Jennifer Aniston Just Reinvented Her Famous ‘Rachel’ Haircut For 2024 – And We Know How To Do It

The Rachel haircut is one of the biggest Friends legacies to date and it's no wonder. The choppy face-framing layers of the 'Rachel' hairstyle formed one of the most trend-setting hair looks of the 90s and continues to influence the outcome of hair appointments worldwide to this day. If you needed proof of its enduring power, look to Jennifer Aniston – originator of the iconic 'do – who has just gone back to her nostalgic roots with a modified version of the The Rachel we saw during season three of the show.

The last few months alone have seen Aniston through a vibrant hair evolution, going from boardroom bob for the People's Choice Awards to layered lengths for her return to the set of The Morning Show. This weekend saw Aniston go full circle back to her roots with a subtly side-parted feathered look – this time with the addition of a butter-blonde hue – which proves that The Rachel is a timeless style.

In fact, the style has been so popular over the years it has seen various iterations thanks to TikTok, think: the shag, the soft wolf cut and the butterfly cut, which is widely considered to be The Rachel 2.0. They are all unique in their own ways yet share the same choppy, layered style, the foundation of any Rachel cut. Other celebrities have enjoyed the style, too. Billie Piper has been known to take to Instagram to reveal her own iteration of 'do, crediting the makeover to colourist and hairstylist John MacPherson. Piper follows in the footsteps of countless celebrities who have all had a brush with the style since the late '90s including Tyra Banks, Christina Aguilera, and even Rihanna (keep scrolling for the proof).

That said, even Jennifer Aniston has admitted that it wasn't the easiest haircut to style. She told ABC News that she regularly struggled to make her Rachel cut look good. 'The Rachel was one of the hardest hairstyles to maintain,' she said. 'Me and the blow-dryer and the hairbrush weren't meant for each other. It really was a hairdo.' 'When Chris McMillan [the hair stylist responsible for the cut] would style it, my hair would be great, it would look gorgeous. But then, when I was left to my own devices, it wouldn't look the same'. Aniston said that she's constantly baffled by the global fascination with her hair. 'It's funny and entertaining in a way and it's, of course, very flattering to say the least – but I always have such a chuckle when I hear people saying I have great hair because as a kid it was always a challenge.'

What is The Rachel haircut?

Aniston debuted the first iteration of the Rachel haircut towards the end of the first season of Friends. Her shoulder-length, wavy hair was cut shorter, and shaped with countless layers - some jaw-grazing, others mid-length. She paired the new look with a peppering of caramel and honey toned highlights that made her hair look sun-kissed and Friends fans went wild. The viewers' obsession with the Ross and Rachel saga was matched only by their love of the Rachel haircut.

How to achieve The Rachel in 2024:

Chrissy Teigen posted this video to Instagram, which is the perfect thing to show your hairdresser if you, too, want choppy layers and a sun-kissed peppering of highlights.