Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance in "Monster's Ball," becoming the first, and only (to date), Black woman to have won the award for Best Actress. Her cropped pixie isn't quite as an important achievement, but it's up there.
Photo 11/13
Grace Kelly
Kelly, or Princess Grace of Monaco, in 1954 was the epitome of Hollywood glamour. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Mogambo," and looked perfectly polished with slicked back finger waves and Clark Gable on her arm. There's a reason why the press constantly tries to find her modern-day equivalent.
Photo 12/13
Heidi Klum
Klum's chic, larger-than-life bouffant was one of the most talked about hairstyles of the night in 2008. This was quite an accomplishment for a non-actress. The hairstyle allegedly took two hours and a lot of backcombing to create (AKA NOT a DIY possibility).
Photo 13/13
Jessica Alba
In 2008, Alba was in the third trimester of her first pregnancy and glowed like a Grecian goddess with a braided halo/bun combo. For her to be that pregnant and looking that amazing on the red carpet, in heels no less, is an accomplishment worth mentioning. Well, that and this look really kicked off the red carpet braided hairstyle trend.
We've heard through the celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist grapevine that before factoring in skin care, Botox, or manicures, it usually takes about three hours for a female nominee or presenter to get ready for the Oscars.
That is some serious "this could be my career-defining moment"-hair and makeup Oscar prep time.
And it's time well spent, as the "Academy Awards" ceremony is arguably the most prominent awards show. Broadcasting live in more than 200 countries, it makes sense celebrities spend the better half of the day primping -- there's a whole lot of people judging their chignons.
So what do all of these countless hours of hairstyling actually do for these celebrities? It makes or breaks their livelihood. OK, not really. But bad celebrity hairstyles make big news come Monday morning. (Remember the 2000 Oscars when Angelina wore an Elvira-inspired hairstyle or when Jennifer Lopez in 2002 thought that huge bouffant was a good idea?)
On the other hand, if an actress wears a pretty, yet subdued style, it usually goes unnoticed. But sometimes, just sometimes, a celebrity hairstyle is so perfect, so gorgeous, so Oscar-worthy itself that it gets just as much water cooler time as the awful dresses or horrid hairstyles.
