# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/21 "2004-11-20T07:15:51Z")
> [@Vision of Love](#): > > [AwfulPlasticSurgery.com](http://AwfulPlasticSurgery.com) thinks everyone has had work done. I find that site extremely obnoxious at times. And a lot of the stuff they shriek about as being “awful” isn’t so awful, just different. The Eliza Dushku before and after pictures, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/22 "2004-11-20T08:13:42Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Michael Jackson. > > Assuming, of course, that the intent of all the plastic surgery was to make him look better. I think the intent was to make him look like Peter Pan. Seriously. Check out his nose and mouth and then look at some Peter Pan comic books. Combine that with his “Neverland” Ranch and the fact the he surrounds himself with children all the time and it appears you have a guy who wants to be a real life incarnation of Peter Pan, all the way down to his looks. ---
**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 20, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/23 "2004-11-20T08:25:09Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > I think the intent was to make him look like Peter Pan. > > Seriously. > > Check out his nose and mouth and then look at some Peter Pan comic books. Combine that with his “Neverland” Ranch and the fact the he surrounds himself with children all the time and it appears you have a guy who wants to be a real life incarnation of Peter Pan, all the way down to his looks. Nah. That would be [this guy](http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/)… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/24 "2004-11-20T08:42:59Z")
Sarah Michelle Geller definitely had some work done between the BtVS and the Grudge, and it really didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/25 "2004-11-20T09:13:03Z")
> [@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. Seconded {or is it thirded?} She had CURVES in The Mask - damn fine, mmm, that’d keep a man warm at night type curves. Now she’s just the skull beneath the skin. What DID happen to the curves? Jennifer Connelly, Catherine Zeta-Jones - so much hotter when they didn’t look like ironing boards. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/26 "2004-11-20T09:40:23Z")
Minnie Driver. I first her saw in a Brit sit-com (called _My Best Friend_? or something like that) and she was lovely, a real English rose, with luscious curves (hey, just 'cos I’m a straight woman doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the female form!). Now she suffers from too-big-head-on-stick-like-body syndrome. Also think Keira Knightley looked better in _Bend It Like Beckham_ than in any of her later films. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/27 "2004-11-20T09:46:43Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > And a lot of the stuff they shriek about as being “awful” isn’t so awful, just different. The Eliza Dushku before and after pictures, for instance. There’s not even an ounce of difference. She looks exactly the same. And yet they say tehre’s a discernible difference. Only because the photos were taken a year apart in different circumstances, I think. Stupid site full of half-truths and fakery amongst the real stuff. I can’t trust any of it. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/28 "2004-11-20T17:35:44Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Nah. That would be [this guy](http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/)… Something about that guy is just not right. Maybe it’s the apparently unhealthy obsession, maybe it’s the way he looks more like a Tinkerbell (?) ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/29 "2004-11-20T18:39:09Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > There’s not even an ounce of difference. She looks exactly the same. And yet they say tehre’s a discernible difference. Only because the photos were taken a year apart in different circumstances, I think. > > Stupid site full of half-truths and fakery amongst the real stuff. I can’t trust any of it. Nope, you have to take it with a grain of salt and make your own decision. Some are pretty obviously correct. The Eliza Dushku (or whatever her name is) one looks like there may be some cheek work that could also simply be the result of additional makeup and different lighting in the “before and after” shots. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/30 "2004-11-20T18:49:48Z")
Nicole Kidman looks like her ponytail is too tight. She is slowly turning asian. Speaking of that, she has a sister, whose name I forget, but she is clearly of asian decent. Adopted? Half sister? Whats the poop? ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/31 "2004-11-20T18:52:12Z")
I don’t know if this is related to surgery or just to much dieting but Courtney Cox and Jennifer Anniston were so much prettier 10 years ago. Now, they look like skeletons. The same goes for Debra Messing. All three of them would benefit from about a month of nothing but those new heart attack burgers Hardee’s is selling. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/32 "2004-11-20T19:19:04Z")
I saw a recent picture of Renee Zellweger at the French premiere of the second “Bridget Jone’s Diary” movie and she looked like a skeleton, complete with shoulder blades protrouding so sharp it could cut a stack of paper like butter. ---
**Author:** ![YPOD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e99b99/32.png) [@YPOD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YPOD)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/33 "2004-11-20T19:35:01Z")
Julia Roberts ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/34 "2004-11-20T19:51:57Z")
Christina Ricci and Jennifer Connelly both looked a LOT better before they had their gorgeous natural breasts reduced so they could be “serious” actresses. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/35 "2004-11-20T19:55:45Z")
What’s up with [these pictures](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/001047.html) of Catherine Zeta-Jones? Yeah, she looks different, but there’s what, a ten year span between pictures? She’s thinner now, her hair is different, and her skin seems lighter now, but I don’t see any obvious facial changes. WTF? Plastic surgery icks me out. Unless it’s done for medical reasons, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/36 "2004-11-20T20:04:34Z")
> [@Middlecase](#): > > Seconded {or is it thirded?} She had CURVES in The Mask Diaz was wearing a Wonderbra in The Mask. She is more stick-like today than she was then, yes, but the disappearance of her curves are largely the result of changing clothes. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/37 "2004-11-20T20:16:27Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > What’s up with [these pictures](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/001047.html) of Catherine Zeta-Jones? Yeah, she looks different, but there’s what, a ten year span between pictures? She’s thinner now, her hair is different, and her skin seems lighter now, but I don’t see any obvious facial changes. WTF? I agree Kyla. She looks like all she had done was a decent eyebrow wax and maybe a relaxer on her hair. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/38 "2004-11-20T20:20:25Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > I don’t know if this is related to surgery or just to much dieting but Courtney Cox and Jennifer Anniston were so much prettier 10 years ago. Now, they look like skeletons. The same goes for Debra Messing. All three of them would benefit from about a month of nothing but those new heart attack burgers Hardee’s is selling. I loaded the thread specifically to mention Cox and Aniston, whose rapid descent into Hollywood Lollypopism (Lollypop = big head + stick body) can be seen from season one to season three of “Friends.” I am forever thankful for Lisa Kudrow on that show, not only because she was the funniest in that pale imitation of comedy, but also because she actually looked like a real woman with natural breasts and hips that had actual fat deposits on them in the way a woman’s hips are meant to. Viva La Kudrow! Fortunately, Messing hasn’t lose all of the 60 pounds she gained during her pregnancy, and breastfeeding has kept her rounder and softer. I hope she stays that way, she looks much healthier (and happier) now than she has since “Ned and Stacey.” Others whose “before” is better than the “after” include: [ul][li]Jill Hennesey, who seems to have lost all of her pregnancy weight and then some and is bony as can be[/li][li]Judith Light, who was very soft and feminine during the “Who’s the Boss” days and unfortunately, looks like the Cryptkeeper now[/li][li]Sarah Jessica Parker, who was once a soft brunette (remember her in “Footloose” before the nose job?)[/li][li]Cynthia Nixon, who was once a soft blonde (check her out as Julia Roberts’s best friend in “The Pelican Brief”)[/li][li]Chris Noth, completing the “Sex and the City” triumvirate of bad nose jobs[/li][\*]Britney Spears, who was never really talented but was once quite cute with an adorable button nose[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/39 "2004-11-20T23:44:59Z")
I have to agree that I often wonder what awful plastic surgery is talking about. They accuse Jennifer Lopez of having her lips thinned! They constantly accuse people of having things done that don’t make sense. They constantly show a photo of someone smiling against a photo where they’re not smiling and then say that their lips and nose look different. But when I look in the mirror and smile my lips and nose look different too. That’s how faces are. I sort of wonder if it isn’t just that Nicole Kidman wears her ponytail too tight. I think maybe even sometimes her face is taped back, like on the box for The Human Stain. In the movie, her face looks normal. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689/40 "2004-11-21T00:07:41Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Nicole Kidman looks like her ponytail is too tight. She is slowly turning asian. > Speaking of that, she has a sister, whose name I forget, but she is clearly of asian decent. Adopted? Half sister? Whats the poop? You mean Antonia Kidman? Asian descent? Really? I wouldn’t have said that. I think she looks like a slightly less pretty version of Nicole (her eyes are uneven) and they look pretty much European to me. I don’t think red hair and blue eyes are likely to dominate if they had Asian blood, not in both of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-better-looking-before-they-became-beautiful/275689.md?page=3)