{"id":1130,"date":"2021-04-07T12:29:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T02:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=190360"},"modified":"2021-04-07T12:29:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T02:29:47","slug":"billie-holiday-hair","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/billie-holiday-hair\/","title":{"rendered":"The Real Story Behind Billie Holiday\u2019s Iconic Gardenia-Adorned Up-Do"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Billie
Billie Holiday in New York City in 1947. (Credit: Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images)=<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lee Daniels\u2019s stirring and timely biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday<\/em> delves deep into the extraordinary life of the troubled, iconic jazz musician; a woman who was racially and physically abused her entire life, and then relentlessly hounded by government officials who were determined to silence her music.<\/p>\n

In one of the film’s opening scenes, Holiday performs Abel Meeropol\u2019s anguished ballad “Strange Fruit” inside a smoky New York bar. The track \u2013 which would later become an anthem for the civil rights movement \u2013 is a 91-word graphic depiction of a lynching, and it became the mission of the war on drugs zealot Harry Anslinger (played by Garrett Hedlund in the film) to stop Holiday from singing it.<\/p>\n

Golden Globe-winner and Oscar-nominated actress and musician Andra Day stars as the titular character, capturing Holiday\u2019s breathy rasp to a tee. In the aforementioned scene, Day \u2013 who is actually<\/em> singing throughout the entire movie \u2013 portrays Holiday\u2019s pain as she delivers the lyrics to a silent audience. Her candy red lip and glittering silver dress is set off against two elegantly placed white gardenias. But the flowers, which became a signature part of Holiday\u2019s look for the remainder of her career, were actually an accident.<\/p>\n

\"Billie
Billie Holiday poses for a portrait in circa 1939 with a flower in her hair. Credit: Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to reports<\/a>, before one evening performance, Holiday was preparing to go on stage when a curling tong burnt off a section of her curls behind her left ear. A fellow performer rushed to coat check and they happened to be selling gardenias. Holiday used these to cover the small patch. These same reports cite Holiday as really loving her new look.<\/p>\n

Still, she was a Black woman in 1940s New York and as one scene depicts, the famous and successful singer was not allowed to ride the white-only elevator.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation,\u201d Holiday famously said.<\/p>\n

\"Billie
Billie Holiday backstage. Date unknown. Credit: William Gottlieb\/Redferns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charles Gregory Ross headed up the hair team on The United States vs. Billie Holiday<\/em> (he very sadly passed away from COVID-19 in April 2020). But according to this account<\/a>, he and Daniels were adamant the authenticity of Holiday\u2019s hair was protected and the team \u201cnever strayed from the reference photos when re-creating her look.\u201d<\/p>\n