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"  Several weeks ago, when I returned home for the 4th of July holiday, my parents and I had a serious talk about my discretionary spending\u2014specifically, what lifestyle changes I could make so that come the end of the month, I wasn&amp;#039;t left wondering if that last $5 in my bank account should go toward laundry or an Amy&amp;#039;s organic frozen burrito. My Mom and Dad are reasonable people, so even though slightly embarrassing given my age, this line-by-line budgetary analysis wasn&amp;#039;t as painful as it sounds.  That is, until we hit the HBO snag.  &amp;quot;Non-negotiable,&amp;quot; I said.  &amp;quot;But...&amp;quot; my Mom started. &amp;quot;Nope, next,&amp;quot; I said, cutting her off as gently as I could.  Why was I willing to feel the financial pinch when it came to such beloved former activities as boxing and shoe shopping but standing so firmly on this issue? It&amp;#039;s as simple as a Sookie Stackhouse analogy: I will not live without True Blood. It, along with brunch, is my Sunday. And of all the characters whose storylines are responsible for this addiction (and there are many), none to me is more I-will-not-live-without worthy than actress Deborah Ann Woll&amp;#039;s, whose role as volatile, sexually frustrated newbie vampire Jessica Hamby is so convincing and three-dimensional you&amp;#039;d just as likely laugh when she&amp;#039;s on-screen as you would cringe, thinking, thank God that&amp;#039;s not my boyfriend&amp;#039;s Mom. And if being super smart (USC grad) and multi talented (plays piano and fences) weren&amp;#039;t enough to draw you in, there&amp;#039;s her hair\u2014sleek and perfectly strawberry blond\u2014which of course, when the 24-year-old Brooklyn beauty came to the ELLE office last week and mentioned she had been self-dyeing for a decade for under $10, was all I wanted to talk about. Graciously, Deborah Ann agreed.   At what age did you first dye your hair?  During my freshman year of high school, I was 14. Why red? As a fair skinned blonde, I disappeared into the background. I&amp;#039;ve always been a loner, so I suppose dyeing my hair red was a way to say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m here, I exist, I&amp;#039;m a human being and you can&amp;#039;t just push me aside.&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;m also a fan of old movies, and was very into Rita Hayworth at the time. I always fancied someone might call me &amp;quot;red&amp;quot;, like Katherine Hepburn. You&amp;#039;re a major actress now\u2014why aren&amp;#039;t you going to a fancy salon to get your color professionally done? That&amp;#039;s very flattering of you to say. I&amp;#039;ve never been a much of a glamour girl. If it&amp;#039;s working and looks natural out of a $9 box \u2014 then why spend the money? Also being blond I don&amp;#039;t have to bleach my hair, which you should definitely go to a professional for. My coloring process is very simple comparatively. Do you ever see yourself going back to your natural blond? I have for roles. And I&amp;#039;ve been every other shade, too, for different projects. I don&amp;#039;t see myself going back to blonde outside of work though. I really like the red. And for those who will no doubt want to try this $9 drugstore secret, are you willing to share which product and shade you swear by? Of course! I use L&amp;#039;Oreal Paris Excellence Cr\u00E8me in Reddish Blond (8RB).    Photos: Deborah Ann Woll, courtesy of HBO; L&amp;#039;Oreal Paris Excellence Cr\u00E8me, courtesy of lorealparisusa.com   Follow ELLE on Twitter. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a2600/hair-share-true-bloods-deborah-ann-woll-2138/>