What happened to Renee Zellweger? Plastic surgery, or just natural aging?

photo courtesy of TMZ.com

It seems that the answer to this question is, “a little from column A, and a little from column B”.

Bloggers everywhere are saying that Renee doesn’t look like herself, and I have to agree. It’s pretty impressive how much she does not look like herself, which is not always a sure fire sign of plastic surgery, but it certainly can be, and in her case I think it is… at least in part.

Keep reading for a plastic surgeon’s view on Renee’s new look…

What went wrong with Renee?

1. She lost her brow arch. One of the most noticeable things about her 2014 photos is that her eyebrows have no shape… they are almost completely flat and very low set, which is usually a dead giveaway to overdone Botox in the frontalis muscle of the forehead, and underdone or improperly positioned Botox in the corrugator muscles that control the shape of the eyes and eyebrows. Flat, low set brows like this would work well on a man (i.e. BroTox), but never work for a woman, and this is the clearest evidence of that fact that you could ever ask for. The timing of this image showing up is quite ironic because just yesterday I had a discussion with a patient of mine about this very same issue. She had her Botox done by “a friend of her sister” to save money, and couldn’t figure out why it didn’t look as pretty as when she had it done previously in my practice. I immediately noticed how low and flat her brows were, and when I pointed that out to her, she said “yeah, I noticed that too but I thought it was supposed to look like that”. We discussed how a female eyebrow should sit above the bony arch at the top of the eye socket, and how it should have a natural arch peaking just over the lateral edge of the pupil. After that brow anatomy lesson, she immediately understood that she had the same problem as Renee.
2. Her cheeks and lips deflated. This is a natural process that happens to the best, and the most beautiful of us. We all lose volume in our midfaces as we age, and Renee has lost it in all the usual spots… the temples, the cheeks, and the lips. Losing volume like this is tremendously aging to the face, and this is great evidence for how powerful volume (or lack thereof) can be.
3. Her eyes changed shape. Renee’s squinty almond-shaped eyes have always been one of her signature features, but suddenly those eyes look different, and not in a good way. This is the standout change that makes Renee not look like Renee, and is likely a sign of overdone eye surgery along with the less-than-perfect Botox discussed previously.
4. Her skin is incredibly sun damaged. Renee’s creamy white skin of 2004 has been replaced with a tanned, leathered, dulled, and spotted version of itself, which makes her look much older than she needs to. Too many sunny vaca’s on the yacht in St. Tropez without sunscreen…

What should Renee do now?

1. Let her Botox wear off. The good thing about Botox is that is wears off, and in Renee’s case this is a particularly good thing. Botox lasts about 4 months for most women, so we should see that feminine brow arch returning after the holidays, which will lead to a surprisingly dramatic improvement for her. Dropping and flattening of the brows with Botox is something that should never happen in the hands of an experienced injector, and this goes to show that even the celebs have a hard time knowing who to go to.
2. Have some youthful volume restored to her cheeks and lips. Renee desperately needs some volume in her cheeks, temples, and lips to offset the suboptimal brow position and the likely overdone eyelid surgery. Juvederm Voluma or Sculptra would be an excellent choice for her since the soft, plump, natural look of those products would do the best job of matching her look from ten years ago.
3. No more eye surgery. The altered shape of her eyes is one of Renee’s biggest issues, but only because it took away her signature squinty-eyed look that makes her look like herself. If she had eyelid surgery, she shouldn’t have, and if she didn’t, she shouldn’t.
4. Consider IPL treatments or a chemical peel for her sun damage. Beautiful skin is one of the most commonly overlooked cosmetic treatments. Everyone rushes off for the surgery, fillers and Botox, but forgets about their skin! I’m sure you remember the old saying, “Beauty is only skin deep.”. Well, that happens to be true since even-toned, soft, wrinkle-free skin is always beautiful no matter what is going on with the rest of the face. Renee’s sun damaged skin is making her look much older than she should, and a good polishing with a series of IPL treatments would go an long way towards taking a few years off.

Room for other opinions…

In situations like this, there are bound to be as many opinions about Renee’s new look as there are bash-happy bloggers looking for juicy gossip. Everyone is welcome to their opinions of course, but the best thing to do when something as unfortunate as this happens to such a talented and beautiful person is to try to learn from it so that it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Renee’s plastic surgery (if there is any) is certainly not the worst we’ve ever seen, but there’s no question that it could have been better. That being said, it doesn’t do anyone any good to make fun of her, or of the cosmetic industry as a whole, so please keep your comments educational, positive, and respectful. Thanks very much! I hope you enjoyed the article.

Nicholas Vendemia, M.D.