Well known Good Morning America anchor, Robin Roberts, has been known for her short haircuts since her days at ESPN as a sports anchor. While Roberts’ signature haircut has become a staple, she does recall learning that hair was not the end-all and be-all, according to an interview with InStyle.

Roberts was extremely open with the public when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Roberts’ hair began to fall out due to her chemotherapy, and she continued to wear wigs to work to look like her old self.

She did this until she decided that for her, leaving the wig behind was the best choice. In an interview with ABC, Roberts shared that the decision was "a way to take control after so much had changed in (her) life."

Robin Roberts PHOTO: AARP

She also recalls walking in Isaac Mizrahi’s fashion show while in the midst of her chemo, and as her turn arrived to tear down the runway, she looked in the mirror and took her wig off.
"No one knew I was going to do it. I didn’t even know I was going to do it. It was so powerful," she shared.

The cancer "thriver" — a name she prefers over "survivor" — finds her mother to be her style icon. Mama Roberts had beautiful hair up until she was 88 and wasn’t someone who relied on natural beauty: "She would always tell me to put red lipstick on. She’d say, 'Honey, you know I love you, but natural beauty will only take you so far,'" remembers Roberts.

Robin Roberts’ signature cut will always be a staple — as was her mother’s red lipstick — but the story behind the do’ is what gives it a strong, symbolic meaning.

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Cancer thriver