Christopher David Appleton (born 14 June 1983) is an English hairstylist. Known for his extensive celebrity clientele, his work has appeared in various publications including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Grazia and L'Officiel. He has made several appearances on The Kardashians and The Drew Barrymore Show and appeared as a contestant on the twenty-fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2026.
Early life Christopher David Appleton was born on 14 June 1983 in Leicester, England, the third of five children born to Jane (née Twigger) and David Appleton. Appleton would style his mother's hair as a child, which ignited his interest in working as a hairstylist.
Career Appleton began working at a hair salon in his hometown as a teenager in 1996, regularly commuting to London during his time off, where he would assist artists on set, take classes and subsequently earned a degree in hair colouring. His first celebrity client was singer Rita Ora, who after their first appointment, booked Appleton for numerous campaigns, red carpet events and her tour. He went on to amass a number of celebrity clientele including Kim Kardashian and other members of the Kardashian family, which has seen him make several appearances on their reality series The Kardashians, as well as Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Sofía Vergara, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande, conceptualising the latter's iconic "ponytail" hairdo. He has also made several appearances on The Drew Barrymore Show and Today.
In January 2026, Appleton released his debut memoir, Your Roots Don't Define You, the foreword of which was written by Kris Jenner and subsequently appeared in The New York Times Best Seller list. In June 2026, Appleton was announced as a contestant on the twenty-fourth series of the BBC competition Strictly Come Dancing. On joining the show, Appleton said he was "thrilled to be joining [the show] and coming home to the UK for this incredible experience." adding that he "always believed that the best things happen when you take a chance and try something new. I may know my way around a salon floor, but the dance floor is a whole different story – and I can’t wait to get started." He was paired with Amy Dowden and they were the first couple to be eliminated from the series after losing the dance-off to Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu.
Personal life Appleton was in a relationship with Katie Katon, who he met as a teenager, for nine years, and they had two children together, a son, Billy born in 2002, and a daughter, Kitty-Blu born in 2004. Appleton later came out as gay in his twenties. Between 2023 and 2024, Appleton was married to actor Lukas Gage. Their marriage was filmed for an episode of The Kardashians. Appleton is dyslexic.
Filmography + As himself Year Title Notes 2014 House of Style 1 episode 2017 The Doctors 1 episode 2018 Rachael Ray 1 episode 2018–2020 The Wendy Williams Show 3 episodes 2019–present Today Recurring role 2019 E! Live from the Red Carpet 1 episode 2020 Entertainment Tonight 1 episode 2020 MTV Prom-athon 1 episode 2020–2021 GMA3 2 episodes 2021 Jennifer Lopez: Halftime Documentary 2021–present The Drew Barrymore Show Recurring role 2022–present The Kardashians Recurring role 2022–2024 The Craig Caddell Show 4 episodes 2023, 2026 Access Hollywood 2 episodes 2024 Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry Documentary 2025 Selling Sunset Episode: "There's No Going Back" 2026 Tamron Hall 1 episode 2026 Strictly Come Dancing Contestant; series 24
Bibliography Your Roots Don't Define You (2026)
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