Some stars' past Academy Award beauty looks weren't the best we've ever seen, but a peek back into the red carpet vault proves that there were many who got it right. Sure, poodle perms, frosted shadows, and brick red lipstick might look strange or dated to us now, but they at one point constituted what was hot at the time. Here are 40 stars who stood out with their memorable makeup and hairstyles at the Oscars (and Governors Ball) from way back when.
Born in the Bronx in 1935, Carol Diahann Johnson started singing in her church choir at age six. Ten years later, she auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show using the name Diahann Carroll, eventually winning the contest and performing on the daily radio show for three weeks. She sought modeling gigs, but her voice and presence presented her biggest successes.
Up against the color barrier on the big and small screens as well as on the stage, Carroll worked through it debuting both on Broadway in a supporting role in the Harold Arlen/ Truman Capote musical House of Flowers as well as having her film debut opposite Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, an all-black, updated version of the Georges Bizet opera "Carmen." Upon reflecting on her early years, she later told a reporter, "I like to think I opened doors for other women, although that wasn't my original intention." Regardless of what she planned, that's just what she did. Find out what happened next for Carroll when you read more
