This article is about the beehive hairstyle. For other uses, see
Beehive.
The Beehive is a woman's hairstyle that resembles a beehive; it is also known as the B-52, for its similarity to the bulbous nose of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber. It originated in the USA in 1958 as one of a variety of elaborately teased and lacquered versions of "big hair" that developed from earlier pageboy and bouffant styles. The beehive style was highly popular throughout the 1960s, particularly in the United States and other Western countries, and remains an enduring symbol of 1960s kitsch.
[edit] The beehive in the 1950s and 1960s
- Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's sported a large fashionable beehive.
- Yeoman Janice Rand from the original 1960s Star Trek TV series wore a complex, 'futuristic' version of a beehive.
- In the Flintstones episode "Fred's New Boss" (season three), Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble get their hair done in gigantic, elaborate beehives at a salon, and the pair drive their car very slowly to protect their hairdos. Unfortunately, their 'dos are destroyed after a fast-moving dinosaur vehicle passes by and blows them down.
- '60s singing icon Dusty Springfield was known for her trademark beehive and panda eyes look.
[edit] Later beehive usage
- The 1976 American television show Alice (TV series) featured a flirtatious waitress named Florence Jean Castleberry, played by Polly Holliday from Cowtown, Texas. Castleberry wore her red hair a high beehive trimmed by a waitress visor.
- The B-52's, a New Wave rock band took their name from the hairstyle which was worn by members Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. Their music company also plays on the style with the name "Boo-Fant" Records (a parody of bouffant).
- Gary Larson's "The Far Side" series features women who almost exclusively wear the beehive.
- Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders portrays an archetypal waitress sporting a beehive in the music video for the group's signature song "Brass in Pocket".
- From the 1980s on, Coronation Street character Bet Lynch became known for her beehive.
- The 1985 Martin Scorsese movie After Hours features a waitress named Julie who's noted for her beehive hairdo and general interest in other elements of 1960s pop culture.
- Marge Simpson's usual hairdo is an extreme, two-foot high, blue beehive.
- The hairdo and its later incarnations were featured in John Waters' 1988 cult film, Hairspray.
- Christinia Applegate in her role as Kelly Bundy on the TV series Married... with Children wears her hair in a beehive after taking a job as a waitress in a diner in episode 708/Kelly Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
- British pop singer Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays is known for wearing a beehive.
- Christina Aguilera sported the look at the 2001 BET Awards.
- Patsy (Joanna Lumley) from the cult British TV series Absolutely Fabulous wears her hair almost exclusively in a beehive. In the episode "Fish Farm" she is shown styling her beehive with a fork.
- R&B/jazz singer Amy Winehouse is often seen sporting her signature beehive hairdo and wigs.
- Ms. Brinks from Angela Anaconda has a beehive wig and sometimes loses it in the show.
- Lead female characters in Saturday's Voyeur, an ongoing Utah theatrical satire, often wear a beehive.
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