100 Years of Down-to-There Hair

Long before the super models of the '80s, Evelyn Nesbit was the first in-demand beauty, working as an artist's model in New York during the early 1900s. Posing for illustrator illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, Nesbit became known as a Gibson Girl. Gibson's drawings of women—with their hair tumbling down their backs—represented the ideal of the time.

Following the bobbed cuts of the '20s, glamorous manes prevailed in the '40s with Hollywood stars like Veronica Lake setting the trend. Lake's long blond hair was called a trichological sensation by Life magazine in 1941. The same article also included the precise measurements of Lake's hair: The hair varies in length from 17 inches in the front to 24 inches in the back and falls 8 inches below her shoulders.

With the late '60s came the defiantly long hair that characterized the hippie movement. In 1970, Cher epitomized the carefree look with her own straight, parted-down-the-center locks.

As the eldest of the Brady girls, Marcia had hair of gold (like her mother) that she brushed 100 times every night. (In one memorable scene from the hit show, middle sister Jan dreamed of cutting Marcia's iconic hair in a psychotic rage. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, indeed.)

English rose Jane Seymour became famous for her Bond girl role in Live and Let Die—and for her impossibly shiny, waist-length tresses. Today at 61, Seymour's hair is still her crowning glory, proof that long hair doesn't have an age limit.

During the days of disco, model Jerry Hall rocked a mane that was long and lush, signaling a change in the trend from pin-straight hair to voluminous.

Supreme diva Diana Ross embraced her natural curls in the '80s with long, billowy hair that would become her signature.

At the 2007 Academy Awards, Beyoncé and Gwyneth Paltrow went head to head with complementary lengthy locks.

Ex-husband Lenny Kravitz may have shorn his his dreads, but Lisa Bonet continues to wear hers to the waist, an example of the variety of long styles today.