Ashley Judd

 

Actress Ashley Judd, an American actress, model and philanthropist, is no stranger to the performing arts.

Growing up the daughter of Naomi Judd, and the sister of Wynona, Ashley found her niche and she’s been acting for more than 20 years.

However, whether she’s on screen in a murder mystery or on the news for global humanitarian endeavors, Judd has been famed for her natural looks that have withstood Hollywood temptations. Or at least that was true until recently, according to the Daily Mail.

When she recently appeared on a Canadian show to promote her new television show, “Missing,” Judd’s cheeks looked round and full; which was odd since her figure hasn’t gained weight or softened at all.
Ashley’s ‘Pillow Face’?

In fact she’s developed what is commonly called a “pillow face,” according to the Daily Mail, and it is often caused by celebrities that over-use facial fillers so that rather than looking young and healthy they develop a roundness of face that’s exaggerated and in some cases comical.

Leah Miller, it has to be said, has adopted a similar look.  Whether it’s an example of the worst surgery is a matter of debate.

And it appears that Ashley Judd’s face, once slender and naturally beautiful, has been over-sculpted.  Other stars such as Jane Fonda, for example, have faired considerably better.

The change has most definitely been noticed by fans and viewers of the Daily Mail’s story alike, with the comments section full of bewildered people wondering what’s happened to one of their favorite actress’s face.

In her 40s, it appears at a glance that Judd fell victim to trying to reclaim her youth.

But as many other actresses in Hollywood have opined, what’s wrong with becoming an older version of the attractive person that you already were? Meryl Streep has very firmly come out and stated this view.

  The response of course might be that it limits your career and makes it harder to maintain star power in the face of the coming generation.

Or it might be that some people would prefer to remain younger and healthier looking… and sometimes the celebrity surgery just doesn’t pan out.

Ashley Judd Before & After Pictures.

Hey, Ashley Judd: I’m Puffy From Cosmetic Surgery And Proud of It
Like Ashley Judd, I have puffy cheeks this week. Unlike Ashley Judd, my cheeks are puffy from a cosmetic procedure, and I don’t care who knows it, or what people think about my decision. Cher said it best: “If I want to put tits on my back, it’s nobody’s business but my own.”
puffy-face-marshall

Judd is angry that people think she had work done when she didn’t, and I get it. The fact that she should be subjected to such scrutiny over a barely perceptible physical change is an absurd waste of media ink. And it’s symptomatic of the unfair way women and girls are objectified in our culture. But what I don’t understand is, so what if she did?

I don’t see any shame in taking advantage of all that science and medicine have to offer to make a few improvements. The results help me look and feel good about myself, and I think that’s healthy. Research has shown that cosmetic procedures can enhance self-esteem. In the November 2010 issue of Dermatologic Surgery, a prominent peer-reviewed dermatology journal, Chicago facial plastic surgeon Steven Dayan did a survey of more than 100 participates, who filled out questionnaires before and after injections. He demonstrated statistically significant increases in perception of overall quality of life and self-esteem among participants treated with Botox—proof that even subtle improvements in appearance can contribute to a greater sense of well-being.

My first encounter with a cosmetic surgeon took place three-and-a half years ago, at the age of 42. For a long time, I’d been unhappy with my neck, which was slackening with age. I was deeply jealous of Gwyneth Patrow’s angular jawline, and Ashley Judd’s, too, come to think of it. I tried face creams, but they did nothing. I tried to hide my wattle with scarves, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. An unfortunate side view from a holiday snapshot put me over the edge, and I finally got up the nerve to do something about it. After doing a little research, I decided to have liposuction on my neck.

It changed my life. I stopped wearing turtlenecks in the summer, and posed proudly for pictures in profile, thrilled that I no longer had to hide my wobbly turkey neck.

My success got me very interested in the topic, and, as a journalist, I began talking to plastic surgeons and dermatologists, learning more about what can be done, surgically and non-surgically, to subtly improve all those little flaws that most of us, if we are totally honest, obsess over. I ended up co-writing a book with a leading Park Avenue dermatologist. Along the way, I tried Botox, filler, and Thermage, which uses radiofrequency energy to heat below the dermis and tighten the skin.

Friends thought I’d lost it when I had liposuction again, this time on my thick ankles, or “cankles,” last year. It had long bothered me that I couldn’t tell where my calves ended and my ankles began. While I recognize that peg legs are not exactly tragic, when a top surgeon told me he could fix them, I jumped at the chance to finally look good in a pair of strappy sandals. Again, I’ve never looked back.

Ashley Judd is annoyed that people are always questioning whether or not she has had work done, but is that really such a terrible accusation? She herself says people speculate that she has had cosmetic surgery because she looks so youthful and wrinkle-free. I’d take it as a compliment, albeit a clumsy one. When people accuse me of having an aging portrait in a closet somewhere like Dorian Gray, I’m thrilled. It means I must be doing something right.

This week, I tried a new, minimally invasive procedure called Evolastin. This wrinkle-fighting technology uses radiofrequency energy delivered via hundreds of tiny insulated needles, bypassing the skin’s surface and targeting the heat directly where it’s needed to produce the most collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid the three key ingredients for youthful skin. Over the next six months, I am told, I can look forward to overall improvement in volume, skin tone, and elasticity. I’ll be studying the mirror closely for signs.

In the meantime, yes, I look like a freak show. The lower half of my face is covered in tiny pin pricks the needles went in a total of 700 times on each side of my face. I had saline mixed with Lidocaine pumped into my face to constrict my blood vessels and numb me so I could endure the zapping. The immediate result was that I looked like Alvin the Chipmunk’s angry big sister, and I expect my fat face to last for at least a few more days.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not rushing to try out every new procedure that’s out there. This technology only works when it’s in the most capable hands. My physician, Dr. Mitchell Chasin, was an early adopter of Evolastin, and has successfully performed more than 100 of these procedures.
For a long time, I’d been unhappy with my neck, which was slackening with age. I was deeply jealous of Gwyneth Patrow’s angular jawline, and Ashley Judd’s, too, come to think of it.
I’m also not one of these people looking to change my appearance so much as to improve on what I’ve already got. Whatever I do, it has to look natural. Clearly that’s not because I am trying to keep it a secret. I’m an open book about this because I want women, and men, to know that there are many options out there for people who want to look good, not plastic.

Not all of my friends are buying it. When I couldn’t make yoga class the other night and explained why, one girlfriend accused me of becoming addicted to cosmetic procedures. I told her that when I start looking like the Cat Lady, she can do an intervention. Another girlfriend is appalled that I am not “all natural,” and not accepting what God gave me. What’s so great about being natural? Armpit hair is natural. So is cholera. Do I have to accept that too?

Ashley Judd has a point about women being some of the worst culprits in the rush to judgment. The men in my life have been nothing but supportive. We should give each other a break and accept that what we do with our appearance is a personal choice. Instead of tearing each other down, let’s cheer each other on, whether we are movie stars or ordinary women with cankles.

Ashley, you are flawless and need no improvement, but should there ever come a day when you feel like having a little tweak, call me. I know a great doctor.
Ashley Judd Denies Plastic Surgery, Assails Critics For "Nasty, Misogynistic" Puffy Face Rumors.
Ashley Judd says medication caused her face to appear puffy lately, not plastic surgery as many assumed - and she's far from pleased that people assumed that.

The Missing star wrote in The Daily Beast:

"The Conversation about women's bodies exists largely outside of all of us, while it is also directed at (and marketed to) us, and used to define and control us."

"The Conversation about women happens everywhere. We are described and detailed, our faces and bodies analyzed and picked apart, our worth ascertained and ascribed based on the reduction of personhood to simple physical objectification."

Judd continues to explain that as a general rule, she has refused to read media articles related to herself, because, "I do not want to give my power, my self-esteem, or my autonomy, to any person, place, or thing outside myself."

"I thus abstain from all media about myself."

When it came to the controversy over her unusually puffy face while promoting her new series, however, the actress got wind of it - and felt that there were underlying issues critically important to her and impossible to overlook.

Judd lamented the "pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic" rumors that embodies what "all girls and women in our culture endure every day."

"We are unable at times to identify ourselves as our own denigrating abusers, or as abusing other girls and women. A case in point is that this conversation was initially promulgated largely by women; a sad and disturbing fact."

"If this conversation is going to be had, I will do my part to insist that it is a feminist one, because it has been misogynistic from the start. Who makes a fantastic leap from being sick, or gaining some weight over the winter, to a conclusion of plastic surgery?"

"Our entire culture, that's who. The insanity has to stop, because as focused on me as it appears to have been, it is about all girls and women."

Do you think that Ashley Judd has a point about body issues, or is she making too much out of it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Ashley Judd explains puffy face after plastic surgery rumors, blames steroid usage
Ashley Judd recently explained why her face has been looking puffier than normal amid plastic surgery speculation.
Judd, 43, is currently promoting her new ABC series "Missing," which premiered on Thursday. Her face has appeared puffier and fuller than usual in recent celebrity photos. She utilized her Twitter account to explain what's really going on.

"Thanks to all asking how I've been feeling, still very sick (flu + viral infection in sinuses = wicked) but staying positive & having fun," she Tweeted.

The star's spokesperson told E! Online that rumors of plastic surgery are "unequivocally not true," and that it's all a result of her taking steroids for her illness. Judd again turned to twitter to explain the effects that the medication is having on her.

"I know, steriods r dramatic. My clothes don't fit right, hard on a girl's self esteem, so lots of positive self talk & love," she Tweeted.

Judd, who is known for films such as "Kiss the Girls" and "Double Jeopardy," also posted a message about the matter on her blog and also wrote about her busy schedule and her philanthropic work.

"During it all, I was still reeling from being sick for three weeks, having been on multiple rounds of steroids to try to address the sinus inflammation," she posted on Thursday, March 15.

In "Missing," the actress plays single mother and former CIA agent Becca Winstone, who goes to track down her teenage son who disappeared in Italy. The series was given a 10 episode order.

"It's transcendent," Judd told OnTheRedCarpet.com, regarding the series demographic. "Each episode is grounded in the emotional arc of the characters and that's what the writer's started with every time they met to write an episode - is what is happening emotionally. They never wanted to depart or stray too far from that really visceral connection with the viewers."

Judd went on to talk about the premise of the show, as well as her almost superhero character.

"There is definitely an element of wish fulfillment because every parent's nightmare is that something will happen to their child and its one of those - I wish I could stop thinking about it but I can't and if something were to happen, of course the dream is that you would be able to completely handle it," Judd told OnTheRedCarpet.com.

"That's what Becca Winstone can do, is face anything, face anyone, run, fight, use firearms, as well as be unbelievably canny," she said. "However, I fail miserably at speaking Czech while flying a helicopter."

The veteran actress has been on television before. Judd was a regular on the NBC drama "Sisters" with Sela Ward. The actress also earned an Emmy nomination for her role on the HBO film "Norma Jean & Marilyn" in 1996.

Judd is the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and half-sister of Wynonna Judd. She is married to wed Scottish race car driver Dario Franchitti. Judd, who has no children of her own, dedicates much of her time to women and children's causes.

Ashley Judd: I Didn’t Get Plastic Surgery.

In a heartfelt and well-researched blog post, Ashley Judd explains what made her face ‘puffy’ and bashes the press for claiming she got plastic surgery!

Ashley Judd is not a happy camper. The 43-year-old actress is furious at the press for claiming she got plastic surgery on her face, when in actuality she simply gained weight and had to take steroids because she was ill!
“When I am sick for more than a month and on medication (multiple rounds of steroids), the accusation is that because my face looks puffy,” she wrote in a post on the Daily Beast. “I have ‘clearly had work done,’ with otherwise credible reporters with great bravo ‘identifying’ precisely the procedures I allegedly have had done.”

Ashley admits she’s put on pounds, which has altered her appearance, and calls out writers for calling her rude names.

“When I have gained weight, going from my usual size two/four to a six/eight after a lazy six months of not exercising, and that weight gain shows in my face and arms, I am a ‘cow’ and a ‘pig’ and I ‘better watch out’ because my husband ‘is looking for his second wife,’” she wrote, disgusted.

We can’t say we blame her for being so upset. Wouldn’t you be mad if people you never had met made false claims about your appearance?