Beehive (hairstyle)

This article is about the beehive hairstyle. For other uses, see Beehive.

Amy Winehouse in her signature beehive

The Beehive is a woman's hairstyle that resembles a beehive; it is also known as the B-52, for its similarity to the bulbous nose of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber. It originated as one of a variety of elaborately teased and lacquered versions of "big hair" that developed from earlier pageboy and bouffant styles. It was developed in 1960 by Margaret Vinci Heldt of Elmhurst, Illinois, owner of the Margaret Vinci Coiffures in downtown Chicago, who won the National Coiffure Championship in 1954, and who had been asked by the editors of Modern Beauty Salon magazine to design a new hairstyle that would reflect the coming decade. She originally modelled it on a fez-like hat that she owned. In recognition of her achievement, Cosmetologists Chicago, a trade association with 60,000 members, created a scholarship in Heldt’s name for creativity in hairdressing. The beehive style was popular throughout the 1960s, particularly in the United States and other Western countries, and remains an enduring symbol of 1960s kitsch.

The beehive in the 1960s

• The popular "girl" group, The Ronettes, helped popularize the hairdo. "We came from Spanish Harlem", recalls the group's veteran lead singer, Veronica "Ronnie" Spector, in a Village Voice interview. " 'We had high hair anyway.' So the Ronettes made their hair still higher—'We used a lot of Aqua Net' ".
• Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) sported a large then-fashionable beehive.
• Yeoman Janice Rand, from the original 1960s Star Trek TV series, wore a complex, "futuristic" version of a beehive.
• In the Flintstones episode "Fred's New Boss" (season three), Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble get their hair done in gigantic, elaborate beehives at a salon, and the pair drive their car very slowly to protect their hairdos. Unfortunately, their 'dos are destroyed after a fast-moving dinosaur vehicle passes by and blows them down.
• '60s singing icon, Dusty Springfield, was known for her trademark beehive and panda eyes look.

Later beehive usage

• The 1976 American television show Alice featured a flirtatious waitress named Florence Jean Castleberry, played by Polly Holliday from Cowtown, Texas. Castleberry wore her red hair a high beehive trimmed by a waitress visor.
• The B-52's, a New Wave rock band took their name from the hairstyle which was worn by members Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. Their music company also plays on the style with the name "Boo-Fant" Records (a parody of bouffant).
• Gary Larson's "The Far Side" series features women who almost exclusively wear the beehive.
• Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders portrays an archetypal waitress sporting a beehive in the music video for the group's signature song "Brass in Pocket".
• From the 1980s on, Coronation Street character Bet Lynch became known for her beehive.
• The 1985 Martin Scorsese movie After Hours features a waitress named Julie who's noted for her beehive hairdo and general interest in other elements of 1960s pop culture.
• Marge Simpson's usual hairdo is an extreme, 2-foot-high (0.61 m), blue beehive.
• The hairdo and its later incarnations were featured in John Waters' 1988 cult film, Hairspray.
• Christina Applegate in her role as Kelly Bundy on the TV series Married... With Children wears her hair in a beehive after taking a job as a diner waitress on the season seven episode Kelly Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
• British pop singer Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays is known for wearing a beehive.
• Christina Aguilera sported the look at the 2001 BET Awards.
• Patsy (Joanna Lumley) from the cult British TV series Absolutely Fabulous wears her hair almost exclusively in a beehive. In the episode "Fish Farm" she is shown styling her beehive with a fork.
• R&B/jazz singer Amy Winehouse was often seen sporting her signature beehive hairdo and wigs.
• Ms. Brinks from Angela Anaconda has a beehive wig and sometimes loses it in the show.
• Lead female characters in Saturday's Voyeur, an ongoing Utah theatrical satire, often wear a beehive, a reference to the beehive on the Utah state seal.
• Performer and lead female vocalist for the Saturday Night Live Band, Christine Ohlman, has used the beehive as her main trademark, with the stage name "The Beehive Queen."
• TV personality Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi of "Jersey Shore" often wears a beehive, which she has referred to as a "poof".
• Video Game character Bayonetta has a beehive hairdo.

See also

• Bouffant
• Big hair
• Hairstyle