8 Empowering Celebrity Quotes About Going Gray — They Just Might Inspire You to Ditch the Dye

See what Helen Mirren, Emmylou Harris, Annie Lennox and other celebs have said about their gray hair

By Linda Rodgers Updated: February 10, 2016

Left to right: Helen Mirren, Emmylou Harris and Annie Lennox Arnold Jerocki/Getty for L'Oreal Paris; Jason Kempin/Getty; VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

Celebrities with gray hair used to be a rare sight — especially when it came to women — but in recent years, a number of public figures have embraced their natural color.

We’re glad to see that the stigma around gray hair has lessened over the years, and the famous guys and gals who rock gray hair look absolutely fabulous doing it.

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Whether you’re gray and proud or considering quitting the hair dye but scared to take the plunge, these celebrity quotes about going gray — from stars like Helen Mirren, Emmylou Harris, Annie Lennox and more — are sure to provide some inspiration.

1. Emmylou Harris

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"I did color it, for a while, and then it was just so much trouble . . . If I didn’t think it looked good on me, I would color it. Women should do whatever makes them feel good, but I do wish that we would accept our aging selves."
2. John Slattery

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"If it's super gray you're in the beauty parlor every five days. That’s not my idea of a good time . . . We’re only going one way as we're getting older, and there's something a little disturbing about men with dyed hair. That's kind of what was great about movies in the seventies to me. Hair wasn't perfect and teeth weren't perfect."
3. Annie Lennox

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“Listen, what do you do when you're 60? You let go. You stay healthy, and you know what really counts."
4. Anderson Cooper

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“In the TV news business, gray equals gravitas. My advice? Give in to gray. Make the most of it while you're still young."
5. Helen Mirren

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“As I get older, I don’t look as good, but I don’t give a damn.”
6. Jamie Lee Curtis

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"I would hope a young person would look at me with my grey hair and wrinkly face and say, ‘That’s cool that you are who you are.’"
7. Matt LeBlanc

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"I think it was the second season of Friends — way back then — that I started getting gray hair on the sides, so they started to dye it . . . I took about five or six years off, and said 'Screw it!' I couldn't be bothered anymore."
8. George Clooney

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"I’m a big believer in the idea that you can't try to look younger. You can just try to look the best you can at the age you are."