The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

By Jessica Sanchez

> Getting celebrities to admit to having plastic surgery done is like getting women to admit they go through their significant other’s phone. No one wants to fess up because, in both cases, doing so is a reluctant admission of those small insecurities that people try oh-so-hard to hide. Some celebs do a great job of hiding it; their cosmetic enhancements are like special effects in a movie, you can’t tell if they’re fake. But others are forced to acknowledge that they’ve gone under the knife because there is no other explanation for how they look; it’s as plain as, well, the nose on their face. So let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly and see which celebrities are ageing gracefully in 2012, and which ones treat plastic surgery like potato chips: they can’t have just one.

The Good

Jennifer Aniston has been on People magazine’s list of The Most Beautiful since she was 25 years old. That was 18 years ago! She celebrated her 43rd birthday in February. She doesn’t fault plastic surgery but says it’s not for her, attributing her flawless complexion and youthful appearance to laser peels and “state-of-the art” serums, which she doesn’t name.

Megan Fox doesn’t look a day over 26 but that’s probably because she isn’t. Beauty experts say there’s a reason men are compelled to do a Loony Tune double-take (you know, where their eyes pop out, their jaws drop and their tongues roll out in a sloppy drool) when they lay eyes on her and it has just as much to do with cosmetic surgery as good make-up. When you compare photos of her over the past few years you can see a distinctive transformation from a girl-next-door beauty to a Hollywood seductive sex kitten; some botox, rhinoplasty and perhaps a breast enhancement? She denies it all but either way the real question is, who cares? She looks great.

Ellen DeGeneres isn’t one of those women who makes it on the “Top 5” of any man’s list, but most people can agree that at 54 years old she looks great. So great that no one can say for certain if she got a face and/or brow lift. Her eyes are still charmingly characterized with the lines that tend to develop on people who are always smiling. If she did get any work done she likely got it over a period of time, allowing fans and critics to grow accustomed to each small change.

The Bad

Bruce Jenner, the easy-going stepfather of the Kardashians isn‘t so easy on the eyes. He has been fairly open about his cosmetic procedures since his first plastic surgery went wrong in 1984. He decided to fix the errors with - what else - more plastic surgery. These days Jenner, 62, says he’s very happy with the latest results, even though some critics say he looks more like an eerie twin to Mike Meyers from the Halloween movies than the handsome Olympic star he was in the 70’s.

Priscilla Presley, once the poster child of good looks and glamour is now the protagonist in plastic surgery horror stories. Her natural beauty is hard to see behind a series of botched botox treatments and shoddy cheek implants. The story is that in 2003 Presley, 66, fell victim to a phony Argentinean doctor who injected her with low-grade silicone, similar to what’s used to lubricate auto parts in his home country. The silicone can stick to tissue and distort the flesh. Like Bruce Jenner, Presley has repeatedly tried to repair the damage with more plastic surgery.

Lil Kim seems to put on a new face every time she goes out, but she left home without her eyebrows this last time around. After her appearance on the red carpet of BET’s Rip the Runway 2012 show, critics immediately jumped on the rapper’s rosy cheek implants and puffy lips, which were barely held together by her new nose job. Her change in appearance has been so dramatic over the years that celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn, who hasn’t treated the star, hinted at a “serious body image problem” in an interview with TMZ.

The Ugly

Jocelyn Wildenstein could’ve lived her extravagant lifestyle in cozy obscurity among New York’s social elite had it not been for her ghastly obsession with cosmetic surgery. Now she is famous for lacking the thing money can’t buy: common sense. Known around the world as the “Cat Woman” or “The Bride of Wildenstein,” and in some cases labeled the scariest looking celebrity, her obscene amount of plastic surgery is said to have stemmed from a desperation to stop her millionaire art dealer husband, Alec Wildenstein, from leaving her. He apparently had a love of exotic cats and she thought he would find her more attractive if she looked more “feline.”

Donatella Versace has certainly tried everything to fight off the ravages of age except, ironically, staying out of the sun. But her leathery skin pales in comparison to what she’s done to her face. If the Joker had a twin sister this would be it. Her swollen lips have become as trademark as her high-fashion brand of clothing and have earned her a spot on nearly every list of plastic surgery faux pas over the past few years.

Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson hasn’t just raised his own eyebrows; the red-haired comedian has everyone lifting an eye at his dramatic appearance. At 47 years old, this Central Florida native (he grew up in Cocoa) is no stranger to “Top 10” lists of scary plastic surgeries, though it has never been proven that he‘s actually gone under the knife. But his severely arched brows, plump lips and waxy smooth skin have become almost as comedic as his stand-up. <