Renee Zellweger: Did She Get Plastic Surgery? The Truth Behind Her New Face

Renee attended Elle’s 21st Annual Women In Hollywood Awards, Oct. 20, and everyone immediately noticed that her signature plump cheeks were gone and her eyes seemed much more open. We spoke to three top experts who told us whether the ‘Chicago’ actress might have gone under the knife and you won’t believe what they had to say!

Renee Zellweger, 45, looked gorgeous when she stepped out at the prestigious Elle Women in Hollywood Awards but she almost looked unrecognizable. Many fans speculated on Twitter that perhaps she had a facelift, or too much Botox but we can tell you exactly what is going on.

Renee Zellweger: Did She Get Plastic Surgery? The Truth Behind Her New Face

Dr. Janet Prystowsky, leading board certified Dermatologist in NYC, tells us:

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“It looks to me as though Renee had a brow lift, eyelid lift, and a facelift,” she said. “The brow lift has raised her forehead too high and it looks like she may have even had hair transplants to bring her hairline down again because of the appearance of hairs at the hairline. The cheeks were made thinner with the facelift. The eye lift has given her a more sunken look than she normally had skin and fat were removed. The eyebrows are going straight across instead of normally arching which also gives her eyes an unusual look. This could be related to the brow lift and Botox.”

Renee Zellweger’s Reaction To What People Think Of Her Face: She Doesn’t Care

Dr. David Cangello, M.D., Director Of Plastic Surgery at the JUVA Skin, Laser and Plastic Surgery Center in NYC, also believes she had her upper eyelids done, and he believes that she had fillers in her cheeks.

“I think she actually looks much nicer now,” Dr. Lyle Back, Board Certified Philadelphia area plastic surgeon said. “She had an excellent facelift which has made her face much less puffy, rectangular and masculine appearing. Her face is more oval, elegant and feminine without an ‘over-pulled’ look. She has also had her eyes nicely done, losing the heavy, tired look around her eyes. A well designed, finessed nasal reshaping created a nice balance with the rest of her.”

Renee has been the subject of plastic surgery rumbling before. She actually spoke out about it to the U.K’s Daily Express in 2013:

“When you read reports that you are starving yourself or that you are anorexic it’s very unfair and disappointing,” she said. “It’s not very pleasant to read reports which say you’ve gone too far or this or that.”

Renee Zellweger: Experts Believe She Had Plastic Surgery

Did she or didn’t she? Fans were asking the question after new photos surfaced of Renee on Nov. 2 looking a bit different. We spoke to numerous plastic surgeons to get their expert opinions on whether she had work done!

Renee Zellweger looked fresh-faced and amazing at a screening of the movie Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story on Nov. 2 in Burbank, Calif. But is the 44-year-old gracefully aging or is she getting some help from a dermatologist? HollywoodLife.com spoke to four plastic surgeons EXCLUSIVELY to bring you the truth!

Renee Zellweger’s Face — Experts Speak About Plastic Surgery

Dr. Brian Glatt, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Morristown, NJ, says it doesn’t look like Renee had a nose job, but it does appear she got a chin implant:

Weight loss can even make a person’s nose appear slimmer as Ms. Zellweger’s does post weight-loss. It does not appear as if she has had rhinoplasty. While weight loss can certainly eliminate the appearance of a double chin, in Renee’s case, the chin is actually elongated, which is not something that can be attributed to weight loss. Although I have not treated Ms. Zellweger it is pretty safe to say based on this photo that she has had a chin implant. The result is attractive without giving the jawline a look that is too masculine. The added length to her face seems to make the rest of her features “pop” giving her face a look that is overall quite striking.

Renee has always had small eyes. By losing volume in her cheeks through weight loss, it makes her eyes more outstanding. Nothing in the shape or angle of her eyes has changed and nor has her brow position.  Aside from the likely chin implant and the continued use of botox (since the “before” pictures of Renee show her forehead wrinkle free), the rest of the facial changes appear to be weight loss related.

Do you think Renee had work done?

Definitely some surgery.Only facials and lasers.I think it's all natural.

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More Doctors Weigh In

Dr. Barry M. Weintraub, a national spokesperson for the American Board of Plastic Surgery, doesn’t believe Renee has had any significant procedures:

It does not appear that she had a blepharoplasty (eyelid lift), as she still has some hooding on the upper eyelid, although fat or fillers can be conservatively put into the upper eyelid (just below the brow) to give the appearance of “bedroom eyes.” Renee, like all of us, is maturing as an actor, and as we mature, we lose facial volume.  This can be counteracted with the transplantation of one’s own fat, or with fillers properly placed.

Board Certified Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Yael Halaas says that she is doing more superficial (and attainable) procedures for her youthful-looking skin:

Her skin is radiant and shows that she has been likely doing facials, peels and possibly laser treatments to maintain that perfect complexion. I would specifically recommend photo facials (intense pulse light), superficial chemical peels, and Perfective Ceuticals brightening system for women who want to look like a celebrity. Her eyebrows are lower and straighter. This can occur with age and also with the use of Botox to maintain a smooth wrinkle free brow.

Dr. Shirley Madhere, M.D., P.C., can’t come to a definitive conclusion, but perhaps that’s the whole point!

One of the marks of a skillful plastic surgeon is that the results may leave one guessing, “Did she or didn’t she?” One of the marks of a talented actress is that she may change or adjust her appearance to adapt to any role — whether by intentional weight loss, deft makeup application, or other means. The photos do show differences to Ms. Zellweger’s facial contours — in the overall shape of her face, her brow position, and the angle of her jawline. Regardless of any perceived physical and superficial changes, however, the more important things to note are that she is talented, personable, and well-respected for her craft. These, I surmise, are also a part of the beauty equation.

Do you think Renee has had plastic surgery or is her flawless skin just from facials and lasers? Tell us in the comments, HollywoodLifers!

Inside Renée Zellweger's shocking decision to have plastic surgery

When Renée Zellweger stepped onto the red carpet for theOctober 20 Elle Women in Hollywood gala, reporters couldn't place the stunner in the lace-sleeved black Carolina Herreradress. One member of the press tells Us she had to point out the Academy Award winner to peers gathered at the Four Seasons hotel in L.A.: ­"People said, 'No, that's not Renée. Seriously?' Even those who were inches away weren't sure it was her."

As photos hit the internet, fans flooded social media with incredulous comments about the 45-year-old's drastically changed looks. CNN posted a piece titled "Is That You, Renée Zellweger?" And The New York Times conducted a CSI-level analysis of her "new face." Finally, Zellweger joined the conversation, releasing a statement October 22. "I'm glad folks think I look different!" said the Houston native, who has been dating musicianDoyle Bramhall II for more than two years. "I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows."

Experts, however, chalk it up to more than cheerfulness. New York-based cosmetic surgeon Victoria Karlinsky tells Us that Zellweger "likely had upper-lid surgery to make her eyes look more open as well as a very conservative type of rhinoplasty to narrow the bridge of her nose." Beverly Hills-based David Alessi, an attending plastic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, adds: "I suspect she had fat removed from her cheeks. She probably also had Botox injected into her jaw muscles to make them thinner." (Neither surgeon has treated Zellweger.) The result, noted the Times, "looks like the manicured socialite, the moderately successful commercial actress, the benign political wife." And while surgery is far from uncommon - the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery estimates that 11 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2013 - the reasons behind Zellweger's makeover worry her friends. "She is sort of obsessed with staying younger and is ­having a hard time accepting she's not the hot young thing in Hollywood anymore," says a Zellweger confidant. "But the problem is she didn't ­appreciate ­everything that made her interesting and special."

Singular Beauty

After all, she had everyone at hello. When Zellweger broke out with Jerry Maguire in 1996, New York Times movie critic Janet Maslin heralded the arrival of a unique star with an "open, eager, unconventionally pretty face" and "fetching ordinariness, which happens to be quite extraordinary." Her charm and talent won her the coveted lead in 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary and the 2004 sequel, plus three Golden Globes and a 2004 Academy Award for the drama Cold Mountain. By 2006, The Hollywood Reporter estimated she could easily command $15 million per picture.

And then she couldn't. The 2008 George Clooney vehicle Leatherheads flopped at the box office. And the 2009 fish-out-of-water comedy New in Town, costarring Harry Connick Jr., opened at a lowly number eight. Even more hurtful, The Guardian's review of that film skewered Zellweger's appearance. As critic Peter Bradshaw put it, "Zellweger's rabbity, dimply pout - surely the strangest facial expression in Hollywood- simpers and twitches out of the screen." After the blink-and-you-missed-it movie My Own Love Song breezed by in 2010, Zellweger took a four-year break. "The parts started drying up," says the confidant. "She wonders what's wrong with her and why she isn't getting the roles she used to." Image expert Jess Weiner, CEO of Talk to Jess, an L.A.-based company that specializes in social messaging for women, says it's a common concern. "The pressure for women over 40 is that they stay eternally youthful," Weiner tells Us. "The reality of growing older gracefully is that you don't look 20 anymore. But Hollywood demands an unrealistic ideal to be kept by women of all ages."

Zellweger herself once championed aging naturally. In 2002, she told Entertainment Tonight that surgery "doesn't interest me," adding of imperfections, "Don't get rid of that because 'that's not pretty.' Yeah, it is." Yet by the 2013 Oscars, her visage was already so transformed that Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson tweeted, "Renee Zellweger arrives as a Ghost of Christmas Future for Jennifer Lawrence, bearing warning about Botox."

But the actress - who returns to the big screen as a mom and Jim Belushi's wife in the 2015 drama The Whole Truth - has a legion of defenders in Hollywood too. "Who's not getting work done?" Zachary Quinto tells Us. "Who's not trying to bend to the unrealistic expectations of women?" And Connick tweeted October 22, "To my dear friend #Renee Zellweger - you are an inspiration . . . one of the most brilliant, beautiful women i know."

Her New Life

As the actress acknowledged, her reality has changed since she was constantly filming movies and facing what she has called "a very strange, nomadic circus life." Now she enjoys a quieter existence. Mostly settled in an oceanfront Santa Monica condo, she "is extremely health conscious and does a lot of yoga and all the workout fads," says a confidant. "She's always trying different diets and meal delivery services."

Bramhall shares her passion for healthy living. Friends with Zellweger since meeting her at the University of Texas in 1990, the guitarist, 45, struggled with a heroin addiction and dated Sheryl Crow in 2011. Zellweger endured a string of bad relationships and a failed marriage (see box, right) before falling for Bramhall, who most recently released the album Welcome, in 2012. "They work out together and both love being outside," shares a Zellweger insider. Adds another source: "He's someone she can be quiet with. That's rare."

Still, the source close to Zellweger takes issue with the notion that love is itself a face-lift. "Renée's in a great relationship and at peace for the first time," says the source, "But unfortunately, happiness doesn't raise your eyelids or make you look more awake."

Though criticism about her looks has dampened her mood - "Renée is putting on a brave facade," says an insider, "but she is shaken by the blowup this week" - it just may help her career. News outlets breathlessly followed her first days in Mississippifor the drama Same Kind of Different as Me. And the wall-to-wall coverage could hype The Whole Truth in 2015. "She would need to give a spectacular performance for it to boost her career," Box Office Guru editor Gitesh Pandya tells Us. "But one thing is for sure: We were not talking about this film at all until she set foot on that red carpet."

PHOTOS: Renée Zellweger's Continuously Changing Looks

By FOX News Magazine

 | October 21, 2014

There’s something different about Renée Zellweger — and it has nothing to do with gaining weight for another “Bridget Jones” revival.

READ: Renée Zellweger is Almost Unrecognizable These Days

All eyes were on the 45-year-old actress at Monday evening's Elle Women in Hollywood Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles — but perhaps for the wrong reasons: Zellweger was definitely missing her signature squint and permanently pursed lips.

What happened?

Back in 2013, the Oscar-winning actress stirred headlines for her dramatic transformation, which the Daily Mail characterized as a “deer-caught-in-the-headlights gaze.”

PHOTOS: 10 Celebrities That Look Way Older Than They Actually Are

There are several reasons why Zellweger, who E! Online describes as “one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood just years ago,” looks different these days. 

Several media outlets, like The Huffington Post UK and gossip blogger Perez Hilton hinted that maybe she had a little work done. Anthony Youn, M.D., who hasn’t personally treated the star, told Radar he suspected the same.

“It appears that she may have undergone injections of Botox, preventing her brows and forehead from creating her trademark look,” says Youn. “Her brows look more relaxed, allowing her eyes to open up more.”

READ: The Truth About Botox

While Zellweger has never openly admitted to getting surgery, Express UK reports that several life changes, such as “a dramatic weight loss and an embarrassingly short wedding to country singer Kenny Chesne,y” did have an impact on her life, which could have prompted a makeover of sorts. 

It could also just be the aging process at work.

You be the judge. See Zellweger’s many looks from over the years below, then take our poll on how far you'd go to avoid aging.

1998

Attending the premiere of "One True Thing" in New York.

1999

Arriving at the 71st Annual Academy awards in Los Angeles.

2000

Arriving as a guest for the 10th annual Fire & Ice Ball in Beverly Hills.

2001

Arriving for the 73rd annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

2002

Arriving at the 74th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood.

2003

Attending the 75th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood.

2004

Posing with her Golden Globe award in Beverly Hills.

2005

Arriving for the premiere of "Cinderella Man" in Los Angeles.

2006

Arriving at the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards in London.

2007

Participating in the TV show "Wetten Dass" with singer Kylie Minogue in Graz.

2008

Listening during a news conference for the film "Appaloosa" at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival.

2009

Arriving at the 66th annual Golden Globe awards in Beverly Hills.

2010

Attending "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" in Los Angeles.

2011

Posing on the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of the exhibition "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" in New York.

2012

Arriving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of the "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibition in New York.

2013

Attending Giorgio Armani's "One Night Only New York” fashion show.

2014

At the UCSF Medical Center event in San Francisco.

2014

At Elle's annual Women in Hollywood Awards.

Renee Zellweger's new face: Plastic surgeons tell us what work the actress may have had done

Renee Zellweger, a cherubic cutie with the trademark cheeks in 'Jerry Maguire' and 'Chicago,' looked utterly unrecognizable on the red carpet in Los Angeles on Monday night — and experts think the Oscar winner went under the knife.

Great Bridget Jones' Diary, what did she do to her face?!

Renee Zellweger, a cherubic cutie with the trademark cheeks in “Jerry Maguire” and "Chicago," looked utterly unrecognizable on the red carpet in Los Angeles on Monday night — and experts think the Oscar winner went under the knife.

But no one is exactly sure which part of her was remade.

"The extra hooded skin on her eyes isn't there anymore," said Dr. Robert Guida, a plastic surgeon on Park Ave., who added that the actress likely got Botox and fillers in her face.

"There is no question she has had her upper eyelids done," Dr. Thomas Sterry, a Manhattan plastic surgeon told the Daily News. "She always had that cherub-y face, and suddenly ... her eyes (are) much wider."

Dr. Victoria Karlinsky, a cosmetic surgeon on the Upper West Side, speculated that the 45-year-old actress got a nose job to remake her face from perky to steely.

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STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE

Renee Zellweger arrives at the 2014 ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards in Los Angeles on Monday.

"The bridge of her nose has become more narrow," she said.

The buzz from Park Ave. to Sunset Boulevard began on Monday night at Elle Magazine's annual Women In Hollywood party presented by REAL Calvin Klein — where people “almost didn’t recognize” the former “It Girl” on the red carpet, said a source who was at the event.

"When people got up close to her, they were taken back by what she had done to her face," the source said. “Everyone was whispering about how different she looked.”

But in the court of public opinion, the jury is still out on whether Zellweger had gotten a lift from her alleged lift.

"She's probably having a mid-career crisis!" said Fahra Simon, a 28-year-old health specialist, slamming the new look. "A lot of celebrities are trying to keep up with the younger generation, the Kim K's.”

But others liked Zellweger 2.0, with one calling it as “younger and fresher.”

“She got work done, but she looks better now," said Jane Reid, a 58-year-old legal assistant from Staten Island.

And Karlinsky pointed out that Zellweger may simply be aging gracefully.

"Monday, we saw an elegant, classic woman,” she said. “She's still a beautiful woman."

Zellweger's rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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PAUL ARCHULETA/FILMMAGICEnlarge

A fresh-faced Zellweger in the 2002 comedy 'Bridget Jones' Diary,' left, and at a film screening in Nov. 2013, right.

WHAT DA ZEL? POSSIBLE WORK OSCAR WINNER GOT DONE

According to the pros, this is the work Zellweger likely got done.

NOSE: Could have had a litlte nose job as bridge is more narrow.

EYES: Excess upper eyelid skin removed, opening up the eye but lowering the brow

FOREHEAD: Possible Botox and filler but NO face lift (her brows would be much higher)

LIPS: Also possible filler to make lips more pronounced.

CHEEKS: Upper cheek remains full from fillers while lower cheek fat is gone, either due to weight loss or surgical removal