The artificial world of Hollywood supports many excesses, not least of which is the slice, dice and suture mania of pursuing perfection through plastic surgery. You knew all those incredible bodies and faces didn’t come by natural means. They require lots of dedication, hard work and a downright addiction to pain. Michael Jackson’s famous disaster is probably the best-known example of habitual tinkering gone awry. He wasn’t alone in his obsession.
Reality star Heidi Montag, who appeared on “The Hills” once entered into a remodeling marathon and had a total of 10 procedures completed in a single day. She said that she “obviously” wishes she hadn’t done that. It isn’t hard to imagine why that would be her response. Recovery time for breast implants alone might have given her pause. What is hard to imagine is why anyone would voluntarily undertake such an ordeal.
Fresh-faced and lovely Meg Ryan could make anyone believe in romance. She was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra. OK, the name is a bit cumbersome, so changing that was probably a good thing. But changing that lovely face might have been a mistake. Much speculation, especially about lip “enhancement” that doesn’t really enhance, follows the actress. She makes no comment.
1980s heart throb Mickey Rourke made the colossal error of going into boxing after a successful stint of producing movies, the best of the bunch being “Angel Heart” and “Barfly.” He had some successes, but four years of boxing left him with significant facial injuries to his nose and cheek, plus some short-term memory loss. Before returning to Hollywood in 1995, Rourke underwent surgery to repair some of the damage. Sadly, the work was botched. He later described his face as “appallingly disfigured.” He once mentioned that he should have taken his grandmother’s saying about God having a plan for everyone more seriously. “My plan sucked,” he commented.
Are you able to move your forehead? Nicole Kidman, whose delicate, elegant looks carried her into movies where her acting talent came to the fore, could not do that after several treatments with Botox. She admitted this in an interview for a German magazine called “TV Movie.” The Australian actress now vows to age gracefully instead.
Rumor has it that Fergie, the Black Eyed Peas singer who recently appeared on “American Idol” underwent several procedures. She denies the whole thing. Husband Josh Duhamel attributes the rumor to the imagination of pop writers and the public.
Rapper and singer Lil Kim seems willing to reveal everything to the public except her affair with plastic surgery. She is suspected of having breast augmentation, cheek implants, skin bleaching and several nose jobs. Born in Brooklyn as Kimberly Denise Jones, she lived on the streets as a teenager and began her career as a member of Junior M.A.F.I.A. A 2005 stint in jail didn’t slow her down much. Maybe she used it as recovery time from breast implants.
Who could forget Material Girl? Madonna’s “pillow face,” apparently the result of too many injections of filler material to stave off the effects of aging, recently became the topic of discussion at the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting. Doctors were talking about new procedures they hope will avoid this unfortunate result. Called lipomodelling, the technique relies on use of the body’s own fat, refined and injected into deeper tissues of the face.
The lesson seems obvious, though perhaps hard to take. Appreciate what nature gave you and be proud of the evidence that you have lived long enough to earn those wrinkles and bumps.
~ Written by Nancy
About Kim
I think I’ll just keep my own face, thank you very much!