#29. Donna Kelley

The Ultimate 50

29. Donna Kelley

2010 Update

Donna is still at the anchor desk in Bozeman, but occasionally stepping outside the studio. She did a couple of basketball moves with a Harlem Globetrotter in March, as a light wind blew. But this is as far as her Super-Hair moved out of position. She swept almost all her bangs to the left, and seemed to round-brush them so they wouldn't drop down.

But we were surprised to find Donna's hair sometimes looks a bit messy during newscasts. This moment from 13 July shows long bangs inside her glasses -- perhaps only one inch away from hitting the left eye, and bringing the Super-Hair down to defeat! Yet to her credit, it didn't move beyond that. From what we've seen, Donna's remains undefeated - but you can keep track, as nightly newscasts are posted at her station's website.

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2008 Update

Donna remains at "Montana's News Station" in Bozeman -- and the station has added video clips, so you see her at work on the air. We called up a Sunday interview show and found this down-to-earth classic look. It's brushed in an old-fashioned TV screen shape around the face, with bangs split on either side. The right-side bangs appear longer and very close to her eye....

.... long enough that when she lowers her head to check her notes, they seem to be in front of her glasses. They got around a blocking device, but are fractions away from being long enough to fall in her right eye.

A side view of the hair shows she may tuck a little hair behind her ears for security as well. You really can't tell where the bangs "end" and longer hair begins. She's still worth checking, after all these years - especially as trim time for those bangs approaches.

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2007 Update

A long search for Donna is over - and it ends where perhaps we should have begun in the first place. A visitor to Super-Hair informed us she's back home in Bozeman, Montana, anchoring the evening news. An online check found Donna's lived there quietly since 2001.

We couldn't find a full picture of her on the station's web site. But this chopped version from the top of the home page indicates she has the classic helmet look we came to admire years ago - temptingly long on the sides, but with well-cut bangs on the forehead. We thank our readers for a wonderful tip!

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2006 Update

We're sorry to say there's nothing new to say about this great head of hair. A CNN blog in late 2004 seemed to confirm Donna was working in Orlando -- but when we checked that station's web site in April, her name was no longer listed.

Perhaps, as one web site has suggested, Donna's happy to be a housewife now. If you spot this woman, please contact us so we can provide a new look at this Super-Style.

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2004 Update

We found a "Donna Kelley" recently doing radio news in Orlando. You can guess what our question was -- but to this point, our e-mail to her has not been returned.

If not for that possibility, Kelley remains away from TV and seemingly retired from journalism. Even former CNN anchor partner Patrick Emory has written us, asking where she might be. Certainly we miss a style like this one, captured when she co-hosted CNN's "Week in Review" -- parted off-center, with bangs almost playfully across the forehead and long hair delicately positioned well off the face.

At least a few web sites still offer streaming video of Kelley's hair at its best. Ariel Dynamics has one of them.

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2002 Update

In recent years Donna has taken chances with her basic helmet. Here it's a sidepart, not centered, with bangs which definitely look long enough to fall in her eyes. We still haven't seen the hair go down, though -- mainly because her strands have good raw strength. (Don't overlook the glasses; frames can be a good, overlooked resting place of last resort for drooping bangs.)

Donna is gone from CNN today -- and for all we know is off TV completely. We had trouble finding current pictures of her; if you have any, please let us know. At least we found our photo for this page on a web site devoted to attractive newscasters.

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