During production of Rosemary's Baby on the Paramount lot, Vidal Sassoon styled Mia Farrow's hair as the press looked on. THR reported in 1973 his intentions to open a salon in L.A. Archive Photos/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Vidal Sassoon's liberating approach to beauty didn't just impact famous clients like Mia Farrow. The hairstylist, who was born in London in 1928 and grew up in poverty, rose to prominence in the 1960s with his innovative concept that short, geometric cuts were not only a modern approach reflecting the architecture of the era but would also free women in all walks of life from frequent trips to the salon. His shop on London's Bond Street would become a destination and helped land him such notable celebrity clients as Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner. In 1967, Sassoon earned major attention when he was hired by friend Roman Polanski to work on Farrow's pixie cut on the Paramount lot amid production on the director's horror classic Rosemary's Baby. Shortly after Sassoon's 2012 death from leukemia at 84, Farrow tweeted that the Paramount cut was a "publicity prank," as she had privately shorn her own long locks - which she'd become known for during her time on 1964's Peyton Place - with Sassoon merely trimming the hairdo for the photo op. Related Stories Movies Hollywood Flashback: Schwarzenegger's 'Running Man' Hit Lots of Hurdles News Hollywood Flashback: Hollywood's First War With D.C. Sassoon himself was mentioned various times in Rosemary's Baby when Farrow's character tries to defend her extreme look. "It's Vidal Sassoon - it's very in," Farrow's character explains in the film. "Vidal claims [the name drop] brought his name to Middle America for the first time - and directly led to him starting a product line and taking over the U.S.," Craig Teper, director of the 2010 documentary Vidal Sassoon: The Movie, tells THR. Sassoon, who also was famous for cutting Goldie Hawn's and Jane Fonda's hair as well as the five-point cut popularized by model and Vogue editor Grace Coddington, dealt with public criticism for cutting women's hair so short. "Barbara Walters said I was making beautiful women look like boys," Sassoon told THR in 2011. His enduring legacy includes salons, beauty schools and a line of hair products, but Sassoon told THR he never let his reputation get to his head: "I was always thinking of what I was going to do next and would it be successful and would I make a mess of it." This story appeared in the Nov. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Theater 'All My Sons' Theater Review: Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste Lead an Emotionally Pulverizing Arthur Miller Revival streaming Sling TV Drops Its One-Day Streaming Pass to Just $1 for Black Friday Wicked: For Good 'Wicked: For Good' Takes New York, 'Wake Up Dead Man' Debuts and This Week's Best Events shopping Your Winter Wardrobe, Elevated: Nordstrom's Must-Have Women's Sweaters, Coats and Boots Wicked: For Good A Comprehensive List of 'Wicked' and 'Wicked: For Good' Brand Collaborations James Patterson James Patterson Is Pretty Sure Marilyn Monroe Was Murdered Theater 'All My Sons' Theater Review: Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste Lead an Emotionally Pulverizing Arthur Miller Revival streaming Sling TV Drops Its One-Day Streaming Pass to Just $1 for Black Friday Wicked: For Good 'Wicked: For Good' Takes New York, 'Wake Up Dead Man' Debuts and This Week's Best Events shopping Your Winter Wardrobe, Elevated: Nordstrom's Must-Have Women's Sweaters, Coats and Boots Wicked: For Good A Comprehensive List of 'Wicked' and 'Wicked: For Good' Brand Collaborations James Patterson James Patterson Is Pretty Sure Marilyn Monroe Was Murdered