By Emily Feimster
We all know that Hollywood is obsessed with looks so it's no surprise to see some celebrities making drastic changes to help improve their appearance. However, once the pounds come off or the Prada shoes are slipped on, we don't always like the "new and improved" person, especially when their new sense of self has gone to their head. Remember when the scruffy-faced, t-shirt wearing Ben Affleck
started sporting suits and slicking his hair back? We hated him...and his movies! Now there's a new crop of famous folks leaving us to wonder, "Why!?!"
The latest makeover to have an enormous backlash has been that of Star Jones Reynolds'-- whose career has been on the ropes since being fired from "The View." TV veteran Barbara Walters admitted that ABC bosses declined to renew Star's contract after research showed audiences were turned off by the former lawyer's dramatic weight loss and her and Al Reynolds' wedding in 2004, when she plugged companies on air in exchange for freebies for her nuptials. Not to mention, you can only watch a TV host kissing so much celebrity booty before you want to punch yourself in the face. Said Walters about the decision, "We tried to talk them out of it and we tried to give Star time to redeem herself in the eyes of the audience, and the research just kept getting worse."
Another person who took herself a whole lot less seriously before losing weight with TrimSpa, baby, is Anna Nicole Smith. She even stormed Howard Stern's radio show trying to get him to apologize on air for calling her "porky" during one of her past guest appearances. I mean, come on! She used to have a sense of humor. And who didn't love watching her get stuck under tables while playing on the ground with her dog? Plus, she was much more coherent during those days. Now we get to see her stumbling through her words before finally saying, "Like my body?"
However, it isn't just the big girls who are having some trouble. We've seen stars like Kate Bosworth
and Keira Knightley
become drastically underweight, causing tons of buzz in the tabloids. And let's not forget the 98 lb. Nicole Richie
! During the first two seasons of "The Simple Life," she came across as a very fun, down-to-earth girl, who didn't take life too seriously. Now she can be seen sitting stone faced at fashion shows wearing sunglasses that almost cover her entire face. So far her dramatic change of appearance and attitude haven't hurt her career, though it may have cost her a friendship with Paris Hilton
. "She was the funniest, best person to be around and then she let fame go to her head," claimed Hilton, who has clearly remained humble herself.
One of the biggest makeovers to be getting attention as of late comes from another Hollywood IT girl, Ashlee Simpson, who has left fans less than pleased after reportedly undergoing rhinoplasty on her nose. It's not that she doesn't look good. It's that she recently encouraged the readers of Marie Claire magazine to accept their body flaws just weeks before going under the knife. "Everyone is made differently, and that's what makes us beautiful and unique," she claimed in the July issue, which was met by over 1,000 reader complaints. Even the new editor, Joanna Coles, wrote, "She was quoting chapter and verse about how crucial it is to love yourself as you are, etc. We're dazed and confused - and disappointed - by her choice too." Ouch.
Speaking of noses, once Jennifer Grey nipped hers in the bud, so followed the rest of her career. In a recent interview, Grey said that having plastic surgery on her nose was the worst mistake she had ever made because she was no longer recognizable as the girl from the film "Dirty Dancing," just somebody who looked a bit like her.
Then of course there are those changes that leave folks looking a lot worse off than they did before. Remember when Meg Ryan introduced the world to her new, huge lips? Yep, her career has been on a downward spiral ever since. Talk about firing your plastic surgeon! The same can be said for actor Mickey Rourke and rockers Axl Rose of "Guns N' Roses" and Vince Neil of "Motley Crue," who clearly had a lot of work done under those rugged exteriors. Ever since going under the knife, they've got tight, shiny faces with big cheekbones. Ah, now that's what we call a tough guy!
In the end, all we're saying is that for all of you famous folks out there who have a problem with how you look, trust us, leave it alone. You're already famous. Why mess with a good thing?