LOS ANGELES: The storm over Renee Zellweger’s (pictured) new-look face has thrown the spotlight on one of Hollywood’s eternal questions: how do you grow old in Tinseltown?
The “Bridget Jones” star, who won a best supporting actress Oscar in 2004 for “Cold Mountain,” appeared unrecognisable at a women in Hollywood awards show earlier this week.
Gone were the sulky pout and rounded cheeks from her turn as the eternal singleton Jones in the 2000 and 2004 movies, replaced by the 45-year-old’s impressively wrinkle-free and slimline face.
She became an instant water-cooler and Twitter trending topic, with endless comments about what plastic surgery or botox she has had done, while others worried about her health.
Some denounced Hollywood itself for the pressure it imposes on actresses to meet traditional ideals of beauty. “In Hollywood it’s strange not to (have plastic surgery) if you are a woman. You can’t get work. Movie casting directors won’t hire you if you look old,” said Sasha Stone, founder of www.awardsdaily.com.
It is a Tinseltown taboo, not to be allowed to age naturally, in contrast to places like Britain and France, Stone told AFP.
“It’s an American phenomenon, an American obsession,” she said.
There is a long list of actresses who have gone under the knife to maintain their youthful appearance: Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan, Jane Fonda, Melanie Griffith... to name but a few. Some have gone a little too far in this pact with the devil, finding themselves with slightly over-rounded cheeks or “trout lips,” with a little too much padding around the mouth.
“When they do their face, they hope to keep getting the A-list parts. They don’t want to play grandmothers. They want the leading roles,” said Stone. AFP
