How many other people can you think of who have made their names (or at least a significant part of their fortunes) by pretending to be ugly by way of makeup, prosthetics and the like?
Phyllis Diller comes to mind. And, of course, the referred to already America Ferrera.
I thought Salma Hayek’s version of Frida Kahlo was pretty hard to look at, but I forgive Salma because I know she’s a stone fox and can do nothing to spoil her natural beauty. So I’m less looking for people who have donned the ugly for a specific role or two, and more looking for those who have made a big chunk of their careers out of being uglier than they really are.
I can’t remember her real name now, but “Faye” from the Progressive.com commercials looks NOTHING like she does on TV. They’re making her up very heavily and well toward the lower boundaries of “enhancement”.
Believe it or not, it was seeing her picture on some pop-up ad a few minutes ago that gave me the idea for the thread! She’s not quite as ugly as Cashew Girl, but I won’t be asking her to the prom, either.
Interesting that the two people most mentioned so far, Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo and Christa Woomer as the Planter’s Cashew Girl, both use a monobrow as a distinctive part of their look. And “Flo” has very dramatic eyebrows. Is a strong or dark eyebrow line something we tend to pigeonhole into “ugly”? Or is it just easy for the makeup people to slap on?
Amy is one of the cutest women on the planet – at least the ones that visit Letterman – and I have missed seeing the ugly version of her. Can you name anybody who is as naturally funny as Amy? I think her brother tries too hard, but Amy’s a scream almost every time she’s on with Dave (Letterman, not Sedaris).
Speaking of Flo (who I think is actually pretty hot), in the latest commercials, her face appears to have filled out and she’s carrying stuff in front of her and standing behind a desk–standard TV tricks to conceal a pregnancy. Anyone know if she’s preggers?
One that leapt to mind for me is Halle Berry. She has played less-than-glamorous roles on a couple occasions, such as Monster’s Ball or Jungle Fever. Hard to hide her spectacular looks, but she has tried.
