We Love Madonna as an Iconic Blonde, But Let’s Not Forget About Her Brunette Moments

When you think Madonna, one of the first things that comes to mind is her fabulous blonde hair. The pop queen has styled herself as a strong and sexy blonde ever since the '80s, and even famously named her scandalous 1990 world tour Blond Ambition.

Like many of the great blondes before her, Madonna is naturally brunette. Of course, the singer is well-known for constantly changing up her look, and has gone from artsy punk to Old Hollywood glamazon to in-your-face-sexiness to spiritual yoga mom — to name just a few of her eras.

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Over the years, Madonna returned to her original dark hair a number of times, and while it's not her default look, she definitely rocks it. In fact, there's even a Madonna brunette Instagram fan account that proudly proclaims, "There is only one Queen and She was born BRUNETTE ."

Read on for a look back at some of Madonna's best brunette moments.

Madonna brunette yearbook picture

A clean-cut, smiling young Madonna showed off her natural dark hair in her 1976 yearbook photo. Less than 10 years later, she'd be one of the biggest stars in the world!

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Madonna the ballerina

Madonna originally trained as a dancer, and as you can see in this shot, she was very graceful. The short dark hair gave her a charmingly gamine look.

An early headshot of Madonna brunette

In this early headshot, young Madonna posed with crimped hair and bangs. Crimped hair would blow up in popularity in the '80s, showing that she was always ahead of the trends.

Madonna brunette at Live Aid

Early in her career, Madonna performed at Live Aid, the star-studded 1985 benefit concert. Onstage, she sported dark hair, her signature jumble of accessories, and a very '80s New Romantic pastel outfit.

Like a Prayer

Madonna's most famous brunette moment occurred in the controversial music video for her 1989 hit "Like a Prayer." In the video, which tackled heavy themes of race, religion and sexuality, Madonna had a stripped-down underwear-as-outerwear look, with a slip dress and a crucifix necklace. Rather than her typical blonde, Madonna wore her hair dark and wavy, giving the intense video a heightened sense of drama.

Ray of Light

Madonna was blonde for much of the '90s, but in her 1998 Ray of Light era, when she had just given birth to her daughter, Lourdes , she (literally) returned to her roots. The dark hair was perfectly fitting for her more grounded and low-key (but still glamorous) image at the time.

Goth Madonna

With her black-as-night hair, purple eye makeup and dark lipstick, Madonna briefly had a goth Morticia Addams look going on.

A vision in yellow

At the VH1 Fashion Awards in 1998, Madonna wore a show-stopping yellow ball gown. The contrast of her dark hair against the bright color added even more boldness to the look, and she was awarded "Most Fashionable Artist" — it's easy to see why!

Madonna brunette at the Grammys

At the 1999 Grammys, Madonna performed while wearing a voluminous red kimono dress. The eye-catching color mixed with her dark hair gave her look maximum impact.

A cute cap

Madonna also had dark hair in the early '00s, during the release of her album American Life . In this picture from an MTV performance, she looked casual in a striped top and a newsboy cap.

American Life

Madonna matched her album cover with a black beret and a sleek brunette hairdo.

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