May 16, 2016
1340s B.C. - Neferneferuaten Nefertiti
The Egyptian queen’s image lives on in just a handful of extant artworks, but you only need one glimpse to see that she was a beauty in every sense of the word, and of course, her brow game was strong.
1930 - Greta Garbo
Few women got as much mileage out of a cocked brow as Garbo. By the 1930s, eyebrows had grown thinner, but a high arch was still the ideal. Like in Nefertiti’s time, women in the ’30s frequently shaved their brows.
1932 - Anna May Wong
Arched wasn’t the only desirable shape in the ’30s, though. Here, silent-film actress Anna May Wong shows off an ultraskinny, straight brow that goes well with her equally delicate, Cupid’s bow lips. (Photo: Getty Images)
1936 - Marlene Dietrich
In an era when women rarely wore trousers outside the home, Dietrich’s appropriation of men’s suits and tuxedos was nothing short of subversive.
1939 - Frida Kahlo
The unibrow was considered a beauty ideal in ancient Rome, 19th century Iran, and other societies throughout history.
1939 - Billie Holiday
One of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, Holiday sang vividly of the pain and injustice experienced by black Americans.
1953 - Audrey Hepburn
By the ’50s, thin was definitely out (for brows, anyway). Former ballerina Audrey Hepburn perfectly exemplified the elegance of the era in her Givenchy dresses, opera gloves, and refined beauty look. (Photo: Everett)
1954 - Marilyn Monroe
The ultimate midcentury bombshell, Marilyn Monroe’s perfect arches, beauty mark, and wide, red smile defined the ’50s look for decades to come. (Photo: Getty Images)
1967 - Twiggy
By the 1960s, thin is in again — both in the case of waifish models like Twiggy and Penelope Tree, and their brows, which took on a thinner, but still natural-looking shape. A brow look best worn with spiky, painted-on lashes. (Photo: Getty Images)
1979 - Grace Jones
The thinking person’s disco diva, Grace Jones brought an experimental streak to her music and her beauty look, with close-cropped hair and brows shaved to thin, straight slashes. Fearlessly cool. (Photo: Getty Images)
1983 - Brooke Shields
Everything was big in the ’80s: hair, Wall Street malfeasance, and, of course, eyebrows. Model-actress Brooke Shields led the way with what are arguably the ur-eyebrow for the ’80s — big, bushy, and defiantly untamed. (Photo: Getty Images)
2009 - Kim Kardashian
Whatever else you think about the Kardashians (we have plenty of opinions too), you have to admit that Kim deserves credit for popularizing the natural-brow look in the late 2000s.
2013 - Cara Delevingne
The British model’s dark, full brows defined the bigger-is-better ethos of the 2010s. (Photo: Getty Images)
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