# People who were better looking before they became "beautiful" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689 "2004-11-19T17:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/1 "2004-11-19T17:59:10Z")
I’m sitting here at my computer ( says Obviousman) and I have a file open of art for the Home Improvement Season 1 DVD set. On the front, besides Tim Allen, is a small picture of Pam Anderson in her role as tool girl, back when she called herself Pamela Sue Anderson, I believe. She’s really kind of hot in a _cute_ unassuming way. Her boobs aren’t zeppelins and her face is pretty. She wasn’t yet a living cartoon character. I’d noticed this before of course, but I was just thinking, who else fits the description of "better looking before they became “beautiful?” ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/2 "2004-11-19T18:21:54Z")
Paris Hilton, I saw some picture of her buried in a link from snarkywood that blew me away. Looked like a completely different girl, a PRETTY girl! ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/3 "2004-11-19T18:33:09Z")
I don’t think this counts, but I thought Ally Sheedy’s character in The Breakfast Club was better looking before she got the makeover. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/4 "2004-11-19T18:38:49Z")
I think Scully on the X-files was cuter in the earlier seasons. In the later seasons, she started looking too polished and Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/5 "2004-11-19T18:41:14Z")
Loni Anderson. Morgan Fairchild. Mary Tyler Moore, before she married a plastic surgeon. She had her face stretched back so far, her eyes ought to be where her temples are. “Oh _Rob!_”, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/6 "2004-11-19T18:43:14Z")
Michael Jackson. Assuming, of course, that the intent of all the plastic surgery was to make him look better. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/7 "2004-11-19T18:46:16Z")
I don’t think Joan Rivers was ever attractive. But any look would be better than the hideous… THING… that now claims to be Joan Rivers. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/8 "2004-11-19T18:49:40Z")
For many examples, click [here](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/9 "2004-11-19T18:54:48Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > For many examples, click [here](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/). Adriana Lima had surgery?? (see october 2004) If there is only one woman in the world who doesn’t need anything done to her, she’d be it! (well apart from having you-know-what done to her) ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/10 "2004-11-19T18:58:24Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > I think Scully on the X-files was cuter in the earlier seasons. In the later seasons, she started looking too polished and Hollywood. The same thing happened with Julia Louis Dryfuss on “Seinfeld”. Their faces ended up looking like they were coated with plastic. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/11 "2004-11-19T19:02:52Z")
I thought Cameron Diaz was beautiful in _The Mask_. Shortly thereafter she got put on the Hollywood Plan[sup]TM[/sup], lost too much weight and hasn’t look the same since. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/12 "2004-11-19T19:11:05Z")
The woman the NYC tabloids (well, mainly the NY Post) love to hate: [Jocelyn Wildenstein](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/000351.html): a k a The Bride of Wildenstein. I kinda hope [for her sake they get around to doing a revival production](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bettybowers.com/graphics/passion.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bettybowers.com/newspassion.html&h=197&w=149&sz=26&tbnid=AkDGYvvBwW0J:&tbnh=97&tbnw=74&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwildenstein%2Bjocelyn%26svnum%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26c2coff%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN) of Cats ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/13 "2004-11-19T19:13:37Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > I thought Cameron Diaz was beautiful in _The Mask_. Shortly thereafter she got put on the Hollywood Plan[sup]TM[/sup], lost too much weight and hasn’t look the same since. Me too. She was positively gorgeous in The Mask. She’s just a skinny grinning woman in everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/14 "2004-11-19T19:22:46Z")
Meh. Cameron Diaz looked like a cartoon in The Mask (which I’m guessing was the point). Give me the Cameron Diaz in There’s Something About Mary. ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/15 "2004-11-19T19:32:36Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > For many examples, click [here](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/). That page pointed out something that I noticed recently. Nicole Kidman used to be really attractive. In the last year or so her looks have just crashed! She simply didn’t survive the attack of the Botox monster! As for Pam Anderson, I have always said it was a shame. The did use a pretty girl for parts when they built that thing. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/16 "2004-11-19T19:34:49Z")
> [@Sweetums](#): > > As for Pam Anderson, I have always said it was a shame. The did use a pretty girl for parts when they built that thing. Monster Boob Garage! Late Saturday nights on The Learning Channel! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/17 "2004-11-20T00:21:11Z")
On the other hand, the [awfulplasticsurgery.com](http://awfulplasticsurgery.com) on Catherine Zeta Jones shows an _entirely different person_, but the results are awfully good. I just think the whole idea is creepy, is all. I agree about Nicole Kidman, though. There was nothing wrong with her before, why would she do that to her face? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/18 "2004-11-20T02:37:57Z")
I thought Jennifer Grey was a lot more attractive before she got her nose job. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/19 "2004-11-20T05:39:11Z")
I thought that Kate Beckinsale was more attractive in her _Much Ado About Nothing_ days than her new _Underworld_/_Van Helsing_ Eyeliner McSkinnyLegs phase. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/20 "2004-11-20T05:53:07Z")
[AwfulPlasticSurgery.com](http://AwfulPlasticSurgery.com) thinks everyone has had work done. I find that site extremely obnoxious at times. Not that Tara Reid’s boobs are real, or Meg Ryan’s lips are naturally plump. Just sayin’! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689.md?page=2)