Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic 
The 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood event will be available to stream on ESSENCE’s YouTube starting Saturday, March 14: Watch Here.
Yesterday, our favorite stars in entertainment arrived at ESSENCE’s 19th Annual Black Women in Hollywood Awards in sunny Los Angeles. While we saw iconic bixie cuts on Zendaya and Marsai Martin, and a fabulous blonde blowout on Laverne Cox, braids were obviously the hottest cultural statement on the blue carpet.
Chloe Bailey, for one, braided her locs into a single jumbo braid which swung all the way past her knees (similar to Tia Mowery). Hannah Beachler—who was apart of the Luminary Spotlight for her role in Sinners—had the front of her hair braided into folds while the back was put up into a tight bun. Meanwhile, honoree Chase Infiniti had soft braids to replicate the texture of her knit gown, which took the form of a side swoop.
Other attendees preferred more classic braid >pick-and-drop braids on Maria Sten and Miatta Johnson continued a trend we spotted at Paris Fashion Week; and, Kandi Buress’ daughter, Riley, reminded us how popular the hybrid braid sew-in look is (even with natural hair). And, we can’t forget Yvonne Orji, whose small braids were the most sculpted we saw from the ceremony, all folded into a ponytail from different directions.
Below, check out the best celebrity braidedsrc=”https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2266178486-scaled.jpg” alt=”The Best Braids From ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood” width=”400″ height=”584″ />LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Chlöe Bailey attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images) Hannah Beachler 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Hannah Beachler attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images) Yvonne Orji 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Yvonne Orji attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Maria Sten 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Maria Sten attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Chase Infiniti 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Chase Infiniti attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kayla Oaddams/WireImage) Lynae Vanee 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Lynae Vanee attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) MAAD 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: MAAD attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Ryan Michelle Bathe 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Ryan Michelle Bathe attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Tia Mowry 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Tia Mowry attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kayla Oaddams/WireImage) Blair Imani 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Blair Imani attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Kelley L. Carter 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Kelley L. Carter attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kayla Oaddams/WireImage) Contessa Gayles 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Contessa Gayles attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Amanda Baker-Lane 
Amanda Baker-Lane at the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards Ceremony held at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Savion Washington/Variety via Getty Images) Miatta Johnson 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Miatta Johnson attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images) Shaun Ross 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Shaun Ross attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Julian Hamilton/FilmMagic) Riley Burruss 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Kandi Burruss and Riley Burruss attend the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kayla Oaddams/WireImage)TOPICS: 2026 Black Women in Hollywood braid inspiration
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Author: Akili King
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