Clara Bow, silent film star, known as the “It Girl.”
In 1929-1933, movies with sound, the “talkies,” replaced silent films. In 1929, Paramount actress Clara Bow retained her position as queen of Hollywood and was still a top-box office draw, though she, like other silent film stars, did not transition well to the new form. Bow said:
“I hate talkies … they’re stiff and limiting. You lose a lot of your cuteness, because there’s no chance for action, and action is the most important thing to me.” (1)
She did not like the sound of her Brooklyn accent in the talkies and became anxious over her career, especially now that the directors expected her to talk and sing. She took refuge in sedatives. (2) As Bow’s star faded, another’s rose: Jean Harlow.
Jean Harlow had her first speaking role in Clara Bow’s movie, the Saturday Night Kid (1929).
Although Jean Harlow had only a bit part in “The Saturday Night Kid,” she made quite a sensation when she appeared on the set wearing a clingy, black crocheted dress, with that platinum blonde hair. Reportedly, Clara Bow ordered her off the set:
“Who’s gonna see me nexta her?”(3)
Hollywood sex symbol, Jean Harlow (1911-1937)
By 1932, Jean Harlow was at the peak of her stardom. Gone were Bow’s “It Girl” looks with ultra-thin and dark eyebrows with downward curved tails. Starlets who wanted to make it in Hollywood now had to resemble Harlow with her iconic, half moon brows. That meant shaving their eyebrows, and drawing in carefully-pencilled crescent shaped ones.
In 1933, Lucille Ball arrived in Hollywood and promptly shaved and pencilled her brows to appear in Sam Goldwyn’s picture, “Roman Scandals,” as a slave girl.
Lucille Ball in “Roman Scandals” (1933)
To the end of her days, Lucille Ball regretted shaving her eyebrows, as they never grew back. The first thing she did in the morning was grab her eyebrow pencil and pencil in her brows.
Lucille Ball, ca. 1940
Fast forward to the 97th Academy Awards, March 2025, to singer Miley Cyrus walking the red carpet with her long, waving tresses and glam girl looks. According to Vogue, it was her bleached eyebrows that stole the show:
They’re not your typical bleached brows, as there’s no bright blonde or platinum shade. Instead, these brows match the soft blonde hue in her hair to give that “barely there” effect. Modern approach to the bleached-brow look. (4)
Miley Cyrus debuts her new look at the March 2, 2025 Academy Awards.
(1) Goldbeck, Elisabeth. “The Real Clara Bow,” Motion Picture Classic, September 1930.
(2) Brady, Kathleen. Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball, 45.
(3) Longworth, Karina. “The Bombshell,” Slate.
(4) Noble, Audrey. “Miley Cyrus Debuts Barely There Brows at the 2025 Oscars,” Vogue.
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