Madelaine Petsch Gets a Full-Blown Barbie Transformation

Madelaine Petsch is in the Dreamhouse, and her bleached blonde hair has Barbara Millicent Roberts written all over it. The “Riverdale” star dove headfirst into the Barbiecore trend on Sept. 15, giving everything from her wardrobe to her hair a full Barbie makeover. “Life in plastic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Petsch jokingly captioned photos of her decidedly blasé Barbie persona for Mane Addict‘s September cover story on Instagram. While Petsch has given her signature red waves the blonde hair treatment before, her new doll-inspired hairstyle transforms her into a life-size replica of the fashionista-astronaut-CEO we know and love.

Petsch’s blonde wig, styled by hairstylist and wig-maker Zachary Morad, sparkles against multiple shades of pink at Dream Home Studios. “#Barbie is my favourite thing in the world so when @marcmena called and said he was making @Madelame into a life-sized version and needed a wig, I screamed,” Morad captioned a post on Instagram. Petsch’s glam team also included hairstylist Marc Mena, makeup artist Jen Tioseco, and wardrobe stylists Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn.

Petsch’s hair has come a long way during her time on television. “I really struggled with my red hair as a child and was made fun of for the colour a lot,” she says. “I slicked my hair into a bun every day with gel because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.” Today, it’s her trademark, but the glossy red waves can still be unpredictable. “I have very particular hair. When you think it will zig, it will zag, and I find it never does exactly what we want it to do,” she jokes. “So I’ve learned to go with the flow with my hair.”

For Petsch, who just starred in “About Fate: The Winx Saga” alongside Emma Roberts, maintaining healthy hair is a top priority between filming episodes of “Riverdale” and scenes for her new movie, “Jane,” which she stars in alongside Chlöe. “I do a hair mask once a week and a haircut every six weeks. When I’m not in production and have downtime, I like to keep my hair up and not put heat on it to keep it extra healthy,” she says.

On set, she has created a teenage icon in the form of Cheryl Blossom, whose makeup she’s been in charge of for five years. Whether she’s touching up Cheryl’s blood-red lipstick or experimenting with eyeshadow alongside Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes, Petsch says those moments in the glam trailer are some of her favourite shooting memories. “The glam trailer has always been a favourite part of my day when we are shooting,” she says ahead of the final season’s premiere in 2023. “[We] would all be in the space together sitting on the floor (sometimes at 3 a.m.) laughing so hard trying to do a straight eyeliner or just gabbing on about our lives. I’ll miss those moments.”

Ahead, look closely at Petsch’s blonde hair from all angles and see her full-blown Barbie makeover.