Monique Coleman tells the story behind the signature accessory of your high school musical character.
During a recent interview with Insider, the 40-year-old star who portrayed Taylor McKessie in the Disney films said she hit upon the idea of wearing a headband after seeing the crew didn’t know how to do one Hair of a styles black actress.
“We’ve grown a lot in this industry, and we’ve grown a lot in representation, and we’ve grown a lot to understand the needs of an African American actress,” Coleman told the outlet. “But the truth is, they did my hair and done it very badly at the front. And we had to start filming before I had a chance to fix it.”
Coleman suggested “incorporating headbands into her character” and “making that just part of who she is”.
“I was very lucky,” she said, “because the cloakroom department was very open to our feedback.”