widow's peak

Woman with a widow's peak

A young woman with a widow's peak

A widow's peak (also known as a widow's brow) is a descending V-shaped point in the middle of the hairline (above the forehead). It is an example of a dominant inherited trait. The term comes from English folklore, where it was believed that this hair formation was a sign of a woman who would outlive her husband.^[1]

The peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly a widow's hood, making people think a woman was being given a mourning hood for her husband's forthcoming passing.^[1]

Notable persons with a widow's peak

• Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor^[2]
• Fran Drescher, American actress^[2]
• Colin Farrell, Irish actor^[2]
• Alyson Hannigan, American actress^[2]
• Marilyn Monroe, American actress, singer and model^[2]
• Keanu Reeves, Canadian actor^[2]
• Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-born American model, actress, musician and fashion designer^[2]

Fictional characters with a widow's peak

• Count Dracula - notably as portrayed by Béla Lugosi in Dracula (1931 film) and Christopher Lee in Dracula (1958 film).
• Diabolik
• Doc Savage
• Eddie Munster
• The G-Man (from Half-Life)
• Hannibal Lecter (described as having one in the novels)
• Little Mac (from the Wii version of Punch-Out!!)
• Mom (from Futurama)
• Melanie Hamilton (from Gone With the Wind)
• Vegeta (from Dragonball Z)
• Niko Bellic(from Grand Theft Auto IV)
• Dimitri Rascalov(from Grand Theft Auto IV)
• Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen(of the House Harkonnen from the fictional Dune universe)

See also

List of Mendelian traits in humans

References

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