Anne Hathaway has traded the long brunette hair she has worn throughout much of 2026 for a dramatically different look on the September cover of Vogue China, a short, choppy pixie that immediately recalls one of the biggest hair transformations of her career.
The 43-year-old actress appears with layered bangs and closely cropped sides in the new editorial, photographed by Norman Jean Roy. The styling changes throughout the shoot, with the short hair appearing tousled and spiky in some images before becoming considerably sleeker in others.
There is one important catch before declaring that Hathaway has actually chopped off her hair. Just Jared noted that the pixie is most likely a wig, and neither Hathaway nor Vogue China has publicly confirmed that she permanently cut her hair.
Even if the transformation exists only for the photoshoot, it gives Hathaway her shortest public hair look in roughly 13 years. The closest comparison comes from the pixie she wore through 2012 and 2013 after cutting her real hair for Fantine in Les Misérables.
The Pixie Changes Throughout the ‘Vogue China’ Shoot
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The September cover pairs Hathaway’s short hair with a white Louis Vuitton blazer trimmed in black. Other photographs take both the clothes and hair in different directions. Hathaway appears in a bright red dress with matching latex gloves, a purple blazer and a boxy black suit while the crop shifts from deliberately messy and windblown to smooth and tightly controlled.
Hairstylist Orlando Pita created the hair looks, while Norman Jean Roy photographed the editorial and longtime fashion editor Tonne Goodman handled the styling.
Page Six also highlighted the jewelry on the cover, a Bulgari Tubogas necklace from the Eclettica high-jewelry collection built around a 49-carat cushion-cut tanzanite and accented with diamonds, lapis lazuli and turquoise.
Her Last Comparable Pixie Came After ‘Les Misérables’
The resemblance to Hathaway’s Les Misérables era is difficult to miss. Hathaway had her hair cut extremely short while playing Fantine in Tom Hooper’s 2012 movie musical. The haircut happened as part of the film itself, during the sequence in which the desperate Fantine sells her hair.
Hathaway later recalled that the experience affected her far more emotionally than she expected. Although volunteering to cut her hair had been her own idea, she said afterward that she became overwhelmed when the moment actually arrived.
Once filming continued, however, she grew more comfortable with the short style. Hathaway kept wearing the resulting crop as her hair grew back and carried the pixie into the film’s awards season.
By the 2013 Academy Awards, her hair had grown into a softer version of the style. That night, Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for playing Fantine. That is why InStyle describes the new Vogue China look as her shortest hair in approximately 13 years.
The 2012 Haircut Was More Dramatic Than a Normal Celebrity Makeover
Hathaway’s original transformation involved more than arriving on set with a new hairstyle. She has previously explained that part of her real hair was cut during filming. In a 2012 interview, Hathaway recalled that the first section was removed as cameras rolled before production paused for a costume change, leaving her sitting partially shorn between takes.
Afterward, Hathaway said she unexpectedly came to appreciate having short hair and found the pixie easier to manage.
Hathaway Shared the New Look Herself
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Hathaway amplified the transformation by sharing photographs from the editorial on her own Instagram account on Aug. 21. She thanked Vogue China for featuring her on its September cover and credited Roy, Goodman and the team behind the shoot while describing the experience as a fun day.
Her post showed several versions of the short-hair styling, giving followers a closer look at how dramatically the appearance changes from image to image.