Renée Zellweger 'Glad' About Talk of Her Appearance
By Suzy Byrne | Yahoo Celebrity – Wed, Oct 22, 2014 8:06 PM MYT
"I'm glad folks think I look different," the 45-year-old Academy Award winner told People after she became a trending topic on Twitter, some blogs deemed her "unrecognizable," and there was speculation that she underwent plastic surgery. "I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows."
The Katy, Texas, native, who picked up an Oscar for 2004's Cold Mountain, says that her new look is due to her new life. Her last movie to hit the big screen was 2010's My Own Love Song. A year later, she and boyfriend Bradley Cooper broke up and she largely dropped out of sight. But she's been enjoying life and love, dating guitarist and producer Doyle Bramhall II since 2012.
Renée Zellweger on the red carpet Monday night. (Getty Images)
"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy," the Bridget Jones's Diary star said. "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."
Now, she's making better choices, saying, "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."
Zellweger took a break from her new quiet life with Sheryl Crow's ex over the weekend when she stepped out to support her longtime publicist Nanci Ryder, who was recently diagnosed, at the Walk to Defeat ALS in Los Angeles. She also attended the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards with Bramhall on Monday.
"People don't know me in my 40s," said Zellweger. "People don't know me [as] healthy for a while. Perhaps I look different. Who doesn't as they get older?! Ha. But I am different. I'm happy."
As for why she decided to speak out about the buzz over her appearance? While dubbing the chatter "silly," she noted, "It seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn't exist won't get off my porch until I answer the door."
Zellweger with Reese Witherspoon at the ALS walk and with beau Doyle Bramhall II on the red carpet. (AP Photo/Getty …
Door answered. Now, let's let the happy homeowner get back to what she was doing, which is living her life, in a happy manner, on her own terms.
