As Evelyn Rollins she is the copper haired, self-styled ruler of an exclusive Floridian beach club’s wealthy female clique, but it was all change as the woman responsible for playing her stepped out on Tuesday evening.
Debuting a new blonde look as West Hollywood venue The Sun Rose hosted the season two launch of Palm Royale, Allison Janney looked vastly different while posing for red carpet photos with her co-stars.
Gone was the tousled ginger bob favoured by Rollins. Gone too was the shorter, sleeker look she revealed during a season three screening of The Diplomat on October 14.
Instead, Janney, 65, opting for a longer and notably lighter hairstyle as she celebrated the return of her hugely popular Apple TV show.
The actress inevitably claimed the spotlight after joining Kaia Gerber, Lisa Rinna, Leslie Bibb and John Stamos at the Hollywood event.
Palm Royale follows the fictional Maxine Simmons, played by Kristen Wiig, an ambitious woman who schemes her way into late sixties Palm Beach high society.
Allison Janney’s new blonde look was in stark contrast to the tousled ginger bob favoured by her Palm Royale character Evelyn Rollins as she celebrated the show’s season two launch
Debuting a new blonde look as West Hollywood venue The Sun Rose hosted the launch, Janney looked vastly different while posing for red carpet photos
Speaking to You magazine in May, Janney admitted to favouring dyed blonde hair after vowing to keep it grey.
She said: ‘My hairdresser changed her mind. She’s done my hair for over 20 years and I’m pretty much her puppet.
‘In Hollywood you definitely want to do what you can to make yourself look good. But I think I’d feel that whether I was an actress or not. Women naturally feel that pressure.
‘Everyone always has something they don’t like about themselves and it’s great to do things that will help mitigate those feelings.’
The celebrated actress, who has never married, also admitted she’s given up on dating, some eight years after ending her long-term relationship with production manager Philip Joncas.
She said: ‘I don’t date any more. Dating sounds awful. I’ve only had long-term relationships.
‘The people I wound up with were friends who slowly developed into something.
‘I joined one of the dating apps once, Raya, but I didn’t actually engage with it. That’s on the backburner indefinitely.’
(L-R) Mindy Cohn, Allison Janney and Claudia Ferri pose for photos while celebrating the season two launch on Tuesday evening
Janney’s latest look (R) was vastly different to the shorter style she showed off at a season three screening of The Diplomat in Los Angeles on October 14 (L)
As Evelyn Rollins, Janney is the copper haired, self-styled ruler of an exclusive Floridian beach club’s wealthy female clique in Palm Royale
It’s all a far cry from her portrayal of traumatised housewife Barbara Fitts in 1999 film American Beauty (pictured)
The actress would win acclaim for her role as C.J. Cregg in long-running political drama The West Wing (pictured)
Janney became a household name after starring as emotionally scarred housewife Barbara Fitts in director Sam Mendes’ acclaimed 1999 drama American Beauty.
She would win further acclaim for her portrayal of C.J. Cregg in long-running political drama The West Wing, before taking home an Academy Award for her chilling turn as LaVona Golden – Tonya Harding’s chain-smoking, bird-on-the-shoulder, no-nonsense mother – in I, Tonya.
Screenwriter Steven Rogers wrote the role with her in mind and famously refused to sell the script unless Janney was cast.
In 2017, Janney revealed that the role resonated with her in more ways than one.
‘I used to have dreams of wanting to be an Olympic figure skater myself,’ she said to NPR. ‘I was very graceful, but I’m six feet tall, and it turned out I couldn’t really do the acrobatics required to be a figure skater.
‘So when this happened with Tonya Harding, I was already hooked—I always watched figure skating. It was always part of my life.’
Palm Royale season two premieres November 12 on Apple TV+.
(L-R) ames Urbaniak, Patti LuPone, Allison Janney, Mindy Cohn, Kaia Gerber, Julia Duffy, Rick Cosnett, Claudia Ferri, Roberto Sanchez, Amber Chardae Robinson, Jason Canela, Leslie Bibb, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas and John Stamos
