Holly Madison Says Living In The Playboy Mansion Made Her Crazy Insecure
Posted by: Kate Torgovnick
Filed in:
celebs
4:30PM, Thursday September 3rd 2009
Of all the bunnies in the Playboy mansion, Holly Madison reigned supreme through most of the 2000s. Everyone’s favorite “Girl Next Door” and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant was Hugh Hefner’s primary girlfriend for six years, and many speculate that she broke his heart when they broke up, she moved out and then started dating Criss Angel soon after. But in the latest issue of Life & Style magazine, Holly reveals that she was always insecure about her looks—and that her insecurities shot to a whole new level when she started dating Hef. Hence, that was when she opted for plastic surgery. She says she was sensitive about her smallish chest (“I always stuffed my bra. In fact, I had a boyfriend for years, and we moved so slowly. We didn’t have sex for a long time because I had to gradually bring down my bra size so he wouldn’t find out”), but didn’t decide to get implants until after she moved into the mansion in 2001. In 2003, she had her nose done because “it photographed really big in front of my face. If I wanted to do anything in the entertainment industry, I needed to get it fixed.”
This quote really sticks out to me: “Living with Hef brought down my self-esteem a lot. I was comparing myself to the other girls…You have to look a certain way at the mansion.” [Life & Style via NY Daily News]
I guess that’s my big beef with plastic surgery—that it makes everyone look that “certain way.” In other words, it eliminates differences. Why are so many people trying to get the same nose, the same pouty lips, and the same boobs that bear very little resemblance to actual breasts? (Seriously, it’s like the difference between peaches and canned peaches.) If we all could just deal with and even (gasp) like our differences rather than trying to fix them, this whole industry would collapse and we’d all be a lot more happy with ourselves as a result.
OK, I guess I have other issues with plastic surgery, too. Mainly that it’s surgery people choose to undergo voluntarily, that it becomes an addiction for many women, and that there’s the whole issue of what are you going to do if you ever have a daughter and she has the same honker you thought was so terrible you went under the knife to fix? But to me the biggest ad against it is the before and after photos of Holly here. Before she was the uber-hot blonde on the right, she was the ... hot blonde on the left. (Though, I will say that I’m not buying that she doesn’t have implants in that photo unless that’s a really good push-up bra.) Did she really need to change anything?
So what do you think? Are you pro or anti plastic surgery? Do you think it helps build people’s self-esteem or make it worse by making our bodies and faces “fixable”?
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
skywalk
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 03:50 pm: [report]
The problem with plastic surgery is it won’t help if you have a self esteem problem and you could easily overdue the whole plastic surgery thing if you were never satisfied. There is really nothing I would have done now, not that I’m perfect but I’m okay with how I look and would be too nervous to change anything (what if it looked worse) but I’m not against it and I’m can’t say I might not get a boob lift and any other lift later if life, if I have the loot and want it done. But I think I have a normal if not fairly high self esteem and I think I could get a little tweak and be satisfied.
Coral
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 03:52 pm: [report]
Well I don’t think everyone is trying to get the same nose and lips. But I do definitely think that there are beauty ideals in our culture that some people want. And let me say that I don’t particularly like plastic surgery, and although I can’t say for sure, but I doubt I would ever get anything done. On the other hand, I do believe that for some people certain cosmetic procedures and surgeries can improve self-esteem. But I think the key part is that those people have to realize that the simple change and transformation might help them feel better on the outside, it still may not change how one feels on the inside. If you can’t accept yourself for who you are, and if you decide to make a change, I think that you should only be getting plastic surgery to please yourself, and not anyone else. Because in the end, it’s all about what you think, which in turn can improve confidence and self-esteem. And with many types of plastic surgeries (definitely not breast implants), they are not always easy to point out, so no one has to know unless you want them to know. Sometimes I think it’s best to keep it to yourself.
CaleeKay
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 04:16 pm: [report]
I personally think Holly looks great after, i dont know if its simply because the surgery was a good idea, or because at the age of the left picture, maybe she wasnt fully into her beauty yet. idk, but i think surgery is great if it will indeed help you feel better, but like coral even said, if you can accept yourself inside, its not going to matter what you look like outside. But if you had a problem accepting yourself before, youre not going to be perky great after it all either, thats where a little therapy can help. whatever though, i think shes gorgeous and so should she. I completely understand how should could feel so insecure living at the mansion though, so many girls to compare yourself to that have ‘better’ surgery. sad.
Keesh Mia
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 04:21 pm: [report]
Ultimately, it’s tough to be a bunny.
FrzKey
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 04:33 pm: [report]
I think you’re missing the point - that even beautiful successful women like Holly can feel small and insecure about themselves. Also that there’s a leap between ‘hot’ and ‘uber hot’ which is a leap some women, one of whom was apparently Holly herself, are willing to make.
Kate Torgovnick
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 04:47 pm: [report]
That’s a really good point, FrzKey. Whenever celebrities criticize themselves (“I have cellulite,” “I have a big forehead”) I tend to think they’re exaggerating, but maybe that actually is an intense feeling for them. It’s the comparison to other people that’s the tricky part—no matter who you are, there will always be someone prettier, smarter, funnier, etc.
canadiancutie
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 11:16 pm: [report]
I got a very minor procedure done this year and it’s drastically improved my self-esteem. If I wasn’t afraid of the downtime/healing and if I had the money, I would do a lot more. My experience with plastic surgery has been overwhelmingly positive.
betty123
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 08:05 am: [report]
I think the main reason she looks so much better in the second picture is that it appears to be a professional photo shoot while the first one looks like a candid shot. As many of the “stars without their makeup” articles in the tabloids will tell us, those professional shoots don’t represent what the stars look like in real life. So it is hard to tell if she would have looked just as beautiful how she used to be.
On another note, she kind of has confirmed my suspicions that you would have to be pretty insecure to put up with dating a hundred year old man that has two other girlfriends.
Christinaval
wrote on September 8 2009 @ 08:04 am: [report]
I think this country wouldn’t be so obsessed with perfection if there were no plastic surgery. I am ANTI. I don’t judge though, I just wish it would have never been available to anyone. Naturally beautiful girls are now thought to be “average” because so many women are making themselves this perfect image…I just think it’s ridiculous. It’s becoming “normal” these days to have fake boobs. If you can’t be happy with the way you look and you have to make it fake in order to like it…then I just think you need counseling and soul searching. Mental issues.