Beware of Redheads Trivia Quiz

Answer:

I suppose it will be illustrative to begin by saying that I had more trouble finding authentic redheads than fakers. Even some of the best-known redheads of yesteryear were impostors, including Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, and Rita Hayworth. Hayworth (real name Margarita Cansino - she was advised to look and sound more "American" by movie executive Harry Cohn) even appeared next to the actually-ruddy Jams Cagney in "The Strawberry Blonde," but *she* was the strawberry blonde!

Of course, there are fakers, and then there are fakers. Some actresses have only donned a red look for a certain role. Take for instance Anya Taylor-Joy, whose real hair is a dirty blonde, but who played Walter Tevis's redheaded chess grandmaster in "The Queen's Gambit." And Sophie Turner, a natural blonde, happened to land the redheaded roles of Sansa Stark from "Game of Thrones" and Jean Gray in the "X-Men" series. She has since appeared regularly donning her natural color.

I doubt many would be surprised to find Taylor-Joy's hair was dyed. But other actresses appear so naturally and consistently as redheads, their fans are shocked to learn the truth. Emma Stone, Christina Hendricks, and Amy Adams, all obligatory appearances on lists of A-list "redheads," actually dye their hair red. And, despite her stage name, Chappell Roan's hair-dye colored red hair isn't real: she's a brunette.

Men dying their hair red is much less common than women doing so, on-screen and off. I have included only two male examples. David Bowie's character Ziggy Stardust (and a few other related personas) had red hair, although with the space-alien thing, I doubt too many people thought that was authentic. An example that's unconvincing for the opposite reason is KJ Apa, who turned his hair a vibrant carrot color to star in "Riverdale" (where he played Archie of comic book fame).

In fact, it was easier to find examples of men who lamented their red hair. The Irish Michael Fassbender has been called a "secret ginger" by AnOther magazine, concealing the color even when he played "Macbeth." Black rights leader Malcolm X, who some friends called "Detroit Red," hated the sight of his Scottish ancestry peeking through.

A handful of actresses have purposely hidden their fair auburn looks. Lauren Prepon, who rose to fame as the copper-headed Donna on "That '70s Show," prefers a blonde look in more recent appearances. Nicole Kidman has also retreated to blonder shades, but did appear with her natural color in her early films like "Moulin Rouge." Marilyn Monroe, believe it or not, was a natural redhead, too. Finally, the chameleonic Lindsay Lohan has tried out more hair colors than I have hairs on my head, but is, beneath it all, a true ginger.

All the other incorrect answers - Isla Fisher, Julianne Moore, Jessica Chastain, Maureen O'Hara, Sadie Sink, and Rupert Grint - have sported their natural red hair with pride.