The Golden Globe Awards ceremony is one of the most celebrated nights in Hollywood. Year after year, famous celebrities meet with famous designers to find that perfect dress to strut their stuff. Sometimes the outfits are on the demure side, but more often than not these actresses make a statement with their dresses. The wildest of them are not to be believed. We’re talking plunging necklines, a lot of leg, plenty of cleavage … you name it! Feast your eyes on the 20 most daring Golden Globes looks of all time.
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January Jones wore a Versace Spring 2011 gown with red fringes and a deep V cutout neckline that draped down to her waist. The Mad Men actress was critiqued by the Red Carpet Fashion Awards for her daring look. She is a “tad too busty for the dress,” the website wrote.
Jennifer Aniston exited Friends with a “wow” when she wore a low-cut vintage Valentino design to the 2004 Golden Globes. The risqué belt across her neckline seemed to hold the girls together. Thank goodness it didn’t become undone!
Jennifer Lopez always aims for shock value. Already a mother of two at this time, she wore a gilded golden gown with barely-there back, part of the Marchesa Spring Summer 2009 collection. Complete with daring cleavage, a nude back, and a plunging neckline, it rivaled other J-Lo dresses that barely covered the girls.
Before hitting the red carpet, Salma Hayek gave fans an advanced look on Instagram at her gown for the evening. Hayek – who burst onto the Hollywood scene with Desperado, and you can see her in the 2020 Marvel film, The Eternals – wore a Gucci dress that consisted of a cream-colored skirt and an eye-popping low-cut blue top. At 53 years old, Hayek can clearly still turn as many heads as she wants in Hollywood.
Jessica Biel had the daring duo on this night, a plunging neckline to her waist and a high kick slit in a ballgown skirt that demanded attention. Biel showed off her toned arms in this Elie Saab Fall 2016 Couture design.
Beyoncé sparkled in a white-beaded Elie Saab strapless gown. The dress dared to show off her mermaid figure, with just enough coverage to hold her girls in place. Oh, and that thigh-high slit! Beyoncé was nominated for Best Original Song – Motion Picture that night, for “Once in a Lifetime” in Cadillac Records.
In 2010, Drew Barrymore won her first Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television — for Grey Gardens. Unlike her character, Edith Bouvier Beale, who wore tablecloths and curtains for clothes, Barrymore took a risk on this evening. She daringly glowed in her Atelier Versace nude gown with sparkling hip-and-shoulder adornments.
This Versace dress was a triple dare for Kate Hudson at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards. The first was the color white, which is usually very unflattering unless you’re extremely thin. Secondly, the peekaboo sides that taper down are very unforgiving. Thirdly, the plunging neckline just covers her breasts. Hudson pulled off all three seamlessly.
Charlize Theron dazzled the red carpet that year for her Best Performance in a Motion Picture nomination for Young Adult. She wore a dusty rose pink chiffon Dior couture gown with a plunging neckline and sexy thigh-high slit. Theron pulled off the draped detail on the hip and the flowing train.
Lea Michele wore a metallic gun-gray antique embroidered illusion dress from the Marchesa Spring 2012 collection. The feathery peekaboos daring you not to look were in all the right places, tapering down to the slinky straight skirt.
Evan Rachel Wood wore a custom Gucci Première gown in midnight green for her Best Supporting Actress nomination for Mildred Pierce. The halter neck was sequined and see-through. The bigger risk here was the bird-like quality of the dress, which had overlapping fish-scale flakes and ostrich plumes that made their way into a full skirt of iridescent feathers.
Halle Berry wore a one-shouldered Atelier Versace Fall 2012 gown with an abstract pink pattern. Bringing back the “Angelina” leg, named for Angelina Jolie’s red carpet leg flash at the 84th Academy Awards, Berry confidently showed off her gam with a daring thigh-high slit.
Janelle Monae made her debut at the 2017 Golden Globes in Armani Prive. The high-low draped gown with front bustle, speckled in black polka dots, made a bold one-of-a-kind statement.
Blake Lively did not play it safe strutting the classy velvet Atelier Versace custom gown, which hugged her curves. The pockets accented her hips, adding to the overall dramatic feel.
This daring otherworldly design, with its intricate strips and panels from Atelier Versace, is a look that only a model like Naomi Campbell could pull off. She is used to strutting the cat walk, so the red carpet must be like a walk in the park.
Never one to not provoke, Kendall Jenner made a bold statement in a Giambattista Valli Fall 2017 Couture gown. Jenner strut this inky black tulle ballerina dress, with a shorter front and a mega-long train following behind her.
Keri Russell, representing the winning The Americans for Best Television Series, stunned the red carpet in a Monique Lhuillier Fall 2018 silver sequin gown with a daring neckline.
Nicole Kidman looked like her mermaid character in Aquaman, wearing a daringly skin-tight burgundy sequined Michael Kors Collection gown. She looked much different than her grungy character in Destroyer, for which she was nominated for a Best Performance Golden Globe.
Nominated for Best Actress in a Drama for A Star Is Born and the winner of Best Original Song “(Shallow”), Lady Gaga strut the red carpet in blue Valentino, with her hair to match. The daring strapless gown featured puffed, off-the-shoulder sleeves and a massive cascading train that required a team of handlers to lift as they trailed behind her.
Lucky for Gwyneth Paltrow that the weather in Los Angeles was warm for the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2020. Paltrow showed up in a see-through, pre-fall 2020 Fendi dress that left little to the imagination. The sheer gown was accompanied by a bikini top and the bottom ruffles barely covered Paltrow’s hind parts.
“There are no words.” “Slayed.” “Stuns.” These are just some of the reactions to Kerry Washington’s look at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards. Washington wore a satin black Altuzarra skirt with thigh-high slit, a black jacket, and no shirt, though she did have diamond body jewelry tied around her chest and waist. When asked if the look might “Break the internet,” Washington said she would be “honored.” Consider the internet broken…
They say hindsight is 20/20 and seeing Salma Hayek on the red carpet in 2020 brought back memories of her first Globes red carpet in 2003. Back then, Hayek’s hourglass figure was just as perfect as it is today when she wore a plunging crimson Narciso Rodriguez dress, paired with matching lipstick.
Actor Billy Porter is well known for his interesting red carpet wardrobes and the 2020 Golden Globes was no different. Porter, who was up for Best Actor for Pose, walked the red carpet in a white tuxedo jacket connected to a feather train that was custom-made by Alex Vinash. Porter sported white Jimmy Choo heels, Tiffany necklace, and white button-down shirt for a truly angelic look.
Perhaps the most divisive dress of the 2020 Golden Globes was Jennifer Lopez in a white Valentino gown with a huge green and gold bow hanging down in front. The Daily Mail called the dress a “bow pas,” while others commented, “No no no no no.” While Lopez was up for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Hustlers, this is one gown that certainly won’t be winning any awards.
Lisa Bonet and husband Jason Momoa earned high praise for their style at the 2020 Golden Globes. Bonet wore a 2019 Fendi embroidered dress with sheer sleeves. Momoa matched velvet lace-up shoes with a velvet Tom Ford jacket and black shirt. In a sweet moment during the ceremony, Momoa was seen giving his velvet jacket to Bonet to help keep her warm. The internet was swooning at the couple’s cuteness.
Jayne Mansfield was a classic Hollywood bombshell and there are numerous daring dresses the actress wore through the years. While many know of Mansfield and actress Sophia Loren’s iconic images together from a 1957 20th Century Fox party, 1961 saw Mansfield in her most daring Golden Globes dress. Pictured here is Mansfield in a low-cut, lace embroidered dress as she laughs with husband Mickey Hargitay.
Back in the 1990s, Heather Locklear was one of the hottest actresses around, both in the “looks department” as well as in her talent on screen. For four straight years (1994-97), Locklear was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama for Melrose Place. Though she never won, Locklear did win the red carpet in 1996 with this stunning shimmering gray dress and up-do.
Madonna has made a career out of daring looks, so it’s no surprise that she went full bore at the 1997 Golden Globes. The singer was in attendance for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for Evita. She eventually won and gave everyone an opportunity to see her incredibly voluptuous figure in a low-cut black dress.
Michelle Williams made a statement in a purple Givenchy gown, strutting the red carpet with a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Brokeback Mountain that year. The color made it daring, but those multiple tiers topped off her standout look.
Sarah Michelle Gellar wore a show-stopping Monique Lhuillier Spring 2012 gown. Everyone on the red carpet took notice of the bold blue watercolor print and draping layers. Gellar noted that her daughter, who was 2 years old at the time, chose her dress. You can blame this one on her daughter.
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