Everywhere you look in film, the media and popular culture, the most common type of hairstyle seen on women is straight hair. Wherever loose waves are sported in magazines or on the red carpet, they are normally as a result of having been intensely heated with curling irons, forming perfect and graceful ringlets. For women who do have naturally very curly hair, we’re most often told that we need to brush our hair, tame it or de-tangle it so that it doesn’t look ‘messy’. Curly hair is not seen as beautiful in the same way as straight or wavy hair, which inevitably has racial connotations too: most black women have naturally curly hair that forms tight helixes to create the dense and fabulous afro style. However, it is only this season on the fashion runways that models like Lineisy Montero and Karly Loyce have taken the industry by storm by wearing their hair naturally instead of heavily treated and relaxed. We love curly hair because it is interesting and exciting, helping to break through the mould of the same-old straight and wavy styles that’s are so commonplace. Here are some of our favourite curly haired women from both fiction and real-life.

1. Merida, Brave

Merida’s trademark is her mass of curly ginger hair. Where many of the other Disney and Pixar women have straight, unfussy hair, Merida’s is wild and unruly, very much like the girl herself. Merida refuses to get married at the bequest of her mother because she is determined to find and pursue her own fate and destiny, which she knows does not lie with marrying a man she doesn’t know and at such a young age. Her hair is a visualization of her rebellion from tradition and convention, and she is a wonderful inspiration for young girls growing up who think they have to fit certain societal roles.

2. Solange Knowles

Beyoncé’s arguably cooler younger sister more often than not chooses to embrace her hair’s natural volume and density by sporting an untreated afro. The look is delightfully throwback to the disco-hustle days of the seventies, but also offers a refreshing alternative to many of the samey hairstyles worn by women in the spotlight. We especially loved the way Solange wore her hair to her gorgeous wedding in New Orleans in 2014, teaming her big, curly hairdo with a chic white jumpsuit (shop similar styles at maryjanefashion.com) before changing into a white caped gown later on in the day.  With both her style and her music, she effortlessly combines the modern with the retro and her hair is a key way for her to express this.

3. Hermione Granger

Hermione Granger is one of Harry Potter’s best friends and she is made immediately recognisable in the books by her bushy hair. She smooths her hair down only once with some Sleakeezy’s Hair Potion when attending the Yule Ball but the rest of the time wears her hair big and voluminous. For Hermione, succeeding at school and being the best friend she can possibly be to Harry and Ron is way more important than making sure her hair is socially acceptable, hence she wears it naturally and untamed. Like Merida, she is a great inspiration to young girls because she has her priorities towards looks and beauty completely spot on.

5. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman tells the story of prostitute Vivian who strikes up a romance with rich business man Edward, played by Richard Gere. Like many of us curly-haired women, in the film Vivian keeps her mass of red curly hair underneath a sleek blonde wig so that she can get customers and not intimidate them with her voluminous hair. Eventually, she loses the wig entirely revealing her natural hair in all its glory. Julia Roberts kept the curly look in her Oscar-winning turn as lawyer and single mother Erin Brockovich. In both films, her hair becomes a marker for her characters’ big and lovable personalities. She finds herself in difficult societal situations in both films but remains a force to be reckoned with, no matter the hardship she faces.