Jennifer Love Hewitt gave fans something to talk about on Monday, debuting a striking hair transformation that marks a major shift from her signature darker style.
The I Know What You Did Last Summer actress, 47, revealed her new light blonde hair in a fresh Instagram video, showing off the brightened look for her followers.
The dramatic makeover appears to be tied to the upcoming 10th season of 9-1-1, the hit drama in which Hewitt plays dispatcher Maddie.
“Season 10 hair ready! Let’s go!” Hewitt wrote in the caption. The star has previously spoken candidly about how public scrutiny of her body during the early years of her career affected her.
Hewitt sported fiery red hair throughout season nine of the series, but the actress is clearly embracing a fresh chapter — and a lighter shade — for the next run of episodes.
Fans quickly flooded the comments with praise for the blonde update, with one admirer writing, “So beautiful!”
Jennifer Love Hewitt, 47, surprised fans Monday by trading her darker locks for a bright blonde hairstyle
Hewitt was previously seen with brunette hair while out in Los Angeles in 2019
‘You can literally pull off every color,’ someone else gushed.
‘Oh gurl I love a blonde. And this is eating,’ another added.
‘Season 10 Maddie walking in like she’s about to solve three cases and emotionally wreck us in one episode,’ someone else quipped.
Hewitt credited her new look to Nine Zero One salon hairstylists Nikki Lee and Taryn Houston.
The actress joined the series – created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear – in season two.
The hit show explores the lives of Los Angeles first responders – including firefighters, police officers, and paramedics – as they risk it all to save lives.
Aside from Hewitt it currently stars Angela Bassett, Oliver Stark, Ryan Guzman, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Corinne Massiah and more.
Season 10 of the procedural drama is set to return in the fall.
She underwent the dramatic hair change for the upcoming 10th season of 9-1-1, where stars as dispatcher Maddie
‘Season 10 hair ready! Let’s go!’ she wrote in the caption
The beauty has rocked a number of different hairstyles before, though she’s best known for her light brunette tresses; Pictured in 2012
Pictured with her espresso brown hair in a 2005 still from Ghost Whisperer
Her hair transformations aren’t the only aspect of her appearance that has drawn public attention over the years.
Last year, Hewitt opened up about how body criticism in her early career had a lasting effect.
In an interview with Vulture, she revealed that she nearly passed on the opportunity to reprise her role as Julie in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel due to the excessive scrutiny she faced as a younger actress.
It wasn’t until she watched the 2021 New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears that she understood the ramifications of being picked apart for her appearance.
‘When I started watching it, I was like, “Oh, they talked to me like that. Oh.” I started crying for her. And then I realized I was crying for me,’ she reflected.
Hewitt rose to prominence as a teen when she starred in the family drama Party of Five.
She went on to appear in movies including the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, Heartbreakers, and Can’t Hardly Wait.
It wasn’t long before she became a household name, making her subject to heightened judgement.
The former child star said she ‘really wanted to be a good actor’ but the focus was on her figure, which left her ‘trying to outact the conversation around my body.’
Fans won’t have to wait much longer for the return of 9-1-1, as season 10 is set to premiere in the fall; Hewitt seen in an older still from the show
She described media coverage in the early 2000s as being ‘”Boob, boob, boob,” everywhere.’
When she was photographed wearing a bikini in Hawaii in 2007, it sparked media coverage around her weight.
At the time, Jennifer said that she wasn’t ‘upset for me, but for all the girls out there that are struggling with their body image.’
‘A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful,’ she declared. ‘To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini – put it on and stay strong.’
