebrate the actress’s 51st birthday today, let’s take a look back at five times she was our hair goals!
1. This Short, Curly 'Do
Recently, Nia Long posted this stunning photo on Instagram where she wore a gold, sequined dress, and a bright bold red lip. Her hair here is short and curled tightly 6o show off her gorgeous face and chiseled cheekbones.
In April, Nia shared this throwback photo from her press run of The Best Man Holiday where she wore her hair in a black and brown ombre silk press with big, fluffy curls.
3. Box Braids
Every woman loves a good box braids moment and Nia wore them to perfection. Wearing them all swooped over to one side, she shared the look to Instagram last year while she was on a press run for her film, Fatal Affair.
4. Pixie Cut
Source: Getty
Here’s Nia during her stint as Lisa on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This pixie cut was definitely one of her most signature styles in the 1990s and it looked absolutely stunning on her.
5. The Slicked Down Look
Source: Getty
As the queen of short hair, Nia rocked this slicked-down hairstyle at an event in 2019 and looked absolutely stunning in her black dress. Although simple, the hairstyle worked perfectly for the actress as she was all smiles on the red carpet ahead of the event.
