For nearly a decade, fans saw Kate Gosselin raise eight children with her ex-husband, Jon Gosselin, on her reality television show, Jon & Kate Plus 8, which aired on the Discovery Health Channel before moving to TLC. 

The couple's twins, Cara and Mady, were born in 2000, and sextuplets, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah, and Joel, were born in 2004. 

After the couple divorced in 2009, the show became Kate Plus 8, and the famous mother continued to be in the spotlight.

Fans knew her not only for her caustic commentary and verbal assaults on her ex-husband, Jon, but her short spiky hair with streaks was famous all on its own. 

Celebrities and fans have copied her hairdo, seen it in memes, and talked about it in magazines. It became Gosselin’s trademark, and whether fans watched her show or not, she definitely became more famous because of it. 

Her Iconic Hairdo

Many fans may not recognize her without her iconic hairdo. It took years of experimentation and changes to get her iconic look right.

In Gosselin's early years, her hair was longer than the trademark asymmetric blonde bob she had on her popular TLC series, and it was all brown as well.

The reality star, a natural brunette, went for an extreme chop and major color change while rising to fame and living in the public eye. The transformation caught everyone’s attention.

Her short hair did not start out too spiky, but over the years it got shorter and shorter.

Kate Gosselin and her hairstyle | Source: Wikimedia 

As the show gained popularity, Gosselin’s hairstyle got shorter and sharper until her iconic crop happened. She added chunky unblended highlights for a dramatic flair, which created a ‘tiger stripe’ effect. 

This blend of tones made her already-famous hair even more distinct, and finally, the Gosselin look was born. This was the hairstyle that people knew her for.

In an interview with People, Gosselin dished on her hairdo.

 It’s my attitude! Everybody wants it. The secret to getting the style, right? I have very, very thick hair, so it will not work for everybody. I’ve seen people come through the book line with thin hair, and [it] just won’t work. 

Inspiring Celebrities and Memes

In 2015, Justin Bieber appeared on the VMAs red carpet with a purposefully disheveled long, side-swept fringe scarecrow hair. Bieber quickly became the subject of the internet’s scrutiny when fans noticed the resemblance with Gosselin’s hairdo circa the mid-2000s. 

Bieber himself even Instagrammed a meme illustrating the likeness, which he has since deleted. But Gosselin got to sit down with Cosmopolitan to weigh in on the hairdo and secured cool mom points. 

Her mane reached new heights of a cultural phenomenon but for all the wrong reasons when the Gosselin hairdo became the associated look for “Karens” everywhere.

Karens are middle-aged white women with an asymmetrical bob and known for the aggressive personalities and famous catchphrase, “Can I speak to your manager?.”

Everyone considers them to be entitled and ignorant.

Whether Gosselin is a “Karen,” or not, one thing’s for sure; her look continues to evolve to this day.