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See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 32 Fotos
Michael Bolton
- It's believed that the mullet dates back to our ancestors, the Neanderthals.
© Getty Images
1 / 32 Fotos
Ricky Martin
- Apparently, they used it to keep the hair out of their eyes and protect their necks from the elements.
© Getty Images
2 / 32 Fotos
Mel Gibson
- And before Gibson rocked one, other ancient civilizations already favored this hairstyle.
© Getty Images
3 / 32 Fotos
Richard Dean Anderson
- Mesopotamia, Syria, and Asia Minor were just some of the places where men wore them.
© Getty Images
4 / 32 Fotos
Andre Agassi
- It looks like the Greeks liked it too. There are statues dating back to the 6th century BCE to prove it.
© Getty Images
5 / 32 Fotos
Richard Marx
- The ancient Greek poet Homer mentioned it in his book 'The Iliad,' when he described the Abantes, a group of spearmen.
© Getty Images
6 / 32 Fotos
Don Johnson
- Homer said they wore "their forelocks cropped, hair grown long at the backs."
© Getty Images
7 / 32 Fotos
Bono
- In Ancient Rome, the hairstyle was popular among men who participated in chariot races.
© Getty Images
8 / 32 Fotos
Rob Lowe
- Greek-Byzantine scholar Procopius makes reference to the mullet in his book 'Secret History.'
© Getty Images
9 / 32 Fotos
Paul McCartney
- He wrote: "The hair on their heads they cut off in front back to the temples, leaving the part behind to hang down to a very great length in a senseless fashion."
© Getty Images
10 / 32 Fotos
Billy Ray Cyrus
- And then there's the Native Americans, of course. They believed that one's spirit was found in their hair.
© Getty Images
11 / 32 Fotos
Rod Stewart
- The mullet, with the long hair on the back, was a sign of spiritual strength.
© Getty Images
12 / 32 Fotos
Chief Joseph
- Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce is a good example of how Native Americans wore the hairstyle.
© Getty Images
13 / 32 Fotos
Patrick Swayze
- So it looks like the Western colonizers might be guilty of cultural appropriation after all.
© Getty Images
14 / 32 Fotos
Benjamin Franklin
- One of the Founding Fathers of the United States wore a hairstyle also known as the skullet, which is essentially a mullet, but the top and sides are either bald, shaved, or buzzcut.
© Getty Images
15 / 32 Fotos
James K. Polk
- And in 1845, the 11th president of the United States was rocking a mullet.
© Getty Images
16 / 32 Fotos
David Bowie
- The hairstyle lost popularity for a few years, but then the '70s happened. We can't think of mullets without Ziggy Stardust springing to mind.
© Getty Images
17 / 32 Fotos
Chuck Norris
- And then the '80s consolidated the mullet as a cool hairstyle.
© Getty Images
18 / 32 Fotos
David Hasselhoff
- The mullet was the must-have hairstyle for men during the '80s but, like any other trend, it died out.
© Getty Images
19 / 32 Fotos
Kiefer Sutherland
- The style started to have negative connotations and was eventually abandoned by famous people.
© Getty Images
20 / 32 Fotos
Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Until 2005, when kids in Moscow thought it would be a good idea to grow mullets again.
© Getty Images
21 / 32 Fotos
Mario Lopez
- But not everyone around the world could wear a mullet legally.
© Getty Images
22 / 32 Fotos
Lionel Ritchie
- Iran banned the mullet in 2010 (among other Western hairstyles).
© Getty Images
23 / 32 Fotos
Kanye West
- The Oxford English Dictionary credits the rap group Beastie Boys as the first to use the term in their song 'Mullet Head' in 1994.
© Getty Images
24 / 32 Fotos
Corey Feldman
- But the term "mullet-head" was used way before that, by Mark Twain in his classic novel 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.'
© Getty Images
25 / 32 Fotos
Kurt Russell
- In the 1884 book, Tom Sawyer says: "They're so confiding and mullet-headed they don't take notice of nothing at all."
© Getty Images
26 / 32 Fotos
Al Pacino
- The mullet is such an iconic haircut that it has many, many alternative names.
© Getty Images
27 / 32 Fotos
George Clooney
- Other terms for the mullet include "the bi-level," "the Kentucky waterfall," "the Missouri compromise," and "hockey hair."
© Getty Images
28 / 32 Fotos
Christopher Walken
- And there is also "Camaro Hair," "Mississippi top hat," "the MacGyver," and "the Joe Dirt."
© Getty Images
29 / 32 Fotos
Neil Patrick Harris
- But there's more! The mullet is sometimes called "squirrel pelt" or the "ape drape."
© Getty Images
30 / 32 Fotos
Prince
- And, of course, our favorite: "business in the front, party in the back." See also: The worst hairstyles of the '90s.
© Getty Images
31 / 32 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 32 Fotos
Michael Bolton
- It's believed that the mullet dates back to our ancestors, the Neanderthals.
© Getty Images
1 / 32 Fotos
Ricky Martin
- Apparently, they used it to keep the hair out of their eyes and protect their necks from the elements.
© Getty Images
2 / 32 Fotos
Mel Gibson
- And before Gibson rocked one, other ancient civilizations already favored this hairstyle.
© Getty Images
3 / 32 Fotos
Richard Dean Anderson
- Mesopotamia, Syria, and Asia Minor were just some of the places where men wore them.
© Getty Images
4 / 32 Fotos
Andre Agassi
- It looks like the Greeks liked it too. There are statues dating back to the 6th century BCE to prove it.
© Getty Images
5 / 32 Fotos
Richard Marx
- The ancient Greek poet Homer mentioned it in his book 'The Iliad,' when he described the Abantes, a group of spearmen.
© Getty Images
6 / 32 Fotos
Don Johnson
- Homer said they wore "their forelocks cropped, hair grown long at the backs."
© Getty Images
7 / 32 Fotos
Bono
- In Ancient Rome, the hairstyle was popular among men who participated in chariot races.
© Getty Images
8 / 32 Fotos
Rob Lowe
- Greek-Byzantine scholar Procopius makes reference to the mullet in his book 'Secret History.'
© Getty Images
9 / 32 Fotos
Paul McCartney
- He wrote: "The hair on their heads they cut off in front back to the temples, leaving the part behind to hang down to a very great length in a senseless fashion."
© Getty Images
10 / 32 Fotos
Billy Ray Cyrus
- And then there's the Native Americans, of course. They believed that one's spirit was found in their hair.
© Getty Images
11 / 32 Fotos
Rod Stewart
- The mullet, with the long hair on the back, was a sign of spiritual strength.
© Getty Images
12 / 32 Fotos
Chief Joseph
- Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce is a good example of how Native Americans wore the hairstyle.
© Getty Images
13 / 32 Fotos
Patrick Swayze
- So it looks like the Western colonizers might be guilty of cultural appropriation after all.
© Getty Images
14 / 32 Fotos
Benjamin Franklin
- One of the Founding Fathers of the United States wore a hairstyle also known as the skullet, which is essentially a mullet, but the top and sides are either bald, shaved, or buzzcut.
© Getty Images
15 / 32 Fotos
James K. Polk
- And in 1845, the 11th president of the United States was rocking a mullet.
© Getty Images
16 / 32 Fotos
David Bowie
- The hairstyle lost popularity for a few years, but then the '70s happened. We can't think of mullets without Ziggy Stardust springing to mind.
© Getty Images
17 / 32 Fotos
Chuck Norris
- And then the '80s consolidated the mullet as a cool hairstyle.
© Getty Images
18 / 32 Fotos
David Hasselhoff
- The mullet was the must-have hairstyle for men during the '80s but, like any other trend, it died out.
© Getty Images
19 / 32 Fotos
Kiefer Sutherland
- The style started to have negative connotations and was eventually abandoned by famous people.
© Getty Images
20 / 32 Fotos
Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Until 2005, when kids in Moscow thought it would be a good idea to grow mullets again.
© Getty Images
21 / 32 Fotos
Mario Lopez
- But not everyone around the world could wear a mullet legally.
© Getty Images
22 / 32 Fotos
Lionel Ritchie
- Iran banned the mullet in 2010 (among other Western hairstyles).
© Getty Images
23 / 32 Fotos
Kanye West
- The Oxford English Dictionary credits the rap group Beastie Boys as the first to use the term in their song 'Mullet Head' in 1994.
© Getty Images
24 / 32 Fotos
Corey Feldman
- But the term "mullet-head" was used way before that, by Mark Twain in his classic novel 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.'
© Getty Images
25 / 32 Fotos
Kurt Russell
- In the 1884 book, Tom Sawyer says: "They're so confiding and mullet-headed they don't take notice of nothing at all."
© Getty Images
26 / 32 Fotos
Al Pacino
- The mullet is such an iconic haircut that it has many, many alternative names.
© Getty Images
27 / 32 Fotos
George Clooney
- Other terms for the mullet include "the bi-level," "the Kentucky waterfall," "the Missouri compromise," and "hockey hair."
© Getty Images
28 / 32 Fotos
Christopher Walken
- And there is also "Camaro Hair," "Mississippi top hat," "the MacGyver," and "the Joe Dirt."
© Getty Images
29 / 32 Fotos
Neil Patrick Harris
- But there's more! The mullet is sometimes called "squirrel pelt" or the "ape drape."
© Getty Images
30 / 32 Fotos
Prince
- And, of course, our favorite: "business in the front, party in the back." See also: The worst hairstyles of the '90s.
© Getty Images
31 / 32 Fotos
The unexpected history of the mullet
Why celebs loved the "business in the front, party in the back" hairstyle
© <p>Getty Images</p>
Some hairstyles seem to have a life of their own, and the mullet is one them. Whether you love it or hate it, the mullet dominated the '80s and the rest is history. From Hollywood stars to famous sportsmen and artists, the mullet was the must-have hairstyle of the time.
But did you know that our ancestors already rocked this hairstyle many centuries ago? This might come as a surprise, but the mullet is indeed a historical hairstyle. Click through the following gallery to learn more, and, of course, see the most epic celebrity mullets of all time!
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