Nicole Kidman’s Hair Is a Subtle Tribute to Mall Bangs — See Photos

I know there are plenty of pictures out there, but when it comes to the big hair of the late ‘80s (and if you lived in New Jersey, the early ’90s, too—we held on a little longer than most), you really had to be there. Maybe it was the ambiance created by clouds of Rave hairspray or the way we all remember our classmates as a little taller than they actually were, but there was something ineffable about this beauty era. I still remember how jealous I was of the older girls (read: seventh and eighth graders) on my middle school cheerleading squad because they all had gargantuan, gravity-defying perms, while the most I could muster was a side bang with a little height at the roots. But it’s that very look—the one you’ll find me wearing in my sixth grade yearbook—that Nicole Kidman has channeled right here and now in 2024.

Kidman attended The Hollywood Reporter‘s Women in Entertainment Gala on Wednesday, December 4, along with a number of other acclaimed actresses, like Jennifer Lawrence, Selena Gomez, and Kerry Washington. The Oscar winner wore a black and blue Shushu/Tong dress and short black nails to match. Her makeup look was a soft, natural-looking one, with glossy lips, and long, fluttery lashes.

Her hair was also quite low-key with barely-there bends. But what sets it apart from other just-wearing-it-loose looks is the little detail up front. Stylist Adir Abergel gave Kidman’s deeply side-parted bangs a noticeable amount of oomph, creating height at just the hairline and gently folding forward like a wave in the ocean. It’s a sophisticated, subtle take on what has affectionately and retrospectively been dubbed mall bangs.