Olivia Colman surprised onlookers when she rocked a bold new look at the Oscars – bright blonde hair.

Usually brunette, the TV and film star arrived on the red carpet with her cropped hair in a light, icy shade.

Colman, who won the best actress award at last year’s ceremony for her role in The Favourite, teamed her new hairstyle with a long-sleeved, full-length midnight blue velvet gown with an open keyhole-style detail on the shoulders.

Olivia Colman
Olivia Colman had dark brunette hair at last week’s Baftas (left), but at the Oscars she showed off her new bright blonde look (Ian West/PA and Jordan Strauss/AP)

The gown was completed with a long cape in white and the same deep shade of blue, which trailed behind her on the red carpet.

Colman, 46, previously cut her hair into the short style when she started filming her role as the Queen in Netflix’s The Crown.

She sported her normal dark brunette look at last week’s Baftas in London.

92nd Academy Awards – Arrivals
Olivia Colman debuts her new hair at the Oscars (Jordan Strauss/AP)

Fans on Twitter were enamoured with Colman’s look, with one writing: “OMG I AM NOT OK. BLONDE OLIVIA COLMAN WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE.”

Another wrote: “Hello, hello: Olivia Colman is blonde and also, I’m dead. #Oscars.”

“I think #oliviacolman as a blonde might have just tipped me over the edge, so FABULOUS I am DECEASED,” another fan enthused.

One fan asked if filming on The Crown series four had finished because of her new look.

“Wait…….if olivia colman is blonde…….is the crown wrapped,” they wrote.

Colman will present an award as she won a prize at last year’s ceremony.