Aspects of Lois' personality have varied over the years, depending on the comic book writers handling of the character and American social attitudes toward women at the time. In most incarnations, she is shown to be an independent person who is smart, determined and strong-willed. Her physical appearance has varied over the years, depending either on contemporary fashion or media adaptations. In the 1990s, when the television series ' began airing Lois received a haircut that made her look more like actress Teri Hatcher, and her eyes were typically violet to match her character on '. From the late 1980s through the 1990s she was depicted with auburn hair in the comic books.