{"id":1813247,"date":"2026-03-07T14:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1813247"},"modified":"2026-03-07T14:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T11:00:25","slug":"the-millennial-side-part-might-be-back-but-these-y2k-era-celebs-are-the-blueprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1813247","title":{"rendered":"The Millennial Side Part Might Be Back,\u00a0But These Y2K-Era Celebs Are The Blueprint"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Celebrity)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Millennial Side Part Might Be Back,\u00a0But These Y2K-Era Celebs Are The Blueprint<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Petition to bring back the Teen Choice Awards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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by Eden Stuart<\/a><\/address>\n
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\"Y2K<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Join me, if you will, in 2021. The world is re-emerging from lockdown, Olivia Rodrigo has just burst onto the music scene, and everyone is watching Squid Game<\/em>. And over on TikTok \u2014 the social media app that had blown up just a year earlier \u2014 a viral debate<\/a> rages: Are side-parts painfully millennial? As would later be the case with topics as varied as jeans, mimicking a phone call, and brunch, the topic riled up the internet. But there is one undeniable truth: The early \u201800s (aka the Y2K era) was absolutely dominated by side-parted hairstyles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there weren\u2019t any center-parted (or even part-less<\/em>) looks at the turn of the millennium. Indeed, one of the most famous xennials of all time, Britney Spears, gravitated towards center parts and choppy layers, as did millennial teen superstar Amanda Bynes. But for the most part, the Y2K era was as dominated by deep side parts and overdirected bangs as it was frosted makeup and velour tracksuits.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t just take my millennial word for it. Scroll on to see some of the standout side-parted hairstyles from the Y2K era \u2014\u00a0defined here as the late \u201890s into the first half of the \u201800s \u2014\u00a0into the late aughts.<\/p>\n

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 1999<\/h2>\n
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.s1138283686{padding-top:138.5681%}@media(min-width:768px){.s1138283686{padding-top:138.5681%}}\"Sarah<\/div>
Albert L. Ortega\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Unsurprisingly, the 1st Annual Teen Choice Awards provided a treasury of Y2K hair inspo. First up: Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em> herself, with pin-straight strands fully overdirected to the left.<\/p>\n

Sandra Bullock, 1999<\/h2>\n
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.s1333131345{padding-top:151.5651%}@media(min-width:768px){.s1333131345{padding-top:151.5651%}}\"Sandra<\/div>
Vinnie Zuffante\/Archive Photos\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

At the same event, Bullock \u2014 star of the following year\u2019s Miss Congeniality <\/em>\u2014 rocked a feathery, flippy lob that just had to be on Hailey Bieber<\/a>\u2019s mood board.<\/p>\n

Lucy Liu, 2000<\/h2>\n
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.s1806695356{padding-top:150%}@media(min-width:768px){.s1806695356{padding-top:150%}}\"Lucy<\/div>
Jeff Kravitz\/FilmMagic, Inc\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Months before the release of Charlie\u2019s Angels<\/em>, Liu paired cascading curls with slicked-down, side-parted bangs.<\/p>\n

Aaliyah, 2000<\/h2>\n
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.s-876838586{padding-top:147.7528%}@media(min-width:768px){.s-876838586{padding-top:147.7528%}}\"Aaliyah<\/div>
Frank Trapper\/Corbis Entertainment\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The greatest to ever do it when it comes to the silk press<\/a>, Aaliyah donned a deep side part and dip-dyed ends at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards.<\/p>\n

Beyonc\u00e9, 2001<\/h2>\n
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.s-1094932525{padding-top:132.626%}@media(min-width:768px){.s-1094932525{padding-top:132.626%}}\"Beyonce<\/div>
Barry King\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

When Beyonc\u00e9 co-hosted the red carpet pre-show for the 2001 MTV VMAs \u2014 yes, really \u2014 she went for tropical vibes, accenting her side-parted style with orchids.<\/p>\n

Britney Spears, 2002<\/h2>\n
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.s-1266597047{padding-top:159.5745%}@media(min-width:768px){.s-1266597047{padding-top:159.5745%}}\"Britney<\/div>
Steve Granitz\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Though she actually side-parted less than you would think, Spears did shift her strands to the left for the 29th Annual American Music Awards, complete with a zig-zag part.<\/p>\n

Lindsay Lohan, 2004<\/h2>\n
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.s1406889935{padding-top:163.3097%}@media(min-width:768px){.s1406889935{padding-top:163.3097%}}\"Lindsay<\/div>
Albert L. Ortega\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

As one of the era\u2019s biggest teen stars, Lohan didn\u2019t just rock a side part \u2014 she arguably helped bolster its popularity in the first place. At the 2004 Kids\u2019 Choice Awards, the star of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen<\/em> opted for loose waves and a deep part to the right.<\/p>\n

Mischa Barton, 2004<\/h2>\n
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.s1204126179{padding-top:115.2033%}@media(min-width:768px){.s1204126179{padding-top:115.2033%}}\"Mischa<\/div>
Gregg DeGuire\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In the early \u201800s, Barton was practically synonymous with \u201cCali Cool Girl.\u201d During that time, her side-swept bangs often accented effortless beachy waves.<\/p>\n

Paris Hilton, 2004<\/h2>\n
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.s1027314164{padding-top:150.4514%}@media(min-width:768px){.s1027314164{padding-top:150.4514%}}\"Paris<\/div>
Peter Kramer\/Getty Images Entertainment\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

No Y2K list of any variety would be complete without Hilton<\/a>. A lifelong deep side part devotee, the reality star is still occasionally overdirecting to this day (albeit nowhere near as dramatically as she did in the aughts).<\/p>\n

Nicole Richie, 2005<\/h2>\n
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.s-914197783{padding-top:140.647%}@media(min-width:768px){.s-914197783{padding-top:140.647%}}\"Nicole<\/div>
J. Shearer\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Somehow, Richie\u2019s clavicle-grazing lob, winged eyeliner, and terracotta blush look as 2026 as they do 2025\u2026 deep side part and all.<\/p>\n

Hilary Duff, 2005<\/h2>\n
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.s849653463{padding-top:125.0521%}@media(min-width:768px){.s849653463{padding-top:125.0521%}}\"Hilary<\/div>
George Pimentel\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

As hard as it was to pick just one of Duff<\/a>\u2019s many side-parted styles, as soon as I saw this red-highlighted, pop-punk princess moment, the competition was over.<\/p>\n

Christina Millian, 2006<\/h2>\n
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.s-1508029410{padding-top:127.6596%}@media(min-width:768px){.s-1508029410{padding-top:127.6596%}}\"Christina<\/div>
Alexandra Wyman\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

After much research, I feel confident declaring Millian as the Queen of the Y2K Ponytail Bouffant. This chocolate, barrel-curled iteration is among her standout looks (of which there are many).<\/p>\n

Selena Gomez & Taylor Swift, 2008<\/h2>\n
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.s-342190656{padding-top:119.5219%}@media(min-width:768px){.s-342190656{padding-top:119.5219%}}Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift at the premiere of \"Another Cinderella Story\" <\/div>
John Shearer\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

As Y2K came to a close \u2014 with the Swag Era on the horizon \u2014 millennial icons Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift attended the premiere of the latter\u2019s film Another Cinderella Story<\/em> in vaguely boho \u2018fits and matching deep side parts.<\/p>\n