Ugliest actress committed to film

I was watching John Water’s Crybaby with Johnny Depp on VH1 last night and I caught myself doing something. I simply cannot take my eyes off that female actress who played the character Hatchetface. This poor woman has got to be seen to be believed. I mean HOLY COW is she homely! I have never seen her before or since…which is a good thing. I know she was played up to look ugly but man oh man…it’s downright scary!

This got me thinking that this would be a good thread for the SDMB. How about it? For your money, who is the ugliest actress ever put on film?

In term of “name” actresses, I have to go with either Shelly Duvall*, or Liza Minelli.

*and in the spirit of “things everybody knew except you”, I just thought “Hey! She might be related to Robert Duvall somehow!” :rolleyes:

Catherine Zeta Jones and Julia Roberts.

Liza Minelli and Shelley Duvall are good choices, but for my money the ugliest woman ever to appear in a major motion-picture is without a doubt Sandra Bernhard. If she were a dog she’d still be considered ugly. The woman who played the psychologist in An Unmarried Woman deserves to be nominated as well.

Patsy Byrne (playing Nursie in Blackadder comes to mind, as well as Megan Cavanagh in her role in A League of their Own. However, at least in the latter case I’ve seen the actress in question in other roles where she was not too bad looking. IMHO actresses ‘play’ ugly when they are asked to do it, by changing posture and facial expression. You can try it yourself by looking in the mirror and hunching and making foul faces. The whole thing is therefore more an act than real pre-existing physical uglyness.

Though for some, it does come more naturally :smiley:

(pity that it’s only about actresses; I would nominate Kiefer Sutherland in Freeway, after he’s released from the hospital: “Look who’s been beaten with ugly stick!” (
Reese Witherspoon as Vanessa Lutz))

Hatchface is exactly who came to my mind when I read the title of the OP. A friend and I were just talking about the movie last night. Too funny… she is very scary - would be interesting to see what she looks like without the makeup.

Hmm. No photo of Hatchet Face on the IMDb (her name’s Kim McGuire).

I’ve always thought Juliette Lewis and Ellen Barkin were kinda homely.

Sissy Spacek or Sandra Locke. It’s a toss-up.

Small pic at bottom right - but you get the idea

She also played “Mammy Yokum” on stage.

As a related topic there’s the
Celebrity whose face caused the doctor to smack it the hardest Poll

Edna Mae Oliver. A frequent charicature in 1940s WB cartoons. Imagine Lily Tomlin’s “Operator Ernestine” but with a face twice as long.

The first time I ever saw a photo of her, I immediately tied her with the cartoon. Until then, I had no clue that that was a charicature. I thought it was just another stock character.

Here’s her face

Edna Mae Oliver

Kathy Bates.

Anne Ramsey – maybe best known as Momma from throw Momma from the Train

I nominate Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch of the West) and Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbissina from Austin Powers).

Yes, poor Margaret Hamilton made a living being ugly–she was a walking punchline. I always marveled that she was such a well-adjusted, cheerful woman; I’d have slit my wrists.

Tori Spelling.

Oh, no, wait, you said actress. Never mind.

Sad to see most people still look at B. S. as the icon of beauty. Margaret Hamilton, Edna Oliver, are beauty in the classic sense as were most of the great women in history. I’m not too sure about Anne Ramsey as I can’t picture her otherwise than what we’ve seen. These women can play these roles and evidently did their job as they convinced most people.

Actress: Edith Massey, one of John Waters’s favorite actresses.

Actor: Ernest Borgnine.

Sentimental favorite: Rondo Hattan.

Rondo Hattan

I’ll second that.
What about Melissa Rivers? Does she count? She looks like a female version of Steven Tyler.