We have to wonder if Renée Zellweger was nervous about attending Elle's Women in Hollywood Awards Monday night, Oct. 20. She has spent the better part of the last four years away from the spotlight, taking a breather from the daily grind of Hollywood and Monday evening marked a bit of a return for her. Unfortunately, her shocking appearance seemed to be the only thing that made a lasting impression on people. If you have already seen the pictures, then you know Zellweger appears to have had an enormous amount of plastic surgery done, leaving her to look like a different person. But she nonetheless feels like she is living a "more fulfilling life."
After a multitude of Internet jokes and mean comments yesterday, Zellweger talked exclusively to People magazine, kind of addressing and side-stepping her appearance all at once.
"I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows. My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy. For a long time I wasn't doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn't allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things. I did work that allows for being still, making a home, loving someone, learning new things, growing as a creative person and finally growing into myself," she said.
This situation is sad in several different ways. If Zellweger really was trapped in some of the pitfalls of Hollywood and was able to get herself away from it all and into a healthier place, then she deserves an enormous amount of credit. She basically walked away from her career when it was hot in order to pull herself together and that is huge. Zellweger acknowledges the comments, but then tries to give a reason for her changes that just makes people talk even more.
Do you think the actress is in denial or does she just not want to deal with the real changes in her appearance — at least not publicly? Hopefully, the changes in her personal life have put her on a healthier path and will get just as much coverage as her new face.
