History AdaptationDyeJob / Literature

* In ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'', Jasmine was described as having black hair, but has [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green hair]] in the [[Anime/DeltoraQuest Anime]]. Similarly, Lief was assumed to be a brunet, but became blond-haired in the [[Anime/DeltoraQuest Anime]].

** He described Herbert West as being blond in the original story, ''Literature/HerbertWestReanimator'', but thanks to Creator/JeffreyCombs's inimitable portrayal in ''Film/ReAnimator'', any work featuring him is bound to have him with brown hair (aside from the bizarre HumongousMecha anime ''VisualNovel/{{Demonbane}}'' in which it was [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green]]).

** Christine is also accurately blonde in the [[MobilePhoneGame Mobile]] ''Phantom of the Opera'' game by [=MazM=]. Although inexplicably she also has ''[[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue]]'' tips to her hair. The same game gives Raoul bisque colored hair while in the book and other adaptations he's got darker hair.

* In the original novel ''Film/{{Emmanuelle}}: Pleasures of a Woman'', Bee is described as an extremely slender redhead. In TheMovie, she was portrayed as a voluptuous blonde.

** Speaking of brown hair, [[Literature/TheHauntedMask Carly Beth]] and [[TheCuckooClockOfDoom Michael Webster]] are stated to have brown hair in their books but they're blonde in the TV series.

* Hannah Fairchild in the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' has blonde hair in the books, is a redhead in the TV series and dark brown hair in the movies.

* In the 2015-17 PBS TV film series of ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'', Diana Barry, rather than having RavenHairIvorySkin and blue eyes, is a brown-eyed auburn-ish brunette.

* ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'': The Grinch had white fur in the book, but the [[WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas 1966 cartoon]] gave him green fur, a trait which carried over to all future adaptations.

** ''Film/It2017'' is more accurate to book despite Bill again having brown hair instead of red, Pennywise’s clown suit is sliver like in the book though his fluffy buttons are red instead of orange. Most importantly Beverly hair is redheaded at last, the only change being she cuts her red long hair to [[BoyishShortHair short red hair]] after her [[PervertDad creepy dad]] strokes her hair; which is a good [[JustifiedTrope justification]].

** In the books, Haymitch is described as having dark hair, typical of the Seam. In the film version, he is blonde.

* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', Annabeth was described as having curly blonde hair. In the movies, she's brunette. All demigod children of Athena were supposed to be blondes with gray eyes.

** Gandalf is described as having a blue wizard hat in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of The Rings'' and David Wenzel's painted graphic novel of ''The Hobbit'' and the 1978 animated ''The Lord of the Rings'' film give Gandalf a blue hat accordingly, but in the film trilogy Gandalf has a grey hat. To be fair to the Peter Jackson films, it is more line with Gandalf's "grey" motif.

* ''Literature/JamesBond'' has gotten this, in the books Bond is described as having black hair but the Roger Moore and Daniel Craig portrayals are lighter haired with the latter bordering on blonde. Also Bond also has "blue-grey" eyes in the books but Sean Connery and George Lazenby had brown eyes.

** Prince Caspian was also a blond in the books, but brunet in the film.

** The titular MonsterClown is also subject to a dye-job as Pennywise’s clown suit is actually silver white in the book but Tim Curry’s clown suit in the Miniseries is yellow, green and purple. Though to be fair Muti-colours are more common for RealLife clowns.

* Many casts of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' have someone who doesn't have the right hair colour as described in [[Literature/LesMiserables the book]].
** Enjolras should have blond hair, though many actors such as Michael Maguire do not.
** Cosette should have dark hair, whereas in the 25th anniversary tour and Broadway productions and on the current London stage she is blonde. A lot of productions do manage to use a blonde wig for Fantine though.

** Fantine is changed from blonde to brunette in the above adaptation, while the brunette Cosette once again becomes a blonde.
** Eponine is dark-haired in most stage productions and the 2012 film, whereas Victor Hugo refers to the child Eponine as having chestnut/auburn hair, and describes her teenage self later in the story as having a "blonde pallor" –- though the latter description might only refer to her sallow complexion, not her hair.

** Dwalin had a blue beard in the book, but has a dark brown beard in the films.

* Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's musical adaptation of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'':

** Teri Polo, from the [[Series/ThePhantomOfTheOpera 1990 TV-miniseries]] is one of the few accurate physical portrayals of Christine.
** Christine is also accurately blonde in the [[MobilePhoneGame Mobile]] ''Phantom of the Opera'' game by [=MazM=]. Although inexplicably she also has ''[[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue]]'' tips to her hair.

** Also in the graphic novels, Tom's hair looks light brown or ginger, instead of being very dark brown like in the books.

** Buttercup the cat, named for the color of his coat, is for some reason black and white in the movie. [[FanDumb Cue fan outrage]]. This led to him being [[TheOtherDarrin recast in the second movie]].

** Also in the graphic novels, Jake and Tom both have ginger hair, instead of the dark brown and black they're described as having in the books.

* Several of the engines in ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' changed colours when the books were adapted for television in ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'':

** Also in the graphic novels, Jake and Tom both have ginger hair, instead of the dark brown they're described as having in the books.

** Zig-zagged with James; in the novel version of "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", James was painted black when he first came to Sodor, but was painted red after Thomas rescued him from a field that the Troublesome Trucks pushed him into. In [[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS1E7ThomasAndTheBreakdownTrain the TV series adaptation of the story]], James retains his red livery even before the Troublesome Trucks push him into the field. In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventureBegins'', which is a [=CGi=] retelling of the first two ''Railway Series'' books, true to his book counterpart, James spends most of the special in his original black livery, only appearing in his red livery near the very end.

* Tobias from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' is described as blond at the beginning of the series. Then the model they hired to pose as him on the book cover turned up with brown hair, and the author started writing he has dirty-blond hair to make up for it. In the [[Series/{{Animorphs}} TV series adaptation]], he has very dark brown hair. The 2021 graphic novel more accurately depicts Tobias as lighter haired but instead of dirty blond like the author said, he’s as brightly blond as his LoveInterest Rachel.

* Tobias from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' is described as blond at the beginning of the series. Then the model they hired to pose as him on the book cover turned up with brown hair, and the author started writing he has dirty-blond hair to make up for it. In the [[Series/{{Animorphs}} TV series adaptation]], he has very dark brown hair.

* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' books, Millie is a silver tabby. On the manga covers, she's pinkish-brown colored. The illustrator explained that when he got the character outlines, she was only described as a tabby, so he pictured her as rosy brown, didn't find out her real color until he had already colored the cover of the second volume. He discussed with his editor whether to change it, but they decided that it would be dull to have two gray cats next to each other.

* Mei is pink in the AllCGICartoon anime of ''Literature/ArashiNoYoruNi'' instead of white.

** Carrie White is described as having mousy hair that was blonde when she was a child. Creator/BrianDePalma cast redhead Creator/SissySpacek. [[Film/{{Carrie2002}} The 2002 film]] cast brunette Angela Bettis -- and her child self was a brunette too. Creator/ChloeMoretz in Kimberley Pierce's [[Film/{{Carrie2013}} 2013 film]] is closer to the original book.

* ''[[Literature/LandOfOz books]]'':

** though he has darker hair in the book, Richie is the only one who has red hair thanks to being played by Seth Green as a kid but as an adult he becomes a brunet with a moustache which was not present in the book.

* May Welland in ''Literature/TheAgeOfInnocence'' is a blonde (as well as blue-eyed), while Ellen Olenska is dark-haired. This is symbolic, as may s the "good girl", while Ellen is the "bad" one. But when the book was adapted for the screen, May was played by the brunette Winona Ryder, while Ellen was played by the blonde Michelle Pfeiffer.

* ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'': Dorian Gray is an angelic-looking blond in the novel, but it seems to be much more common for films to portray him as a [[TallDarkAndSnarky brunet]]. The [[Film/ThePictureOfDorianGray1945 classic 1945 film version]] starred the dark-haired Hurd Hatfield, and subsequent dark-haired Dorians are probably due to directors going off of that film (and/or assuming that Dorian must look like a ByronicHero) rather than actually reading Wilde's novel.
* In the book ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'', Simon's hair is black. In the 1960's film adaption the character has bleached blond hair.
* In the adaptation of the E.M Forster story ''Literature/{{Maurice}}'' by James Ivory, Maurice is blond rather than dark-haired, even though (as David Leavitt wrote in his introduction to the 2005 Penguin Classics edition of the book) "Forster makes so much of Maurice's hair being black. For Forster, black hair connotes virility."
* In the Literature/HannahSwensen series, the titular character has been noted for her [[SignificantGreenEyedRedhead frizzy red hair and emerald-green eyes]]. In the Hallmark movies, though, she's casted by a blue-eyed blonde. She also has some WeightWoe, which was never transferred to the screen either.
** Mike Kingston, one of Hannah's love interests, had reddish-blond hair, a mustache and blue eyes in the books. In the movies, he's a brown-eyed brunet.
* In ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'':
** Frank Hardy's hair is described as dark and usually drawn as black on the book covers. In the 1970s TV Adaptation ''Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries'', it's inexplicably golden-blonde.
** The eye colors of both brothers also fall into this. In the books, Joe Hardy is blue-eyed. In ''Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries'' Frank has the blue eyes, Joe's hazel, and the show makes a special point of Frank's eye color in several episodes. Not that anyone's complaining, mind...
* ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' has been adapted to video game form and to graphic novel form.
** In one of the games, ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'', the magician Pug - who in the books is described as having dark brown hair and a beard and usually wearing a black robe - has shoulder-length ''blond'' hair, is clean-shaven, and wears a white robe. Similarly, Locklear is described as having wavy blond locks in the book, but in the game his hair is chestnut brown. This is even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when he meets an old friend.
** In the graphic novels, the elf queen Aglaranna - who is described as having reddish-gold hair that contributes to her overall soft and angelic appearance - is given bright ''scarlet'' hair.
* ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'':
** Armand is described as having auburn hair. In TheFilmOfTheBook ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'', he has exceptionally dark brown or black hair. The idea of costuming Antonio Banderas as a "Botticelli angel" would have been patently ridiculous.
** Lestat, who in the novels has very long and blond hair gets a dark pseudo-pageboy cut in the ''Film/QueenOfTheDamned'' movie. And Marius who likewise was supposed to be long-haired blond gets short, slick black hair in the same movie.
** Armand is blond in the ''Film/QueenOfTheDamned'' film, although we only have the WordOfGod that this is him, as he's never named.
** Slightly less distractingly, Louis' jet-black hair became brown in the Interview movie.
* In the novel ''White Oleander'', Claire Richards is a brunette, but in the movie, she's a blonde (and played by Renée Zellweger)
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** In the original book version, Murphy is a tiny blonde. In [[Series/TheDresdenFiles the TV adaptation]], she's a tall brunette. She was Irish-heritaged in the novels and described as the cheerleader's younger sister or some such nonsense. In the series, she was Mexican-heritaged and not at all as cute as the book version was.
** Susan and Murphy look like each other's book counterparts because the actresses were determined to be much better for each other's roles than the roles for which they were initially cast.
* ''Literature/{{Coraline}}'':
** Not much is said about Coraline's appearance in the book, except that she has hazel colored eyes, is short for her age, and has brown hair. In [[WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}} the movie]] her eyes are the same as in the book, she has freckles on her face, she is rather tall for her age, her hair is short and blue, and she always wears blue nail polish. There's a blink and you'll miss it shot of a photo showing Coraline with brown hair, implying she dyed it.
** Coraline in the graphic novel has parted light brown hair that goes past her shoulders. In most official illustrations of the book Coraline has darker hair in a bob haircut, though the length varies.
* Creator/HPLovecraft:
** He described Herbert West as being blond in the original story, ''Literature/HerbertWestReanimator'', but thanks to Creator/JeffreyCombs's inimitable portrayal in ''Film/ReAnimator'', any work featuring him is bound to have him with brown hair (aside from the bizarre HumongousMecha anime ''VisualNovel/{{Demonbane}}'' in which it was [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green]]).
** [[Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard Charles Dexter Ward]] was blond, but both [[LovecraftOnFilm film]] [[TheFilmOfTheBook adaptations]] give him dark hair.
* Steven King’s ''Literature/{{IT}}'', oh boy let’s start with the [[Film/It1990 1990 adaptation]] first.
** Bill has red hair in the book, which is one of the [[LookALikeLovers reasons]] why the also red-headed Beverly is attracted to him. In the 90s version Bill is played by the late Jonathan Brandis who had light brown-blondish hair.
*** Bill was also balding as a adult in the book, but ironically has freaking a ponytail as adult in the 90s adaptation.
** Beverly herself has pronounced red auburn hair in book with it being mentioned numerous times but both actresses who play her as a kid and adult are brunette. It gets even worse as Bill’s wife Audra has red hair like Bev in the book (which was the reason why Bill was attracted to her) but Audra has dark hair in the Miniseries.
** though he has darker hair in the book, Richie is the only one who has red hair thanks to being played by Seth Green as a kid but as an adult he becomes a brunet with a moustache which was not present in the book.
** The titular MonsterClown is also subject to a dye-job as Pennywise’s clown suit is actually silver white in the book but Tim Curry’s clown suit in the Miniseries is yellow, green and purple. Though to be fair Muti-colours are more common for RealLife clowns.
** ''Film/It2017'' is more accurate to book despite Bill again having brown hair instead of red, Pennywise’s clown suit is sliver like in the book though his fluffy buttons are red instead of orange. Most importantly Beverly hair is redheaded at last, the only change being she cuts her red long hair to [[BoyishShortHair short red hair]] after her [[PervertDad creepy dad]] strokes her hair; which is a good [[JustifiedTrope justification]].

** Carrie White is described as having mousy hair that was blonde when she was a child. Creator/BrianDePalma cast redhead Creator/SissySpacek. [[Film/{{Carrie2002}} The 2002 film]] cast brunette Angela Bettis - and her child self was a brunette too. Creator/ChloeMoretz in Kimberley Pierce's [[Film/{{Carrie2013}} 2013 film]] is closer to the original book.

* There is some confusion about Tycho Celchu's hair color in the ''Literature/XWingSeries''. In the comics, it's almost always blond. In the novels, by the three authors who will include him, sometimes it's blond, sometimes it's pale brown. It's never been directly addressed, but fans generally speculate that since these discrepancies never take place very soon after each other, it's because he has had time to either dye it or allow it to be bleached by sunlight.

*** Of the four Pevensies, the only one to keep her original hair color in the films is the dark-haired Susan – the one who, in the books, eventually abandons Narnia for "lipstick and nylons and invitations." If the complete series had been adapted, as was presumably intended at first, [[UnfortunateImplications this would have meant]] that the two lighter-haired siblings, Peter and Lucy, [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold were ultimately the more purely good ones]], while the two darker-haired ones, Susan and Edmund [[DarkIsEvil were the two darker characters too.]] But as it turned out, the film series was cut short before it could reach Susan's fall from grace.

** The 1980s BBC adaptation also has a blondish-haired Peter and brunette Lucy. Its version of Susan is blonde too.

* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' books:
** Zaphod is blond and Ford is redheaded. In [[Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy the TV series]], they both have dark hair, and in [[Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy the movie]], Zaphod is blond again but Ford is [[RaceLift played by Mos Def]]. (In the original [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy radio serial]], hair colours aren't mentioned, being rather irrelevant on radio.) Mark Wing-Davey, who played Zaphod on radio and TV, is quoted as saying that he ''said'' he thought Zaph was "a blond beach bum" (with the implication that he'd have been quite happy to wear a wig), but the producer/director (Alan Bell) wasn't listening to anyone involved in the radio show.
** The illustrated book also has a dark-haired actor playing Zaphod. This gets {{lampshade|Hanging}}d: the description of him as blond has a footnote added to it saying that anyone perceiving him as otherwise is probably suffering from Mad Human Disease.
** In the book series, Trillian was described with dark hair. When the series came to television, she was played by blonde American Sandra Dickinson. This was done on advice of Creator/DouglasAdams himself, who liked Dickinson on the role.
* In the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' book series, Darken Rahl is described as having distinctly blond hair, but has black hair in ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker''. Flashbacks of his father Panis Rahl have him be with entirely white hair.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Literature/TheHobbit'':
** Boromir and Faramir are described as having dark hair. For the movies they were given light brown hair, bordering on blond. This is purely because they needed a way to make Boromir and the dark-haired Aragorn instantly visually distinguishable, and [[WesternAnimation/TheLordOfTheRings putting Boromir in a Viking helmet]] had been ruled out.
** Legolas has dark hair in the books, depending on your interpretation.
** Sam and Merry both have fairly blond hair in the films, whereas in the books blond Hobbits are a rarity.
** Frodo had blond hair in the books. This is even mentioned as a way to distinguish him from other hobbits, but in the films he got brunet hair that borders on black in some scenes.
** Kíli in ''Film/TheHobbit'' film trilogy has dark hair in contrast to the blond hair he originally shares with his brother Fíli in the book.
** Tauriel's counterpart in the book (the unnamed captain of the Elven guard) is unlikely to have had red hair, going by Tolkien's lore.
** Dwalin had a blue beard in the book, but has a dark brown beard in the films.
* In the ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'' book, Sophie has "reddish straw-colored" hair. In [[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle the animated movie]], she has brown hair. Also, in the scene where Howl throws a fit because Sophie messed up all his hair potions, his hair was supposed to go from "mud" to the "reddish straw" thing (but pinker), but ended up getting from a yellow-blond to... wet-colored yellow-blond. Then to black because he throws a fit.
* Marisa Coulter is described as having black hair in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'', but is played by blonde Creator/NicoleKidman in [[Film/TheGoldenCompass the film of the book]]. WordOfGod is that Pullman liked this better anyway.

* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'':
** Arya has black hair. In the [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie]], she inexplicably has blonde hair. This, when combined with her human features, makes it impossible to tell she is an elf (except for the fact that early in the film it is directly mentioned she is, which just reinforces the idea that otherwise, nobody would work that out). The changes of hair and ears were reportedly because the director feared a confusion with Literature/TheLordOfTheRings' Arwen. Which is especially funny in the latter case, as Tolkien never said his elves had pointed ears in the published texts (the only hint comes from a tiny note in an etymological dictionary about his {{ConLang}}s).
** Eragon. The books described him having brown hair and eyes, but in the movies, he is blond-haired and blue-eyed.
** Murtagh is supposed to have brown hair in book 1. In the movie they gave him black hair. In book 3, his description backs up the movies.
* ''[[Literature/LandOfOz Oz books]]'':
** Princess Ozma's hair is described specifically: "tresses of ruddy gold, with a slender jeweled circlet confining them at the brow." However, in John R. Neill's illustrations, her hair is either colored brown or black, aside from ''The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (where it's blonde). Whether this is intentional (to distinguish Ozma from the blonde Dorothy Gale) or simply a printer error is debatable, but most modern Oz fans, authors, and illustrators portray her with brown hair or, rarely, black. The "slender circlet" became much thicker in the illos, and was attached to a crown on top of her head. Ozma's hair was only described ''once'', on her original (re)appearance. After that, well, maybe [[AWizardDidIt The Wizard Did It]]. Ozma was blonde in both ''Film/ReturnToOz'' and ''WesternAnimation/DorothyAndTheWizardOfOz'', but not a reddish blonde.
** Dorothy may or may not count as an example in [[Film/TheWizardofOz the classic 1939 film]]. Her hair color is never mentioned in the books: the original illustrator, W.W. Denslow, gave her light brown hair, but John R. Neill, as mentioned above, made her blonde. Onscreen, she's played by brunette Judy Garland with her hair dyed auburn. Since then almost all adaptations give Dorothy dark brown or auburn hair.
** The slippers were silver in the original book; they were changed to red to take advantage of the new colour technology. Many other adaptations keep them silver, often became they're unable to use the more iconic red design due to copyright issues.
** Glinda is described as a redhead, however in most adaptations besides [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the MGM film]] she is a blonde. In at least ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'''s cases this is because MGM has a veto on Glinda as a redhead. It works in their favor because Glinda is a subversion of the DumbBlonde trope and also because it clashes her with the black haired Elphaba.
** The Wicked Witch of the West has a SicklyGreenGlow in the MGM film and most adaptations (including ''Literature/{{Wicked}}''). In the books, it's never mentioned what her skin colour is, however she lives in the part of Oz where yellow is the main colour (and her castle in decked in yellow). Most likely, she has a yellow-based design. Official art for the books depict the Wicked Witch of the West with a normal, pale skin tone and a red-and-yellow outfit.
* In ''Literature/TheWorstWitch'', Enid Nightshade went from being blonde in the books to having brown hair in the tv series. In the earlier television movie, Mildred (black hair) and Maud (blonde) both turned brunette.
* ''Literature/TheVampireDiaries'' books:
** Elena was blonde. In the TV show, she is played by the dark-haired Creator/NinaDobrev.
** This extends to Caroline, who was a brunette in the books
* Alba from ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife'' is specifically and repeatedly described as having curly black hair. That's important because she is supposed to take after her father physically. Nevertheless, her movie version has straight blonde-ish hair.
* May Welland in ''Literature/TheAgeOfInnocence'' is a blonde (as well as blue-eyed), while Ellen Olenska is dark-haired. This is symbolic, as may s the "good girl", while Ellen is the "bad" one. But when the book was adapted for the screen, May was played by the brunette Winona Ryder, while Ellen was played by the blonde Michelle Pfeiffer.
* Averted with the casting of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara -- despite the numerous references to Scarlett's black hair, a number of blonde and redheaded actresses were considered for the role, but ultimately they went for a dark-haired woman. Played straight with her eye color, however: Leigh's eyes were blue, whereas O'Hara's were green. The filmmakers made some bad attempts to disguise this, though.
* Meggie's golden-red hair is referred to countless times throughout the novel "The Thorn Birds", but in the TV miniseries adaptation, she is played by the brunette Sydney Penny (as a child) and Rachel Ward (as an adult). Her daughter Justine is also a red-head, but played by the brown-haired Mare Winningham.

* Inspector Tommy Lynley went from blond in Elizabeth George's novels to being played by brunet Creator/NathanielParker in [[Series/InspectorLynley the TV series]]. Frumpy Sergeant Barbara Havers was given a [[AdaptationalAttractiveness complete upgrade]] in the casting of Creator/SharonSmall.
* In ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'', Jasmine was described as having black hair, but has [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green hair]] in the [[Anime/DeltoraQuest Anime]]. Similarly, Lief was assumed to be a brunet, but became blond-haired in the [[Anime/DeltoraQuest Anime]].
** On the same note Doom has green hair as well, [[spoiler: just in case it wasn’t super obvious [[StrongFamilyResemblance he and Jasmine]] were related]].
* The eponymous character of ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' has blue eyes [[spoiler:initially. An eye swap with Holly in ''The Lost Colony'' gave him a hazel eye]]. In the (admittedly black and white) graphic novels his eyes are black.
** Holly’s hair was described as auburn in the books, in the graphic novels she’s a brunette.
* In the first book of ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' series, Mia is described as being "dishwater blonde" and after a makeover her hair is trimmed short. In [[Film/ThePrincessDiaries the movies]], she's played by brunette Anne Hathaway and her frizzy hair is straightened but stays long.
* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', Annabeth was described as having curly blonde hair. In the movies, she's brunette. All demigod children of Athena were supposed to be blondes with gray eyes.
** Percy was supposed to have black hair and green eyes, but he in the film his eyes are blue.
* The TV series ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'' had a few instances of this. During the first season, the blonde Madeline Bassett was portrayed by a brunette. Both actresses who were cast as the platinum blonde Florence Craye were also brunettes. Finally, the hair of the actress who portrayed Bobbie Wickham during the first season could hardly be described as a vivid shade of red (or any shade of red unless you squinted really hard).
* Franchise/{{Sharpe}} had black hair in the books and was from London, but blonde [[OopNorth Yorkshireman]] Creator/SeanBean was cast in the title role for the TV adaptation. Bernard Cornwell was sufficiently taken with Bean's portrayal that later books retconned Sharpe's accent and backstory, but there wasn't much he could do about the hair.
* In ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'', King Rudolf, Rudolf Rassendyll, and Princess Flavia, like all the [[RoyalBlood Elphbergs]], have red hair; in the [[Film/ThePrisonerOfZenda 1939 film]], both Rudolfs are (probably) brunets (or at least one brunet, Ronald Colman) and Flavia has become "golden-haired goddess" Madeleine Carroll.
* In the novella ''Literature/BreakfastAtTiffanys'', Holly is blonde. [[Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys The movie]] decides to make Holly brunette.
* In Lloyd Alexander's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'', Princess Eilonwy is a redhead and Fflewddur Fflam was described as having "straw-colored hair." The [[WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron Disney version]] made her blonde in all sense of the word while ageing him thirty years and giving him white hair.
* Averted in Creator/WaltDisney's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. Snow White has hair "as black as ebony," just as described by the Brothers Grimm, as well as brown eyes. However, there do exist numerous pre-production drawings from the film, which show that the Disney animators originally considered giving her blue eyes and blonde hair or red hair. It seems the artists had a hard time deciding on [[BlondeBrunetteRedhead one of the standard three hair colors]].
* In the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' film Edward's "bronze" and reddish brown hair looks browner than described in the books. The manga keeps his hair reddish.
* The Literature/PrettyLittleLiars - all of them - in [[Series/PrettyLittleLiars the television series.]]
* Tobias from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' is described as blond at the beginning of the series. Then the model they hired to pose as him on the book cover turned up with brown hair, and the author started writing he has dirty-blond hair to make up for it. In the [[Series/{{Animorphs}} TV series adaptation]], he has very dark brown hair.

* WesternAnimation/AngelinaBallerina has white fur in the original books and first cartoon, but has pink fur in the CGI cartoon.
* Blond-haired Chloe Steele and Nicolae Carpathia from the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' book series got darker hair in the films.
* ''Literature/VanityFair'': The redheaded Becky Sharpe becomes a blonde in the 2004 film version.
* [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen La]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTarzan'' is actually given tanned skin and white hair in order to keep the fact that she is originally from {{Atlantis}}.
* Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's musical adaptation of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'':
** Christine became a brunette instead of a blonde, probably so Sarah Brightman could play her.
** The Lloyd Webber musical [[OlderThanTheyThink wasn't the first version]] to invoke this: Mary Philbin, who played opposite Lon Chaney in the silent film, was also brunette.
** The costume designer may have actually had the silent film in mind, given that both silent movie!Christine and her stage musical counterpart aren't just brunette, but have cascading frizzy curls.
** Meg in the original novel was brunette and became a blonde in the musical.
** All of the above applies only to the original Harold Prince/Maria Björnson production of the musical, as seen in London and on Broadway. In the Hungarian production of the show, Meg is sometimes brunette. Chrsitine is sometimes blonde. It all depends on the actresses.
** Teri Polo, from the [[Series/ThePhantomOfTheOpera 1990 TV-miniseries]] is one of the few accurate physical portrayals of Christine.
** Christine is also accurately blonde in the [[MobilePhoneGame Mobile]] ''Phantom of the Opera'' game by [=MazM=]. Although inexplicably she also has ''[[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue]]'' tips to her hair.
* Many casts of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' have someone who doesn't have the right hair colour as described in [[Literature/LesMiserables the book]].
** Enjolras should have blond hair, though many actors such as Michael Maguire do not.
** Cosette should have dark hair, whereas in the 25th anniversary tour and Broadway productions and on the current London stage she is blonde. A lot of productions do manage to use a blonde wig for Fantine though.
** Dark-haired Marius is a redhead in [[Film/LesMiserables2012 the 2012 movie adaptation]].
** Fantine is changed from blonde to brunette in the above adaptation, while the brunette Cosette once again becomes a blonde.
** Eponine is dark-haired in most stage productions and the 2012 film, whereas Victor Hugo refers to the child Eponine as having chestnut/auburn hair, and describes her teenage self later in the story as having a "blonde pallor" – though the latter description might only refer to her sallow complexion, not her hair.
* It's not mentioned often in the novel, but in ''Literature/TheDevilWearsPrada'' Andrea is blonde. In the movie she is played by the dark-haired Creator/AnneHathaway.
* In ''Literature/TheKiteRunner'', Assef is mixed race (Afghan and white German) and is stated to be blond. In the movie he has black hair. Him being blond is a minor plot point in the novel, since he is said to be a Nazi who thinks that he is superior. His Nazism is downplayed in the movie, however.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow'': In the original books, Mr. Quiet and Miss Magic were light brown and Mr. Lazy was light pink; in the show, Mr. Quiet is light blue, Mr. Lazy is green, and Miss Magic is orange.
* In the movie version of ''Film/GoingPostal'', Vetinari is blond. This is a strange example though; his hair color isn't mentioned specifically in the books but the general assumption is that he has dark hair and the illustrations certainly show that. So even if it wasn't actually a contradiction, it was still weird for many readers to see a blond Vetinari. (Especially as [[TheOtherDarrin he was dark haired]] in [[Film/TheColourOfMagic the previous movie]].)

* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' books, Millie is a silver tabby. On the manga covers, she's pinkish-brown colored. The illustrator explained that when he got the character outlines, she was only described as a tabby, so he pictured her as rosy brown, didn't find out her real color until he had already colored the cover of the second volume. He discussed with his editor whether to change it, but they decided that it would be dull to have two gray cats next to each other.

* Willy Wonka in ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' is something of a RummageSaleReject with his StageMagician-esque outfit: plum tailcoat, green trousers, grey gloves, black top hat. He also has black hair and a goatee. Most adaptations, including the two films, go with more color-coordinated costumes, and lose the black hair and goatee (often going with the actor's natural hair color instead, as with Gene Wilder in the 1971 film), possibly because the color and style are usually [[BeardOfEvil associated with villains]]. [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory The 2013 stage musical]], however, averts this.
* Several of the engines in ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' changed colours when the books were adapted for television in ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'':
** Donald and Douglas arrived on Sodor painted black in the books, then were painted blue when the Fat Controller decided to keep both of them. They remained black in the TV series.
** The Skarloey Railway engines were all (apart from Rusty the Diesel) painted red with blue stripes in the books. To help younger fans tell them apart, the TV series gave them different colours. Skarloey and Rheneas kept their original colours, but Sir Handel was blue, Peter Sam green, Rusty orange and Duncan yellow.
** Zig-zagged with James; in the novel version of "Thomas and the Breakdown Train", James was painted black when he first came to Sodor, but was painted red after Thomas rescued him from a field that the Troublesome Trucks pushed him into. In [[Recap/ThomasTheTankEngineS1E7ThomasAndTheBreakdownTrain the TV series adaptation of the story]], James retains his red livery even before the Troublesome Trucks push him into the field. In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventureBegins'', which is a [=CGi=] retelling of the first two ''Railway Series'' books, true to his book counterpart, James spends most of the special in his original black livery, only appearing in his red livery near the very end.

* ''Literature/VampireAcademy'':
** In the book, Natalie Dashkov has black hair, in [[Film/VampireAcademy the film]], her hair is brown.
** Sonya Carp is a redhead in the books. In [[Film/VampireAcademy the film]] her hair is dark brown.
* The blue eyes linked to seeing beyond in ''Literature/TheGiver'' are not mentioned in [[Film/TheGiver the film]], and the indicator is instead a BirthmarkOfDestiny. Although Music/TaylorSwift and the babies who play Gabe retain their paler eyes, Jonas has brown eyes instead of blue.
* Literature/{{Tarzan}} has black hair. While some actors/portrayals like Creator/JohnnyWeissmuller match, some don't (Creator/ChristopherLambert, [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} the Disney film]], etc)
* Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian has black hair. While this is kept in the comics and the cartoon, his most famous portrayer in the movies Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger has brown hair.
* In ''Literature/MaximumRide'' both Max and Iggy were blonde ([[SeriesContinuityError or in Max’s case occasionally brunette]]) but in ''ComicBook/MaxRideFirstFlight'' they are both redheads.

* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'':
** Elena and Katherine were both originally blondes in the books. They are brunettes on the show.
** Caroline is a red head in the book series, but is blonde on the show.
** Bonnie is originally a pale-skinned, redhead in the books, but she is African-American with black hair and darker skin on the show.
* Grandmother in ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic'' has grey hair in the books (and it turns out to be a wig) but is red-haired in the film.
* In the original novel ''Literature/TheBonfireOfTheVanities'', Maria Ruskin is a mysterious, willowy brunette. In the movie, she's played by the very blonde and voluptuous Creator/MelanieGriffith.
* In ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', Djali is white with glided horns. In the Burbank Films Australia [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameBurbankAnimation adaptation]], however, she is brown.
* Literature/{{Matilda}} is a brunette in the book and [[Film/{{Matilda}} film]], but [[Theatre/{{Matilda}} the musical]]'s 2015-2016 US touring production had the blonde Mabel Tyler as one of the actresses playing her.
* In the original novel ''Film/{{Emmanuelle}}: Pleasures of a Woman'', Bee is described as an extremely slender redhead. In TheMovie, she was portrayed as a voluptuous blonde.
* This has happened ''twice'' to Sophie from ''Literature/TheBFG''. In the book, she had long blonde hair. In [[WesternAnimation/TheBFG the animated film]], she had short red hair, and in [[Film/TheBFG the 2016 live-action adaptation]], she has short brown hair.
* ''Literature/LittleWomen'':
** The 1978 TV version changes both Meg and Beth from brunette to blonde. Instead of Amy standing out as the only blonde sister, Jo stands out as the only brunette one.
** The 1980 anime version gives the brunette Jo blonde hair, the blonde Amy brown hair, the brunette Beth red hair, and the brunette Meg black hair.
** [[Film/LittleWomen2019 The 2019 film]] gives both Jo and Beth different shades of strawberry blonde hair.
* The anime adaptation of ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'' changed the hairstyles of most of the characters.

* Umino and Nagisa both have purple hair in the ''Manga/SatouKashiNoDanganWaUchinukenai'' light novels. In the manga adaptation Umino has black hair while Nagisa has a dark brown. Nagisa's hair is also shortened in the manga.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
** In the books, Haymitch is described as having dark hair, typical of the Seam. In the film version, he is blonde.
** Buttercup the cat, named for the color of his coat, is for some reason black and white in the movie. [[FanDumb Cue fan outrage]]. This led to him being [[TheOtherDarrin recast in the second movie]].
* In ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'', Camille Belcourt's silver blond hair and green eyes were given extra attention because of how striking they made her look. In ''Series/{{Shadowhunters}}'', she's dark-haired and dark-eyed.

* Mei is pink in the AllCGICartoon anime of ''Literature/ArashiNoYoruNi'' instead of white.

* In ''La dame aux camélias'' (aka ''Camille''), Marguerite has black hair, like her real-life inspiration Marie Duplessis. The famous 1936 film version stars the honey blonde/golden brown haired Greta Garbo, the 1984 TV version has the same-named and similar hair-colored Greta Scacchi, Violetta's hair color in the opera ''Theatre/LaTraviata'' depends on the soprano, and in ''Film/MoulinRouge'' (not quite a straight ''Camille'' adaptation, but clearly inspired by it) Nicole Kidman's Satine is a redhead.
* In ''Literature/BridgeToTerabithia'', Leslie is described as a brunette girl with BoyishShortHair. The 1985 adaptation keeps this, however the 2007 adaptation has her as a blonde with medium-length hair.
* ''Literature/{{Hatchet}}'''s Brian Robeson is depicted as a brunet on the book cover, but the 1990 TV film, ''A Cry in the Wild'', makes him a blonde.
* ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'':
** Rabbit's fur was brown in the illustrations of the A.A. Milne novels, but the Disney adaptations gave him yellow fur (with the exception of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'', where he has ''light green'' fur).
** Eeyore has dark grey fur and a light gray muzzle in the original novel, movies and shows, but in most modern promotional artwork and merchandise he is depicted with blue fur and a flesh-colored muzzle, possibly to make him more noticeable and appealing to young children.
* In ''Literature/IAmNotASerialKiller'', Brooke is a blonde but she is a brunette in the film.
* In the 2015-17 PBS TV film series of ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'', Diana Barry, rather than having RavenHairIvorySkin and blue eyes, is a brown-eyed auburn-ish brunette.
* The resident White Deer Park foxes in ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'' are the normal red-orange fox color in the books, but are blue-gray in the animated series - this is presumably so that they can be easily visually distinguished from the orange fox main characters.
* Hannah Fairchild in the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' has blonde hair in the books, is a redhead in the TV series and dark brown hair in the movies.
* ''Film/MortalEngines'':
** Katherine Valentine was black haired in [[Literature/MortalEngines the book]], but blonde in the film.
** In the novel it's established that all of London's engineers are kept bald, and this includes Bevis Pod who in the film has black hair with grey flecks.
** In a more fantastical example, the {{cyborg}} Strike lacks the dreadlocks made out of cables that he had in the books.
* Most adaptations of ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' have Alice with blond hair, as per the original book illustrations. ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'', on the other hand, gives her brown hair, which is actually more accurate to the real Alice Liddell.
* ''Literature/TheBeastPlayer'':
** The second volume of the original Japanese novels describes Elin's hair as straw-colored. Itoe Takemoto depicts her with dark hair in the manga and the illustrations of the Aoi Tori Bunko versions of the novels. The anime gives her green hair to match her green eyes.
** Itoe Takemoto depicts the Ahlyo with dark hair in the manga and the illustrations of the Aoi Tori Bunko versions of the novels. The anime gives them green hair to match her green eyes.
** Itoe Takemoto depicts Shunan with grey hair in the manga. The anime gives him black hair instead.
** The cover of Volume 7 of the manga depicts Damiya with red hair. In the anime, however, he has blonde hair just like his relatives.

* ''Series/GoodOmens2019'': Crowley, who's described as "dark-haired" in the book and has black hair in virtually all illustrations and covers, is given bright red hair in the TV adaptation.

** It’s generally considered Mina had darker hair and most adaptations agree. However Mina was depicted with redhair in ''Film/DraculaDeadAndLovingIt'', in the comic adaptation drawn by Dick Giorando she’s blonde and she’s also blonde in ''Anime/{{Hellsing}}''... and [[AgeLift teenage girl]].

** Teri Polo, from the TV 1990 miniseries is one few accurate physical portrayals of Christine.

** The Wicked Witch of the West has a SicklyGreenGlow in the MGM film and most adaptations (including ''Literature/{{Wicked}}''). In the books, it's never mentioned what her colour is, however she lives in the part of Oz where yellow is the main colour (and her castle in decked in yellow). Most likely, she has a yellow-based design. Official art for the books depict the Wicked Witch of the West with a normal, pale skin tone and a red-and-yellow outfit.

* In the first book of ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' series, Mia is described as being "dishwater blonde" and after a makeover her hair is trimmed short. In [[Film/ThePrincessDiaries the movies]], she's played by brunette Anne Hathaway.