Plastic Surgery of the Rich & Famous: Only Her Doctor Knows for Sure

This image is no longer available

To age or not to age is the eternal question that women in show business must answer by the time they hit 25. Here, female stars from each decade who got it right … and a few who haven’t.

Okay, I exaggerate, but without doubt when a star’s 40th birthday arrives it’s time to decide: needle or knife or nothing at all. Some celebrities seem to beat the clock effortlessly, others not so much. We’ve selected female stars from each decade, starting in the 40s, to see who is getting it right.

 

Renee Zellweger, 46.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 03: Renee Zellweger attends the SeriousFun Children's Network London Gala at The Roundhouse on November 3, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 03: Renee Zellweger attends the SeriousFun Children’s Network London Gala at The Roundhouse on November 3, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

The Internet broke in October 2014 when photos of the Bridget Jones star revealed she looked “different,” or to quote one headline “What has Renee Zellweger done to her face?” The verdict seemed to rest on her eyes, whose trademark heavy lids seemed suddenly very wide awake. But to the haters she had this to say, “I’m glad folks think I look different! I’m living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps it shows.” Whatever she did or didn’t do, she looks pretty darn good to us.

Nicole Kidman, 48.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Nicole Kidman attends the Women of the Year lunch and awards at InterContinental Park Lane Hotel on October 19, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 19: Nicole Kidman attends the Women of the Year lunch and awards at InterContinental Park Lane Hotel on October 19, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

Much ado has been made of the Aussie star’s unsubstantiated love of Botox, to the point that cosmetic surgery critics, i.e. Mean Girls everywhere, cooed over how her face showed such little emotion that her onscreen performances were more statue than statuesque.

Meg Ryan, 54.

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 06: Actress Meg Ryan attends the Schiaparelli show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015/2016 on July 6, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 06: Actress Meg Ryan attends the Schiaparelli show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015/2016 on July 6, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Fans have been alarmed by the Harry Met Sally cutie pie’s altered facial features in the past decade,  including a filler gone bad “trout pout.” It looks like she got the message, because in more recent photo calls her features appear more natural.

Sharon Stone, 57.

MIAMI BEACH, FL - NOVEMBER 6: Sharon Stone is seen at the "Celebration of Hope" event during FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach at The Setai Hotel on November 6, 2015 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for FUNKSHION)
MIAMI BEACH, FL – NOVEMBER 6: Sharon Stone is seen at the “Celebration of Hope” event during FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach at The Setai Hotel on November 6, 2015 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for FUNKSHION)

The woman survived an aneurysm and stroke that left her with permanent brain damage and still manages to look better than most women half her age. She posed nude in August for Harper’s Bazaar and said of her body image, “I’m aware that my ass looks like a bag of flapjacks but I’m not trying to be the best-looking broad in the world.”

Morgan Fairchild, 65.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JULY 8: Morgan Fairchild attends the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour - Hallmark Channel & Hallmark Movie Channel Celebration held at the Northpole Manor on July 8, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JULY 8: Morgan Fairchild attends the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour – Hallmark Channel & Hallmark Movie Channel Celebration held at the Northpole Manor on July 8, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage)

The 80s star certainly looks like she spends time and money maintaining her glamorous hair and face. Whatever she’s doing, it’s working.

Jessica Lange, 66.

Actress Jessica Lange arrives for FYC Special Screening And Q&A For FX's "American Horror Story: Freakshow" held at Paramount Studios on June 11, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
Actress Jessica Lange arrives for FYC Special Screening And Q&A For FX’s “American Horror Story: Freakshow” held at Paramount Studios on June 11, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

The blonde star of American Horror Story has long eschewed the knife in favour of aging gracefully – we love her facial lines and wrinkles that show she’s lived a life.

Helen Mirren, 70.

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 03: Helen Mirren attends the "Trumbo" New York premiere at MoMA Titus Two on November 3, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 03: Helen Mirren attends the “Trumbo” New York premiere at MoMA Titus Two on November 3, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)

She too broke the Internet when in 2008, a paparazzi snapped a photo of her in a red bikini, sending her to the top of that year’s sexiest women lists. The English beauty shows no sign of cosmetic interference, I mean enhancement, and continues to work so much that she wouldn’t manage the requisite downtime even if she were so inclined.

Raquel Welch, 75.

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 27: Raquel Welch poses for a portrait with her award at the NALIP 16th Annual Latino Media Awards show at W Hollywood on June 27, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – JUNE 27: Raquel Welch poses for a portrait with her award at the NALIP 16th Annual Latino Media Awards show at W Hollywood on June 27, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)

Speaking of bikinis… the curvaceous star’s career was launched wearing a loincloth two-piece in 1966’s Fantastic Voyage. It isn’t any wonder that she’d employ a few tricks of the trade to maintain her looks. Be it a wig to thicken her hair, great make up and possibly the work of a top-drawer surgeon, the results are simply stunning.

Maggie Smith, 80.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 13: Maggie Smith attends a screening of "The Lady In The Van" during the BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on October 13, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 13: Maggie Smith attends a screening of “The Lady In The Van” during the BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on October 13, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Another example of the classic English lady aging gracefully, like Mirren, perhaps thanks to all that damp UK weather… she is aged up to play the Dowager Countess on Downton Abbey, in real life she looks like your above average attractive senior.

Joan Collins, 82.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 26: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Joan Collins attends the Royal Film Performance of 'Spectre' at The Royal Albert Hall on October 26, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 26: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Joan Collins attends the Royal Film Performance of ‘Spectre’ at The Royal Albert Hall on October 26, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

On the opposite side of the spectrum from fellow countrywomen Mirren and Smith, this English lass has always denied having plastic surgery, admitting in 2014 to only using Botox – once. Whatever she does her complexion is flawless.

Sofia Loren, 81.

HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 12: Sophia Loren arrives at the AFI FEST 2014 Presented By Audi A Special Tribute To Sophia Loren at Dolby Theatre on November 12, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
HOLLYWOOD, CA – NOVEMBER 12: Sophia Loren arrives at the AFI FEST 2014 Presented By Audi A Special Tribute To Sophia Loren at Dolby Theatre on November 12, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

The stunning Italian icon recently warned up and coming starlets not to mess with nature, “These young girls really need to be more careful and selective of what they are doing to their bodies and their faces. I mean, you do not know for sure if you are going to a good doctor … you can end up looking worse than what you thought you originally were.”

We couldn’t agree more. Has Loren succumbed? Only she knows for sure though she has admitted to being pressured as a young actress to go under the knife to fix her “long nose.”

We’re glad she didn’t.

Donatella Versace, 60.        Jocelyn Wildenstein, 75.        Kim Novak, 82.

Sometimes a woman’s choice to beat the clock can have frightening consequences.

While New York socialite Wildenstein openly admits to aiming for a feline appearance, hence her “cat lady” moniker, we do wonder if other women who go to such extremes suffer from a form of Body Dismorphia Disorder (BDD), where they have a distorted view of their appearance.

You may ask if such surgery can be undone? Unfortunately the answer is no, once the skin is cut away to tighten there isn’t any extra to return a person’s face to its natural condition. Botox and fillers however, eventually do lose their efficacy and facial features will go back to their original shape.