From red carpet glamour to the Royal wedding of the century, Anthony Gordon‘s life on the football pitch is a world away from the late Princess Diana. 

Yet there is one surprising feature that seems to unite the pair – their incredible hair.

The Newcastle United star’s hairstyles have caused quite the stir after eagle-eyed social media users noted that they seemed to vastly resemble the late Princess of Wales‘.

From her famous signature blonde bob to a slicked back look and even a near identical headband – one can’t help but question if the star player has looked to Lady Di for inspiration.

Diana’s hair was her crowning glory and helped pave the way for some of the biggest hair trends of the ’80s and ’90s.

When the young Lady Spencer entered the public domain aged just 19, she debuted what would later become known as the iconic Lady Diana haircut, filled with incredible volume and layers. 

Her 1980s flicked and feathered look, which earned her the moniker ‘Shy Di’ was modern and short – an unconventional look for a future princess.

The ‘Diana’ became incredibly popular, with scores of women worldwide desperately attempting to replicate the unique style. Magazines even printed diagrams and encouraged readers to ‘clip our sketch to show your hairdresser’. 

But now, it seems that her iconic look could be making a rather bizarre resurgence – with an acute likeness noted between Mr Gordon’s whispy hairdo combined with a slight fringe resembling the beloved Diana’s.

YouTube Video VVVqTzF3V0hjN2Z0WEhORmhtT0ROUW93LnV2c1I1ckdYTzFV

Load More... Subscribe

An iconic image captured the Princess donning a thick black headband in New York. While perhaps for more practical than stylistic reasons, Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon can be seen on the pitch wearing a similar headband in a desperate bid to pull back his long locks 

Stylist Richard Dalton, who played a key role in creating Diana’s early look, previously told Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine that he met the young princess when she was aged just 17.

He then requested his colleague, Kevin Shanley, to take on what would go on to be arguably his most crucial hair job to date.

Recounting his work with the late princess, Mr Shanley said: ‘Diana loved big hair. We used gallons of hairspray and heated rollers to give her that 80s Dynasty look.’

• 

• 

It seems unlikely that Mr Gordon is sat in the players’ locker room demanding extra time for a quick blow-dry and heated rollers, but there seems almost no denying that his head of hair is eerily akin to Diana, even down to its slightly flicked angle at the ends.

Over the years, Princess Diana would go on to debut shorter and shorter hair, with an iconic image of the princess arriving to New York on the Concorde supersonic jet showed her donning a thick black headband.

And, while perhaps for more practical than stylistic reasons, Mr Gordon can also be seen wearing a similar headband to pull his long locks back while on the pitch. 

• 

  Late Night Comedy Is BAD! These Shows Are Propaganda!

• 

  ME TOO Is Actually Bad For The World

• 

  The Insanity Must Go Bye Bye ~ Time For You To Go ~ 2020 Edition

• 

  You Get A Lot Of Rest Today ~ Relaxation Music

Load more

However, it was Diana’s intentional shift to a shorter, bolder hairstyle in the 1990s that helped to symbolise her new-found independence, coming not long before her public separation from the now King Charles.

The bold new hairdo was showcased to the world in a black-and-white Vogue cover shoot, now one of the most iconic photos of the royal to have ever been taken.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The iconic ‘wet look’ that the Princess wore during an appearance in New York in 1995 came, according to celebrity hairstylist Sam McKnight, after she expressed a desire to ‘do something different’. 30 years on, Mr Gordon was pictured sporting an indistinguishable slicked back look 

Poll

Do Anthony Gordon’s hairstyles look similar to Princess Diana?

• 

  Late Night Comedy Is BAD! These Shows Are Propaganda!

• 

  ME TOO Is Actually Bad For The World

• 

  The Insanity Must Go Bye Bye ~ Time For You To Go ~ 2020 Edition

• 

  You Get A Lot Of Rest Today ~ Relaxation Music

Load more

• Yes 34 votes
• No 52 votes

Now share your opinion

But rather than being pre-planned, celebrity hairstylist Sam McKnight, had spontaneously cut Diana’s hair, at her own request, during the shoot that very day.

Recalling the decision to give the princess her sporty pixie cut, Mr McKnight, speaking on Vogue Visionaries, said back in 2021: ‘We had a really lovely day and we were doing facial portraits for [British Vogue] magazine and [Diana] wore a tiara and I made her hair look short under the tiara.

‘This was 1990, I made it look short under the tiara – I faked it a bit… At the end of the day she said, ‘What would you do with my hair if I was to say “just do anything?” and I said “I would cut it all off and just start again”

‘So she said, “Well, why don’t you just cut it off now?”, so I cut it off then and we never looked back.’

In a 2017 documentary, titled ‘Diana In Her Own Words’, the late princess is asked by a friend: ‘What have been the turning moments in life that turned you from victim to victor?’

In response, the late Princess said: ‘I suppose when Sam cut my hair differently, it let out something quite different.’ 

As the old saying goes, ‘a woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life’. 

In 1993, the late Princess was pictured at Thorpe Park donning a fashionable black leather jacket and her iconic short cut with loose curls. Images of Mr Gordon show him also wearing an incredibly alike messy curled look, while bearing a similar bright-eyed smile

Indeed, Mr Gordon’s locks in January held a significant number of similarities to the late Princess’ more daring cut.

The athlete’s locks, which by the summer had grown in length, appeared to be slightly shorter, a replica of Diana’s bold yet sleek pixie cut.

Meanwhile, Mr Gordon also maintained a few loose bangs that hung over his forehead in an indistinguishable manner to that of the Princess.

Less than a year after joining Newcastle United and ever-keen to impress, was the sporting star perhaps looking to enter the new year with the same clean slate Diana had so desperately hoped for?

In 1993, just three years after debuting her shorter hair, the late Princess was pictured at Thorpe Park with young Prince William and Harry, donning a fashionable black leather jacket and her iconic short cut fit loose curls.

The ‘undone look’ really solidified Diana’s position as ‘the People’s Princess’, with a more carefree and casual, rather than carefully crafted, image.

While visiting Moscow, Russia, in 1995, the Princess of Wales’ hair still held great shape and volume, but with a slightly softer and more natural wave. Meanwhile, Mr Gordon was also captured with a similar large head of hair in late January

And Diana’s notable hairstyle appears to have also been replicated by the star-studded footballer. 

Images of Mr Gordon captured in late January show him wearing a messy curled look, while also bearing a similar bright-eyed smile.

Then came the iconic ‘wet look’ that the Princess wore during an appearance at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Ball hosted in New York in 1995.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr McKnight revealed that while both he and Diana had ‘experimented in private’, it marked the first time she had worn the modern hairstyle publicly, having expressed a desire to ‘do something different’.

And it certainly seems to have stuck. 30 years on, Mr Gordon was pictured arriving at a Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal sporting a slicked back look that looks near identical to that of the late princess.

While visiting Moscow, Russia, in 1995, the Princess of Wales’ hair still held great shape and volume, but with a slightly softer and more natural wave that almost harked back to her famed engagement look. 

In the years prior to Diana’s tragic death in Paris in 1997, she made the decision to lighten her hair, introducing feathered layers and blonde highlights to establish a more ‘sunkissed’ natural look. Mr Gordon was also seen also proudly sporting an incredibly similar bleach blonde hairdo

Meanwhile, images of Mr Gordon captured while playing during the Carabao Cup Semi Final in January showcased him with a similar large head of hair that also featured a slight wave. 

In the years prior to Diana’s tragic death in Paris in 1997, she made the decision to lighten her hair, introducing feathered layers and blonde highlights to establish a more ‘sunkissed’ natural look.

And for Mr Gordon, the ever-tempting desire to go lighter was also prominent. 

Images captured while he still played for Everton in 2023 showed him proudly sporting an incredibly similar bleach blonde look with a smudged darker root, perhaps a node to Diana’s famous golden locks in her ‘golden age’. 

Princess Diana’s global influence undoubtedly still lives on to this day, with her short-layered bob making a huge comeback in 2025 as hairstylists still work tirelessly to achieve the timeless look.

And so while a footballer’s career seemingly bears a distant relation to the late Princess, her immortal hairstyles mean that we could be witnessing an increasing number of lookalikes on the pitch for many years to come.