History Main / BrainyBrunette

* Subverted in many anime/manga since brown, along with black, are the most common hair colors for both males and females ([[{{TruthInTelevision}} they are also the most common hair color in real life]]. As such, personalities can come in different varieties.

* Inverted on ''ThePowerPuffGirls'' where the red-headed Blossom is the brainy one while the brunette Buttercup is the aggresive spitfire.

* Nina Einstein from ''CodeGeass''. [[spoiler:{{Yandere}} INSANE Brunette is more like it]]

*Also subverted with blond Winry... who is an extremely good WrenchWench.

*Also subverted with blond Winry... who is an extremely good WrenchWench.

Okay, stereotypically speaking, in fiction, [[DumbBlonde blondes have the looks]], [[FieryRedhead redheads have the attitude]], so, [[BlondeBrunetteRedhead out of the trio]], brunettes get the brains. They can be either loud and outspoken or quiet and gentle, but either way, their knowledge will blow you away--you can always count on their smarts in a fix. They tend to be a HotLibrarian, a HotScientist, or even a WrenchWench. Their SesquipedalianLoquaciousness and/or TechnoBabble tends to [[GeekyTurnOn turn people on]]. And they always have nice, thick, brown locks.

!!Examples:

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* Yomiko Readman from ReadOrDie

** Don't forget [[PsychoForHire Kimblee]].
* Chao Lingshen and Satomi Hakase from ''MahouSenseiNegima''. Also Yue and Nodoka, [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair for a given value of "brunette"]].
* Light Yagami from ''{{Death Note}}'' is a male example.
* [[OuranHighSchoolHostClub Haruhi Fujioka]]. Though nobody in the host club is truly unintelligent, Haruhi is book smart to the point of being occasionally portrayed as a nerd, and possesses more common sense than most of them. Not to mention that everybody is gay for Haruhi.
* Another male example: Gohan from ''{{Dragon Ball}}''.

[[AC: ComicBooks]]
* Valerie from ''JosieAndThePussycats'' was a female {{MacGyver}}.

** Also from the X-Men: Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Moira [=MacTaggert=].

[[AC: {{Film}}]]

-->'''Lanny''':"My favorite catches were the intellectuals. They'd be the ones in the straight black dresses, severe black hair. Your basic neurotic, eyeglasses, cool jazz, liberal, "I'll fuck any black guy as part of my personal apology for racism in America" type."
--> - The person reading his letter then looks across the room and sees a bookish-looking brunette. And you automatically imagine her doing one thing and one thing only...

* Ariadne in ''{{Inception}}''. So much. So, so, SO much.
** SO SO SO much. Nolan knows what the audience really likes.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

* Lessa from ''DragonridersOfPern'' qualifies as she is not only the one to figure out Threadfall patterns and trick a Dragonrider into challenging a Lord Holder to a death match, but she also figures out how to save the planet and then does it against the wishes of everyone else involved.

* Mary Bennet in ''PrideAndPrejudice'' probably falls under this trope. "Probably," because her hair color is never specified in the story proper; however, most if not all film adaptations of the novel portray her as brunette.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

** Subverted with Cordelia, who, while intelligent, was BookDumb.
*** In ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Cordelia was shown as an example of the BrainyBrunette too though - after exams it was revealed that she actually had very good grades which she simply chose to hide from her peers, thinking it would make her less popular.

*** SummerGlau's other character, Bennett Halverson on DollHouse also qualifies.

* Abby Sciutto of ''{{NCIS}}''.
** Not that Ziva's any slouch either, with the smart-ass comments and photographic memory. I guess she's more fiery, though. Guess they drew the line at [[{{FieryRedhead}} dying her hair red]].
** While red hair is found among [[AllJewsAreAshkenazi Ashkenazi Jews]], Ziva's not.
*** Red hair is also found in the Eastern Mediterranean, and thus among Sephardis. Just not as much as in Europe.

* Possible subversion in ''{{Privileged}}'' - Megan, the Yale graduate, is shown as a redhead; however, in the first episode we're told that she dyed it red and we never really learn her natural colour so it's possible she's simply a BrainyBrunette in disguise.

[[AC: RealLife]]
* TinaFey counts.
* NataliePortman, anyone?
* Danica [=McKellar=], math genius.
* Marilyn vos Savant, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records (at least, at one point) as having the world's highest IQ.
* Due to ethnic traits, AsianAndNerdy has almost total crossover with this.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr Hedy Lamarr]], actress and inventor. Also major-league hottie.
* EllenPage. There's really no need to explain this one.
* AudreyHepburn didn't have much in the way of formal schooling, but she was extremely well-read, could speak at least seven languages fluently, and was a talented piano player.

[[AC: Theatre]]
* [[TheLibby Lucy]] from [[{{ptitlefiwg8rim}} 13]] is a brainy brunette who uses her brains for [[TheChessmaster her own ends]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

* Both April Ryan and Zoe Castillo from ''TheLongestJourney'' series. And the WordOfGod [[http://ragnartornquist.com/?p=345 is]] that the stereotype played (possibly, without realization) a role in their design.
* Suitably subverted with Lan (Netto) Hikari from ''MegaManBattleNetwork'', who is arguably the [[{{Baka}} Boke]] in the BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine that forms the dual protagonists. Luckily, he has his [=NetNavi=] [[spoiler: (also his older brother)]] there at all times to help him out . . . [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass though he does have]] [[GeniusDitz his moments.]]
** [=MegaMan.EXE=] would fit the trope if his hair is brunet under the helmet, like the original series' Mega Man.

* Rita from ''TalesOfVesperia''.

* Princess Zelda in her only remotely brunette incarnation, ''TheLegendOfZelda: TwilightPrincess'', is noted by her former tutor to have been an excellent student. She's also the chosen disciple of the Goddess of Wisdom, so it's only logical.

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]
* Biologist Dr. Jean Poule in ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob.''
* Julie in ''OurLittleAdventure,'' though she's bubblier and sunnier than the typical brainy brunette.

[[AC: WebOriginal]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* Belle from Disney's ''[[Film/BeautyAndTheBeast Beauty and the Beast]]''.

* [[TheDragon Azula]], from ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', is [[MagnificentBastard terrifyingly]] [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy intelligent]] and a ManipulativeBastard par excellence. And [[TheLancer Katara]] isn't dumb, either, though her brother Sokka is [[TheSmartGuy "the Idea Guy"]] of the Gaang. Of course, all but one character in the show are or were dark-haired.
* ''TotalDramaIsland'' has Noah (book smarts), Courtney (legal smarts), and Alejandro (mechanical smarts.)
* Played mostly straight with the Kanker sisters in EdEddnEddy. May (the blonde) is TooDumbToLive; Lee (the redhead) definitely has the attitude; and while Marie has [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]] and isn't overtly bookish, she comes up with the smartest ideas.
* [[TheSimpsons An episode]]'s B-plot focused on Lisa joining the debate team and ended up dyeing her hair brown to prove that they didn't take her seriously before, due to being blonde.

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* Mei Ling in ''MetalGearSolid''

** Also from the X-Men: Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Moira MacTaggert.

* Ariadne in {{Inception}}. So much. So, so, SO much.

*** In ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Cordelia was shown as an example of the BrainyBrunette too though - after exams it was revealed that she actually had great grades she simply chose to hide it from her peers, thinking it would make her less popular.

* Abby Sciuto of ''{{NCIS}}''.

* The brillian Miranda Lawson from ''MassEffect2''.

* Zoey from ''{{Left 4 Dead}}''.

* [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses The Nostalgia Chick]], who can always be counted on for a bit of film-buff knowledge.

* Inverted on ''ThePowerPuffGirls'' where the red-headed Blossom is the brainy one while the Brunette Buttercup is the aggresive spitfire.

* Played mostly straight with the Kanker sisters in EdEddnEddy. May (the blonde) is TooDumbToLive; Lee (the redhead) definitely has the attitude; and while Marie has [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]] and isn't overtly bookish, she comes up with the smartest ideas.

* ''TotalDramaIsland'' has Noah (book smarts), Courtney(legal smarts), and Alejandro(mechanical smarts.)

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