Usually, a makeover is a good thing; it can bring you closer to how you think you should
really look.
But for some people, that look can end up also making them completely unrecognizable,
which can be a problem — especially in Hollywood.
Here are a few celebrities who destroyed their careers by altering their looks.
Jennifer Grey
Nobody puts baby in a corner…except maybe a money-hungry plastic surgeon.
Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey stood out in the 1980s because of her distinctive nose.
When she went under the knife for a nose reduction in 1989, her career shrunk, too.
It was such a dramatic difference that even close friends didn't recognize her.
She told The Mirror,
"I went into the ­operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous.
It was the nose job from hell.
I'll always be this once-famous actress nobody ­recognizes because of a nose job."
After seeing Dirty Dancing for the first time, Grey's daughter also noticed a big difference,
too.
"We were cuddling in bed and she said to me, 'You know, you're really cool, mom.'
And I said 'Thanks honey.'
And she said, 'You know, your face looked really different in the movie.
You looked really beautiful.'
Yeah, but I said the problem was I didn't believe enough in myself."
Mickey Rourke
After taking a break from acting in the early 1990s to pursue a boxing career, the undefeated
Mickey Rourke returned to acting with a severely damaged face.
He underwent a series of plastic surgeries to try to correct his injuries, but the results
hurt his prospects in Hollywood.
He told the Daily Mail,
"Most of it was to mend the mess of my face because of the boxing, but I went to the wrong
guy to put my face back together.
I had my nose broken twice.
I had five operations on my nose and one on a smashed cheekbone."
Rourke finally got most of the bad work reversed, or at least minimized, by 2008, and his career
has since picked up.
He even earned an Oscar nomination for The Wrestler in 2008.
Renée Zellweger
When Renée Zellweger resurfaced in 2014 after four years out of the spotlight, the press
went wild over her seemingly altered face.
Plastic surgeons speculated to Radar Online that the Oscar winner underwent upper eyelid
surgery and Botox, as well as cheek fillers, a nose job, and surgical slimming of the lower
part of her face.
The actress adamantly denied all of the tabloid claims, but also isn't working much lately,
which could have something to do with losing her signature look.
Zellweger's biggest project in years is Bridget Jones's Baby, and seeing that she's the only
Bridget Jones they can realistically hire, that job was a bit of a gimme.
Ashlee Simpson
The career of Ashlee Simpson ended for a lot of reasons…
(pre-recorded song playing during SNL concert)
...but she also faced a lot of backlash for her own hypocrisy.
In July 2006, Simpson appeared on the cover of Marie Claire singing praises of self-acceptance,
saying,
"Everyone is made differently, and that's what makes us beautiful and unique.
I want girls to look in the mirror and feel confident."
It's a great message...except soon after the issue hit newsstands, she was spotted with
a brand new nose.
Marie Claire editor Joanna Coles revealed that they received thousands of letters about
Simpson not practicing what she preaches and published a note in the magazine saying,
"We're dazed and confused—and disappointed—by her choice, too."
Tara Reid
Josie and the Pussycats star Tara Reid confessed that when she got plastic surgery in 2004,
it had a negative impact on her career, as well as her self-esteem.
After the botched operation, she was left with liposuction lumps on her stomach, as
well as problems from her breast augmentation.
She told CBS News,
"My stomach became the most ripply, bulgy thing.
I had a hernia, this huge bump next to my belly button.
As a result, I couldn't wear a bikini.
I lost a lot of work."
Reid reportedly got her procedures reversed in 2006, but the damage to her career has
left her the the star of Marriage Boot Camp… and Sharknado.
"Jackpot!!"
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