You know legendary comedienne Lucille Ball as the goofy yet beloved redhead from I Love Lucy, but here's some trivia you may not be aware of: Lucy was nearly 40 by the time her namesake sitcom hit the airwaves.

Before I Love Lucy, she spent years struggling as an actress, snagging primarily minor roles and modeling gigs. So while we're used to seeing Lucy doing her trademark brand of physical comedy — and making that "oops!" face she's so famous for — it's almost startling to see how she looks in older, more traditional head shots, complete with her natural brown hair color.

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In this portrait, you might sooner think Lucille looks like Linda Darnell, Olivia de Havilland, or another Old Hollywood actress, with her forlorn gaze and closed-mouth pout.

As for her now-famous ginger hair color, Lucy actually dyed her locks bright red for a previous role in Du Barry Was a Lady — and it wasn't nearly that vibrant for her role in I Love Lucy.

"A lot of people think of it as red — it's not red at all," explained Irma Kusely, the show's hairstylist, who dyed Lucy's hair using normal hair dye but eventually switched to henna. "She met a very wealthy sheikh and he had heard about her problem [getting the right coloring], he said he would send her a lifetime supply of henna, which he did! [We kept it] in my garage, locked away in a safe."

So, all you need to do to get Lucille Ball's look forever? Find a new friend who can give you a lifetime supply of henna.

Sam Escobar Contributor Sam's enthusiasm for makeup is only rivaled by their love of all things relating to cats.

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