I’ve been having a love affair with Claire Danes lately. I’d always been rather “meh” on her, even back when she was first popular, with My So-Called Life and Romeo + Juliet. I just thought she was pretty and pretty overrated, nothing special. Then I saw Temple Grandin… I had no idea how talented Claire was and is. That movie is so good, and Claire’s performance is so amazing, I just kind of love her now. Considering my love, I’m giving her a pass on what she says in a new interview with Stylist. Claire talks about plastic surgery and how we shouldn’t “judge” women for mangling their faces.
Claire on dyeing her hair: “I’ve been coloring it since I was 13, when I did ‘My So Called Life,’ I have no idea what my real color is! I look at my brother and say, ‘Oh, that’s what I would look like.’ I identify my current blonde as my ‘base color,’ so I return to it when I literally have to wash a character out of my hair. I’m pretty passive about this stuff, so I trust [my colorist friend Steven Amendola]. If he decides to go lighter because it’s spring, I just say, ‘uh huh.'”
Claire on plastic surgery: “I’m really fortunate in that I’m still quite young, and can get away with a lot, and my body is very forgiving. We’ll see how things progress. I think it’s great that women have so much choice now, and choice in products that are backed by science. As long as people are aware of potential risks, and they’re working closely with a doctor, I say go for it. These are real intimate personal decisions, and I don’t think anyone should judge anyone.”
On her new gig on a TV show called Homeland: “It’s a political psychological thriller based on a show that’s very popular in Israel right now. I play a CIA officer. She’s very bright and daring, and takes a lot of risks that get her into trouble… I got to go to the real CIA headquarters at Langley [Virginia], and it was fun! There really are spies out there, doing very spy-y things.”
[From Stylist]
Now, I’ve long maintained that what really bothers me about celebrities and plastic surgery is when someone lies about their work when their work is really, really obvious. See: Kim Kardashian and Nicole Kidman. As I get older, though, I’m finding myself less tolerant of this “whatever you need to make yourself feel better” attitude. I’m committed to aging naturally. That’s my choice and I’m sticking to it, not because I’m so much better than women who choose to work on their faces, but because I see women – celebrities – every day who mangle their natural good looks with stupid plastic surgery. Working here has completely scared me off of even considering it – I don’t want to be a hideous cat-faced monstrosity.
But yeah, every woman had the right to make her own choices about aging and plastic surgery. Just as I have the right to say you looked better before you did all that junk.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I was in a restaurant the other week and a woman came over and compliment my daughters hat, and my god, I’m surprised my daughter didn’t scream in terror at the walking human plastic barbie doll monstrosity facing her!! I mean how can people who f*ck with their faces not realise how truly awful it looks????
On a side note, I absolutely loved my so called life 😀
She’s taking the high road and that’s cool. Most of her peers have had work done so why get into a cat-face fight?.
I love Claire Danes, and that husband of hers is a total hottie. I nominate him for HGF (I know it will be a repeat showing for him; he deserves it)
I love Claire Danes and am STILL gutted that My So-Called Life was canceled after only one season.
Observations & opinions aren’t judgments.
“I don’t think anyone should judge anyone.” so sayeth the man-stealing whore.
Yeah, Claire is talented. Let’s just all forget she cheated on Ben Lee with Billy Crudup who left Mary Louise Parker pregnant. And then cheated on Billy with Hugh. All good.
To each their own, I guess. I couldn’t jack my face up like some do, even if I had the money. That being said, I would consider an eye lift later in life if my eyelids start drooping as badly as my Mom’s. But that’s all I would do-no face lifts, lip injections, butt implants (as if I’d ever need those!) or any other crazy stuff.
Her response is to be expected considering her nose job a few years back. It was good work, at least:
http://www.goodplasticsurgery.com/2005/11/10/claire-danes-narrows-the-bridge/
I casually asked my husband what he thought about me getting a little work done and he replied,
“Once we’ve saved enough for a power mower we’ll talk about it but you can’t do anything with your eyes, or your laugh lines, your nose, or for that matter anything below your eye brows. I like it all just the way it is.”
Of course, being a woman whose name is vanity I shrugged off the love and asked,
“What’s wrong with my forehead?”
I don’t know if she’s being sensible or just building an out if she ever want to have something done.
My issue with the plastic bunch is the desperation and that it is sold to us as “natural” or desireable. Whatever floats your boat generally and some cosmetic surgery is for medical reasons, ie breast reduction. But when cat-faces are promoted as the ideal, I can’t agree.
“I’m committed to aging naturally”
Best choice of all.
People who alter the natural harmony and structure of their faces very rarely end up looking good.
When you work in an industry that is predicated 100 percent on appearance it is completely understandable why some choose to have some form of surgery. Being an actress is competitive enough just to try and find parts, and with a young and fresh face stepping off the bus and arriving in LA on a daily basis, it is all the more understanding why women have a pressure to do it.
I’m not discounting the possibility of some lipo, boob lift, or tummy tuck after I’ve had my last child. After seeing what celebs look like, and considering what they can AFFORD…I am scared to let anyone near my face.
She is so gorgeous!
@guesty
Sure they are.
I’m all for staying fit and living a healthy lifestyle in order to be the best versions of ourselves that we could be, but I’m disgusted with America’s ever-worsening obsession with youth.
In my opinion, IT IS A BLESSING to live life long enough to grow old, and we should appreciate the beauty of each stage of life. It’s pathetic that so many people (especially women) are afraid to age. A person’s value does not diminish with age, it increases! Beauty evolves with each generation of our lives as our life experiences make us more interesting, wise, and compassionate.
temple grandin film actually moved my soul.
Lol @ Rita, from what I can see there isn’t anything wrong with your forehead.
@Rita: that was freakin hilarious!
@Rita – I love it! 🙂
This is also coming from a woman who has natural beauty and a great freakin metabolism.
Shut the hell up.
That first dress would look great on Tilda Swinton.
My problem with the “whatever you need to feel better” attitude is that it perpetuates the idea that feeling better = feeling young and hot. There’s more to life! As my Grandma always says, aging us much preferable to the alternative…
I want Claire Danes’s eyelashes. Just amazing.
there’s only two times somebody should truly get plastic surgery anyway as in for reconstructive purposes or medical reasons. for example natural big breasts make life a living hell and tax on your health so having them reduced is the safest thing or if you break your nose and it doesn’t heal correctly
There are many, many celebrities who have had GOOD plastic surgery. Many claim to be natural, but look at Racquel Welch, Sophia Loren, Helen Mirren, etc. You can have some things done and not look like a freak.
I said something to my husband the other day about me *maybe* getting some botox, and he’s like “You’ll be a freak!”. I said “you wouldn’t even notice”. The man barely notices when I get a couple of inches chopped off my hair.
Women are expected to judge other women.
It’s science, bitches!
@jenna I haven’t forgotten she took up with Billy Crudup when MLP was pregnant. Women who take up with men who have left a pregnant woman have something seriously wrong with them. Why would they want a POS like that?
As far as judging other women, considering she is a whore, I”m not surprised. Whores never think they should be judged or anyone else should be judged.
“Nobody should judge anybody”
Okay Mother Theresa. Thanks for that pearl of wisdom.
Gossip blogs exist solely to judge. And we’re gonna keep on keepin’ on!
I love her hair slicked back like that! Looks good on her, not greasy nasty like Megan Fox.
@Brooke:
“Her response is to be expected considering her nose job a few years back. It was good work, at least:
http://www.goodplasticsurgery.com/2005/11/10/claire-danes-narrows-the-bridge/
I NEVER trust those sites, they are full of photo shopped crap.
She looks like Obi Won in that top pic!
So sick of this “don’t judge” crap. It always seems to be pulled out by people with no moral compass.
Having an opinion is not judging. Taking one small example of behavior and extrapolating it and damning the whole person for it is judging.
hugh dancy is hot.
@EdithP – Helen Mirren and Raquel Welch I’ll agree look quite good, but I never really got why people consider Sophia Loren as an example of aging well. Maybe if her makeup wasn’t so awful she’d look a bit better, but as it is she always reminds me of a jack-o-lantern. She was definitely more beautiful than the other two back in the day, though.
Isn’t she a spokesperson for Latisse? Makes sense that she’d say that such enhancements are OK. (Also explains the lovely eyelashes.)
Hell I told my husband ages ago that when I get older I’ll have some small things done. My mom has had some very small procedures done (eye lift for medical reasons & chin de-flabbing for vanity :P) & looks fantastic!
People can do whatever they want to themselves, but if they go too crazy they better be prepared to get call out for it
Great, I wholeheartedly agree with something Claire Danes said. I’ll embrace it. Yay Claire!
Seriously, though, “no moral compass”? Come on, plastic surgery is a 100% personal decision and it doesn’t affect anyone other than the person having it done. Save the moralizing for…I dunno, actual ethical issues?
@Rita If I were you,I’d be going out to buy that man of yours that power mower that he’s always dreamed of lol.Your one lucky woman to have a hubby that is happy with the way you look/are except apparently your forehead lol.
@ Mom:
You can have her eyelashes – she uses Latisse!!
@Brooke: if she had a nose job, I can’t tell.
Her hair looks AMAZING in the last pic! :)And I’m so proud of her for not getting breast implants.
I love, love, love Claire Danes!!
AMEN Kaiser!
I don’t love her, but I do love that she has no tits and hasn’t dived into the plastic dumpster looking for some. I have to admit that takes class.
She seems to have quite a lot of attitude for someone with so little um, you know, achievement, under her belt. Yet to be convinced.
She was aweswome as Temple Grandin!
She and Brooke Shields both use Latisse for their eyelashes. I would be afraid of the side effects, but it would nice to have such long lashes!
@ Rita: Are we back on power mowers again? I thought you’d have bought that poor guy one by now!!! Even if he did leave your forehead out of the compliment train, have mercy! 🙂
@PrettyTarheel
Summer is coming and Sears is having a sale this week-end. We’re almost there. Maybe get one with a grass catcher. Wouldn’t that be heaven?
I saw some pictures of her a few months ago after not seeing her for a loooong time and I didn’t even recognize her at first. She has definitely had work done.
It is great she did not get breast implants.
She unshackled herself from the wall and attended a party? I guess her bracelet does match the kevlar dress.
Well, it sounded like to me she was being honest. She’s still young and doesn’t need it (and isn’t sick like some of the young actresses destroying their faces), and she’s not saying when the time comes that she won’t. She’s leaving the door open. I have friends who have had nosejobs, and they look a lot better. It isn’t drastic, but they look prettier.
I have good skin and am very lucky. But, let me tell you, if I had leathery or very-lined eyes, I would do a little somethin somethin. And when my eyes look tired some day, whatever that age is when I’m older, I will get my eyes done. But you have to be careful. Too much looks worse than saggy lids. They get that startled look if it isn’t done right.
I criticize the women for the huge lips. I have full lips, but if I had really skinny lips, that don’t look good once you get in your late thirties, I would do a little something in them. But never would I blow them up like fish. I used to judge my friends who were doing something to their lips, until one day a friend, who had very thin lips, put me in my place. She said, you have full lips. You don’t know what it’s like with a thin upper lip. She’s right. I thought of my problem areas and how someone else might not understand how I feel. So I shut up. But they all look good, just a little in their lips. One did too much and everyone talks about her.
So the motto is less is more. Don’t go overboard. Just do it to make yourself a fresher, better version of yourself as you age if something really bothers you (but not when you’re young), not a different face, like cheek implants and huge fish lips, so many fillers you have no smile lines, which a 25-year-old even has, lol.
Haha!
LOVE the comments on this thread.
Ben Lee is better off without Claire Danes and her drama. Last I heard, he’s happily married and has a baby. 🙂
It’s great that you’re an advocate of aging naturally, Kaiser! Gold star to you for keeping it – all of it – real. I’m still also committed to going grey naturally, and it’s not easy when you have naturally dark hair and a skin tone that does not look good against grey hair. 😉
Edit: forgot to add that it’s a good strategy for CD to speak this way about plastic surgery. She doesn’t offend anyone and she also gives herself wiggle-room for it when the time comes. She’s not going to give anyone the chance to pin her down on this issue. And it’s better that all celebrities adopt this approach. Do it if you want, but please don’t lie to us about it. We’re not stupid. 😉
It looks like she’s opened the door for plastic surgery at some point. Too bad.
Looking good is part of the job for actors! WHen will the rest of the world understand it!
Plastic surgery for actors is like going on a carrear development or upgrade course for the rest of us with regular jobs!
You do what you have to do to stay on top of the game… put in that context we should all understand and not judge
i truly hate the dress in the 1st pic
I want Latisse really bad. Pregnancy made my eyelashes thin out a bit and get shorter. I’m fine with chemical peels, micro-dermabrasion and all sorts of spa treatments. But I’m NEVER going to use botox or injections or have a medical procedure done. When you mess with the natural genes & cell structure of your body, you eventually look warped, even when the surgery looked good and subtle at first. Your body and your cells will fight it, and you’ll always end up looking… “off”. Trimmed noses start falling, fake boobs lie weird/wonky on the chest, implants (cheek, jaw, nose, etc.) don’t work with the aging process and look psycho. It’s just my opinion, but people are much better taking care of themselves and keeping their health than they are getting nipped, tucked and trimmed. The only time I think plastic surgery is a good thing: when people get into accidents or are born with deformations. Such surgeries can greatly enhance their lives, and even save their lives in some cases.
Oh, and I think Danes is a good actress. But that whole thing with Billy Crudup was just disgusting. How can you respect yourself when you do that? Ugh. In fact, I wonder that most of hollywood can even sleep at night. If I had that much karma up against me, I’d be medicated just to stay sane.
1. She’s had a MAJOR nose job so she’s in no position to judge.
2. She is a racist who was banned from the Philipines for insulting the Filipino people after filming a movie there.
Downloading that Temple Grandin movie now.
Thanks for the recommendation.
@Newbie: Latisse is kinda awesome. My only caveat is that it can take freaking forever. For some of us. The women I know of Italian/Greek/Middle Eastern descent always seem to say (after only a few weeks) “They’re so long I have to trim them!”
Yeah, right. Being descended from sparsely-lashed people, I did NOT have that problem. But after much patience, they are now absurdly long and thick. And also blonde, but I figure 2 out of 3 isn’t bad. (BTW, I researched this stuff first and felt satisfied that most side effects occur in far higher concentrations. YMMV.)
And Billy Crudup makes me very sad because I don’t understand how he can look so soulful and be such a sleaze. (Really? They couldn’t wait a few more months until HIS CHILD was born? I refuse to believe a grown man has so little self-control. She was better off with Jordan Catalano.)
That’s right, Home Wrecker. You’d better NOT be judging anyone else.