Anderson Cooper’s New Look Will Make You Do a Double Take

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Anderson Cooper is going full-beard ahead.

While the CNN anchor is known for his signature silver hair, he debuted a new look while on hiatus from the news network: a shock of silver beard.

“Heading back to work soon,” Anderson wrote alongside an Instagram Stories selfie Aug. 7. “Shave or keep?”

The 58-year-old gave a subtle smile for the camera in the pic, rocking a New York Yankees baseball cap, navy polo and black glasses along with his scruffy beard. 

While he’s rarely sported a beard on air in the past, Anderson—who is dad to kids Wyatt Morgan, 5, and Sebastian Luke, 3—has been praised for his gray locks, with many calling him a silver fox.

“I don’t know how I got that,” he mused about the label on the Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast in 2023. “I think somewhere it was written down, and then other people started writing it down.”

According to Anderson, he actually started going gray while attending Yale University.

“I was on the crew team and I was starving myself to get down to race weight of 125 pounds,” he explained. “I would drop 20 pounds for races and my hair by senior year started to go gray, which I think has something to do with my poor diet and starving myself.”

Instagram/Anderson Cooper

Although it could just run in the family, as he noted both his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt and dad Wyatt Cooper—who died when Anderson was 10—“started going gray early.”

“I try to avoid looking in mirrors now because I look in the mirror and I’m like Casper the Friendly Ghost,” he joked. “I’m just completely white. If I took off my glasses, you couldn’t see me at all.”

And before her 2019 death, Gloria actually kept suggesting hair-thinning products to her son—although Anderson didn’t feel like he needed them.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery

“What I realized is that with my hair really short, you can just see my pink rat-like scalp,” he said. “It’s not the hair itself is thinning, it’s just that you can see my little pink scalp.”

But, as he added, he has “these incredibly warped perceptions” from being on TV. 

“We are constantly seeing ourselves on a monitor in high definition,” he continued, “which no one should see.”

For a look at more stars who have updated their locks, keep reading. 

Sami Sheen/Instagram

Sami Sheen

The daughter of Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards shared her at-home hair dying journey, including its many missteps, on TikTok and raved about the results.

“I've been wanting to do this to my hair for years now," she said, "and I'm so happy that I finally did it.”

Raymond Hall/GC Images; Instagram/Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

Trading in her signature golden locks, the country music star wrote on Instagram in August 2025, "Well, the last time I saw my natural hair color, I was probably about 12 years old, but I thought it might be time to give it a second chance."

Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images; Instagram/Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa

In July 2025, the actor shaved off his beard for the first time in six years to film Dune: Part Three, which required him to rock a clean shaven look to reprise his role of Duncan Idaho.

Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation Las Vegas/Instagram/NBC

Kelly Clarkson

The American Idol winner debuted a shorter hairdo in a July 2025 The Voice promo, trading her signature blonde waves for a shorter, darker bob style.

Instagram / Chris Pratt / Matt Baron/BEI

Chris Pratt

The actor debuted a bearded look, which he sports on season two of The Terminal List, in June 2025.

John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images; Jun Sato/WireImage

Finn Wolfhard

The Stranger Things star changed up his trademark shaggy hairstyle in May 2025 by debuting a buzzcut at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo, Japan.

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage; Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Sebastian Stan

The Marvel actor said goodbye to Bucky Barnes' signature long hair in April 2025, showing off a shaved head at the Los Angeles premiere of Thunderbolts*.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

JoJo Siwa

In March 2025, the "Karma" singer debuted her rainbow mohawk at the GLAAD Media Awards. 

Instagram; TikTok

Emily Ratajkowski

In a March 2025 TikTok video, the model called this 'do with shaggy bangs the "worst haircut of my life."

Instagram / Gypsy Rose Blanchard

Gypsy Rose Blanchard

The Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup star debuted a short bob in March 2025, more than two months after giving birth to her and fiancé Ken Urker's first child, daughter Aurora Urker.

Clifton Prescod/Bravo/Charles Sykes

Whitney Rose

The formerly blond Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star debuted a red bob on Watch What Happens Live in January 2025.

Instagram / Hailey Bieber

Hailey Bieber

The model debuted lighter locks in September 2024, a month after giving birth to her and Justin Bieber's first baby, son Jack Blues Bieber.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images/Araya Doheny/FilmMagic

Lily Collins

The Emily in Paris star debuted her dramatic transformation at the world premiere of her new horror movie, MAXXXINE, in June 2024. 

"Changing my hair always brings out different sides of my personality and I love playing around," Lily told Vogue. "This cut and color feels bolder and yet somehow lighter. And completely more me—right now."

Sean Zanni/WireImage/John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

Katie Holmes

While attending Chanel's Tribeca Film Festival Artists dinner in June 2024, Katie debuted a subtle, yet striking transformation of rich caramel balayage highlights that were blended throughout her brunette tresses.

Kylie Jenner / Instagram

Kylie Jenner

The Kardashians star debuted a platinum blonde look and a bob haircut after rocking waist-length strands for quite some time.

"Did someone say they missed king kylie," Kylie teased in the caption of her June 8 Instagram post, to which her sister Khloe Kardashian cheekily replied, "I did! I did!!!!!!"

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images/Pierre Suu/Getty Images

Lisa Rinna

The former Bravo star debuted a platinum blonde look during 2024 Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture.

Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images for Bulgari/Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Priyanka Chopra

The Heads of State star debuted a drastic haircut—a shoulder-grazing bob—while attending a Bulgari event in Rome i May 2024. 

TikTok / Jessica Biel

Jessica Biel

In May 2024, the actress chopped her hair into a bob that many fans on social media said reminded them of one of the looks she sported as Mary Camden on the '90s series 7th Heaven.

Instagram / Megan Fox

Megan Fox

The Transformers actress returned to her dark brown tresses and debuted a sassy bob in May 2024, a month after she dyed her hair blue to enter what she dubbed her "Jedi era."

Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images

Dannielynn Birkhead

At age 17, the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith debuted a new lob hairstyle overnight during 2024 Kentucky Derby weekend, which she attended with dad Larry Birkhead.

Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for Baby2Baby / Instagram / Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato

The singer debuted a lighter, shorter 'do in April 2024.

Kelly Osbourne/Instagram

Kelly Osbourne

The Fashion Police alum debuted a blonde bombshell hair transformation May 8.

Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for Homeboy Industries / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Kim Kardashian

Back to blonde: Kim debuted a new platinum 'do in April 2024.

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images/Neil Mockford/WireImage

Rihanna

The Fenty Beauty founder debuted a bright blonde hair transformation April 17 while celebrating her latest Fenty x Puma collection in London.

Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for FRAME/Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

Delilah Belle Hamlin

The model debuted a bleach blonde pixie cut at the FRAME event April 4.

Megan Fox/Instagram/Dimitris Giannetos/Instagram

Megan Fox

The Jennifer's Body star traded in her bubblegum pink tresses for a baby blue bob, which she debuted April 2.

James Gourley/Getty Images/Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Zendaya

Less than a month afer chopping her hair into a long bob, Zendaya debuted a honey blonde transformation at the Challengers premiere March 26.

Elle Fanning / Instagram

Elle Fanning

The Great star ushered in spring with a fresh cut, as she debuted a long bob March 25.

John Nacion/Getty Images/John Nacion/Getty Images

Rachel McAdams

The Mean Girls alum swapped out her signature blonde hair for a dark brunette transformation on March 18.

Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Forever 21/Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Bre Tiesi

The Selling Sunset star looked completely unrecognizable after debuting a dramatic blonde transformation March 16.

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