Movember: 9 of the most glorious moustaches from history
November is also unofficially known as ‘Movember‘ as people all over the world attempt to grow a moustache to raise money and awareness around men’s health issues – focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.
Whether it’s a big and bushy style or something more sleek and understated, moustaches can become someone’s defining feature – and here are some of the famous faces who have made a moustache theirs…
1. Albert Einstein
Of course, scientist Albert Einstein is best known for coming up with the theory of relativity and the equation E=mc2, but one of his physical defining features was a bushy moustache. Einstein’s tache perfectly matched his shaggy hair, and has helped make him a classic costume for any fancy dress party.
2. Charlie Chaplin
Silent movie star Charlie Chaplin popularised the so-called ‘toothbrush moustache’ – a style where the hair on the upper lip is shaved at the edges. In later years Adolf Hitler adopted the same style, and there’s been much discussion over whether he was inspired by the comedian. Whatever his motivations, Chaplin used the similarities to his advantage and played Hitler in the 1940 satirical film The Great Dictator.
3. Clark Gable
Gable pictured with Jean Harlow
Actors like Clark Gable in the 1930s and 40s helped make thin, well-oiled and highly groomed moustaches the must-have style for Hollywood heartthrobs at the time.
4. Frida Kahlo
Artist Frida Kahlo is the only woman to make our list, probably because female facial hair is historically seen as ‘dirty’ and something to be waxed, shaved or plucked away. By refusing to shave off her moustache or pluck between her eyebrows, Kahlo made way for a new kind of femininity; one that isn’t defined by its hairlessness.
5. Salvador Dalí
Few people have made a moustache more of a trademark look than artist Salvador Dalí. The aggressively gelled-up style was known as ’10 past 10′, and the artist was so proud of it that he even wrote a book called Dalí’s Moustache. The OTT and bizarre nature of the moustache was the perfect match for his surrealist art.
When Dalí’s body was exhumed in 2017 as part of a paternity case, Narcis Bardalet, who was in charge of the operation, told the RAC1 radio station: “His moustache appeared at 10 past 10 exactly”.
6. Freddie Mercury
Queen singer Freddie Mercury helped make the chevron moustache cool. In classic rock star attitude, he once said at a concert: “A lot of people hate it – I don’t give a f*** actually”.
7. Tom Selleck
Over the years, a solid moustache has often been perceived as a sign of ‘manliness’ – no doubt helped by icons like Tom Selleck, who became as well known for his bushy yet well-groomed facial hair as he was for roles as police officers and private investigators on TV.
8. Prince
In stark contrast to the uber-manly bushy moustache of Tom Selleck is Prince’s favourite facial hair: the pencil moustache. This is a much thinner, barely-there style which looks like it’s been drawn on by a pencil. Prince wore his set just above the lip and curving down the sides of his mouth. As opposed to a ‘macho’ moustache, this fitted better with Prince’s androgynous style.
9. Hulk Hogan
We’re not saying WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan has set many trends with his facial hair, but he definitely has got one of the most recognisable moustaches around. Known as a horseshoe moustache, Hogan’s favoured style is full, over the lip, with vertical lines down either side of the mouth.
The Press Association
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