The Best In Blonde: Breaking Down Alfred Hitchcock’s Most Iconic Blondes

Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899, and in honor of the famed auteur’s 115th birthday, we’ve declared it Hitchcock Week on Decider. Click here to follow our coverage.

The Hitchcock Blonde. If I say it, you know exactly the type of woman I’m talking about. She’s got platinum blonde locks, big blue eyes, impeccable style and a cool, aloof manner that suggests — and betrays — a sinister secret. You’re probably thinking of Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren or Janet Leigh. But what really defines a Hitchcock blonde? Is it the peroxide or her predisposition for trouble?

We decided to break down the blondes on a sliding scale from “Not Really Blonde” to “Natural Blonde” to “Bottle Blonde” and all the way to “Hitchcock Blonde.” What we discovered was that Grace Kelly wasn’t as blonde as we remembered her being, it’s hard to gauge the level of peroxide used on someone’s hair when they were filmed in black & white and that Kim Novak‘s all-important drastic dye job in Vertigo might have made her the blondest Hitchcock Blonde of all time. Not only is her hair an alarming shade of platinum, but her look is iconic and her character is shifty, alluring and hiding a lot.

So, the Hitchcock Blonde is not who you think she is, but then again, that’s exactly who Alfred Hitchcock wanted all of his muses to be. She’s a woman you can’t pin down.