Why did Janet Leigh look so old?

Please. IT was the 1970's, smoking was good for you.

She reminds me of Jamie Lee Curtis somehow.

The Founding Father hair

She looked more than fine for her age. The botoxed freaks you see now look abnormal. 55 year old women shouldn’t look like Plastic Kidman and it’s very sad we’ve seemed to normalize that they need to.

Data from the 1930 census reveals that she isn't lying about her age. She just didn't age well.

Overly bleached blond washes many people out. It doesn’t suit everyone, nor does a bad short haircut.

She was only 71 here.

Eating disorders take a toll.

77 is only two years off the average American female's life expectancy. And I don't know why DL-ers are obsessed with everyone looking 20 but lots of people just don't because of their genes.

R7 That's bizarre because she looks fine for 71 there. 71 is OLD.

She kept her figure trim = she smoked.

There is a whole conspiracy theory around the observation that people seemed to look older. One reasonable explanation is that it's due to the hairstyles and clothes we asscociate with old people - because they were old when they still wore them, so we came to associate it with old age.

Because today we are all fat children forever

Look at your own families. Go back and how old were they when they died?

You try being Jamie Lee’s mother and see how it ages you!

Give her a modern haircut (with a hair color other than Rose Nylund Buttercream), a touch of botox in the forehead, veneers, and a dewier foundation and she would love every bit as young as contemporary actresses in their late 40's.

77 is old. I remember when Raquel Welch passed away people on here said it was "shocking" - she was in her fucking 80s! Where did we get this new idea that life expectancy should be pushing 100?

Life long anorexia that’s why. Look at Sandra Dee.

Thin, fair skin. Unflattering, dried out, matronly hair style. Near emaciated. Years of smoking and highballs. None of these are a recipe for flattering, age-defying looks.

Not to mention the constant regret over the abortion she never had in 1958.

Audrey Hepburn looked worse. But yes, both were anorexic, smoked a lot and took speed daily.

Janet Leigh had very big natural boobs for an anorexic woman, I'm not sure she was full fledged.

R2 No upper lip same as JLC.

Actually Sandra Dee was also an anorexic with very large natural breasts, and oddly enough, she always reminded me of Janet Leigh in looks!

R19 - LOL

A lifetime of starving and, most importantly, no sunscreen.

If you were to drink every night and smoke a pack a day, but resolutely kept out of the sun and slathered with sunblock while eating moderately but nutritiously, you would look decades younger than a healthier person who never drank and never smoked, but who spent every day in the sun unprotected.

To starve on top of the UV skin damage just intensifies the craggy hollowness of one's face. A truly terrible combination pour la visage.

r21 and r23, why are you both pretending that breast implants didn't exist back then? The first official one was in 1961, and there were ad hoc "off the books" ones in Hollywood happening since the 1950's.

R26 Oh, you're one of the breast implant troll queens, christ.

Thin women can absolutely have big tits, and both Janet and Sandra's look completely real. Most famous women did not get breast implants in the 50s/60s because they had bullet bras and padding do the work. When both those fell out of favor, that's when implants because popular.

Most women were also not getting "ad-hoc" breast implants in Hollywood, no matter how many fables you read about Marilyn Monroe's alleged silicone injections. They were extremely dangerous and usually only burlesque queens and strippers opted for them because their jobs required nudity...

r27 my previous comment is the first comment I've ever made about the history of breat implants. And yes, they were rare. But they were still happening, nonetheless.

I don't think Janet Leigh had implants. As noted above, she became emaciated by middle age.

Oh, dear. Audrey at only 59.

Those tits are hardly noticeable, r30. One of the more - ahem - less attractive aspects of women's bodies, post-birth, is that their tits balloon and then often deflate into permanantly droopy pancakes. Maybe this is what we are seeing the long-after result of in the pic at r30.

R29 Do you have any proof or is just conjecture? Or did you read it on one of those "SECRETS OF OLD HOLLYWOOD!!!" blogs that claim things like Rita Hayworth getting her skin bleached?

People in classic Hollywood were not altering their bodies through invasive procedures like they do today. The most was done was maybe nose bobbing with a handful of exceptions like MM, who came along later in the game anyway. The rest was either standard makeover type stuff (hair removal/dye, fixing teeth, weight loss), excellent lighting, makeup and camera angles, and doing "tricks" with clothing (famously most women in Hollywood used "falsies"). There are very few candids of these people in their primes, they were groomed heavily for each endless photoshoot or public event.

r31 That's a hard 59.

Starvation and sunning on the Riviera for decades on end will do that. That heaven she had large enough cheekbones to offset the damage, or it would have been even worse.

Debbie Reynolds had Carrie. I got the narcissist with a cock.

Another shot from r30.

Marilyn had a chin implant in 1958. It's in her x-rays.

Didn't Jamie Lee have a sibling? Why don't we ever hear about "Kelly Lee Curtis?"

Also I think it's funny JLC inherited her handsome dad's face and yet is nowhere near as attractive as him.

Did Janet have a Televangelist phase?

Janet looks like such a professional Whore's Whore in the big haired pic at r39. Just always 'on' all the time.

WPT.

White People Tanning.

Meanwhile, r41 is RPP.

Racist People Posting.

That's the muscle tone of a much older woman.

[quote] Also I think it's funny JLC inherited her handsome dad's face and yet is nowhere near as attractive as him.

Oh, I inherited more than that.

Oh, c’mon, R42.

It’s not a racist post, nor am I racist. Furthest thing of who I am.

You are Caucasian & tan excessively w/o sunscreen? You will age quickly.

I didn’t make that up. It’s a fact.

Also? Who cares about accelerated aging? Skin cancer is a bigger and very REAL concern for people of ALL races, who spend lots of time outdoors, w/o habitually applying and reapplying sunscreen.

Silicone injections were well known in older Hollywood and plenty of stars had them. We'll never know who unless reliable sources tells us so like Joi Lansing's gf who wrote a book after Lansing's death.

Leigh had big tits when very young. Joi Lansing didn't.

R46, back then, they injected silicone and other unknown materials, right into their breasts.

Rabid skin cancer in my family is why I've been using sunscreens since my teens (in the late 80's) and now I have no wrinkles even when I smile. No need for botox. A little bit of upper lid drooping and that's it. Lot's of Irish people get this level of upper eyelid drooping in their 20's so I've been lucky. No nasal folds, no jowls, no crows feet, no forehead lines unless I'm strenuously raising my eyebrows. Nothing.

Pale skin is a pain in the ass to properly take care of, but I've done it every single day without fail (even on rainy/cloudy days) for decades on end and it's truly paid off. Hitting my 'decade' ages has never bothered me because my face never showed the full wear and tear.

Pics or it didn't happen, r49.

The obvious answer: Smoking, hardcore dieting, and a lifetime (from birth) under the California sun. One of those alone will take its toll, and Janet had all three.

It absolutely did happen. I'm as continually surprised by this as you seem to be by my story. I smoked, I drank, I have insomnia and sleepless nights, but I never, ever went out of doors without a brimmed hat on and the strongest sunscreen I could find. Sunglasses too. In Britain, prior to say, 2005, sunglasses were almost verboten for people like us. I often looked a prat, but I cannot say that it hasn't paid off, skinwise, incredibly.

Just an FYI:

I’ve used EVERY amazing, expensive skincare product out there, and here’s what I learned:

Nothing, & I mean NOTHING, will preserve your skin better than applying sunscreen on it, on a daily basis.

Prudently, you don’t want to smear it all over yourself every single day. So what to do?

You buy high grade sunscreen, put it on your face, neck, chest, & arms, and try to keep the rest of yourself covered up as much as possible.

I didn’t necessarily do this intentionally when I began using sunscreen daily, but I can say this: my skin on my chest, back, stomach & legs doesn’t look haggard or old, because I kept myself covered up, unless I was wearing a swimsuit, or exercising outdoors. And even then, I smeared that shit on EVERY single time I was exposed, & I am not white, so fuck anyone who wants to give me shit, accusing me of racism, or “reverse” racism.

Skin care isn’t that complicated. In the end, I stopped buying really expensive shit, because I realized that the only things that matters in anti aging, are things like sleep, diet, tons of water, Retin A, & sunscreen.

Also? We will ALL age, no matter what.

Perhaps in 30 years, our kids and grandchildren will not age as we do, but that’s not the point. The point is that we DO age, regardless of meticulous skincare.

Deal with it. Accept it. Don’t others ridicule others who do. Sure, White People Tanning is obviously a sardonic sliver of commentary from me, but check this out: aging is inevitable, & I’m not going to waste the last 30-40 years of my life (women in my family live VERY long), upset about the FACT that I AM aging, & will inevitably die, one day.

Concentrate on happiness and LOVE. It overcomes EVERY SINGLE wrinkle, and the trick is to learn to love & accept yourself, while allowing others in, who are trustworthy & decent.

That’s the secret, Bitches!

Here’s to the proverbial grave & banana peel.

Enough with the words. Show us the receipts.

I've tried every sunscreen out there since the 1980's, and the best to apply every day is LaRoche Posay Anthelios 50 plus a hat (in Britain I have a variety of hats but in America I use a Panama hat). No whitecast and this brand seems to act as a potential moisturiser as well (depending on your skin type).

There is nothing - and I mean NOTHING - more important to prevent skin ageing than staying out of the sun. NOTHING. I learned this basically accidentally, so I'm trying to pass it on.

^^^Also sunglasses unless it's too rude to wear them. And copious amounts of Vit D supplemation.

Janet was so generous agreeing to play multiple roles in “Psycho.”

You first, R54.

Sheesh. All I’m hoping for is to eventually age gracefully, without even worrying about this stuff.

But I get it.

I’m caught up in the anti aging bullshit as well, regardless of what I tell myself or others.

Does that make me a bad person?

I struggle with that a LOT. I can articulate all the answers to my questions, even when I understand , that as who I am right now, at this very second, I honestly just don’t know all of the answers to my questions, or the questions of others.

Much of my expressions here ARE bravado, even if stemming from a place of authenticity.

I know this.

I’m not unaware of my faults & weaknesses.

I’m just terrified of being rejected because I may not be enough.

Am I a phony?

Fuck.

I hope not.

I want to love myself entirely, without seeking approval from others.

I hope I can do that, someday, and SOON, R54.

C’mon, man, it was the ‘60s, us wee lasses look older than we are. Do I look 19 here?

r59 No, Lulu, but you looked tan. Which is why you needed botox in your late 40's.

Lulu, @ R59… so what’s up?

How do you truly feel behind the curtain of humor, when you use it as a tool, when avoiding digging deep inside yourself?

Have you ever known genuine intimacy?

Many of us have not, & humor can be used as a way of avoiding solid intimacy.

Please don’t reply to me, as I’m sincerely hoping you ask yourself this question, which is all that really matters.

My post was aimed at R54.

Apologies for the error.

Thanks.

I love the way Audrey looks at R31. I wish we were more tolerant of people looking old. It's charming -- honest and authentic.

Marilyn's chinplant and early eyelift (forehead lift?) really did make **all** the difference.

Audrey Hepburn only looked that good with all those wrinkles because her bone structure was astonishing and held it all aloft. Even moreso with Katherine Hepburn. Had either used sunscreen from a young age, imagine how they would have looked later on.

Shocking that anyone would think Audrey looks good in that photo.

Audrey never took a bad photo, r66. Never.

Her skin looks sun-damaged

Ridiculous.

I watched the Colombo episode recently and I'm shocked that she was only 48. But then, so many of the stars and starlets of her era started to look older and dowdier than their stated ages. The terrible unflattering hair didn't help. Booze and cigarettes?

****SPOILERS****

[quote]77 is old. I remember when Raquel Welch passed away people on here said it was "shocking" - she was in her fucking 80s! Where did we get this new idea that life expectancy should be pushing 100?

R17, a record number of people today are living into their 80's & 90's and are hitting 100. The President of the United States is 80. And so are many, many other people in politics, business, entertainment and many other walks of life.

Dying before age 80 today is considered a somewhat young age to die.

It’s quite sad that beautiful natural aging like AudreY Hepburn is considers ugly and freakish, injected mutants are considered normal

People who say those who look good while being older are, in fact, ugly and gross for their age so they want everyone to look like shit. It isn’t normal for someone to look old at 40, 50, 60. The ONLY reason it seems normal is because you’re old and that’s your only reference. The rest of us understand people live longer and have better access to healthier lifestyle choices. And Botox.

R36 not that bad for 52. Without botox and fillers and surgery it would probably be the same for many modern celebrities.

[quote]I remember when Raquel Welch passed away people on here said it was "shocking"

Someone even said that 79 was "very young." Very odd.

Janet in the "Columbo" picture looks great for 48, except for the hair which prematurely ages her.

[quote]You are Caucasian & tan excessively w/o sunscreen? You will age quickly.

R45 Not all Caucasians though. The Mediterranean ones are genetically adjusted to strong sun. People with more delicate and lighter skin with northern European roots will be more vulnerable.

Due to the migrations people live in the regions to which they are not adapted, just as Janet was not adapted to strong Californian sun and should have taken care not to be overexposed. The same with blacks who have strong vitamin D deficiencies in the northern hemisphere.

Janet was great in that Columbo episode, btw. Nearly all stars from the studio era looked older because of drinking, smoking, sunning, etc. The hair and makeup of the 60s and 70s didn't help. Most overdid the hair and makeup to hide the aging. And we're looking at stars from a previous era from today, where celebrities start tweaking their looks in their teens!

I really prefer the old school way of women and men looking aged and weathered to 18 year olds botching their faces beyond belief to stay forever young. We don't have many actors with gravitas anymore because they all look like forever teens. I love Willem Dafoe, for example, because he looks his goddamn age with all the character it entails.

R72 I think that's bizarre. I personally wouldn't want to live past my 80s if it meant I didn't have the ability to do much of anything, like I assume most very old people do.

Joi Lansing was some TV level ditz in the 1950s, again very late in the game. When I talk about Golden Age Hollywood, I am talking about the 30s-40s. Those women were not injecting silicone into their bodies, the "sweater girl" fad actually leant itself well to padding and illusion.

Smoker

Janet always had big titties, even in her early movies in the 1940s. As the 1950s progressed and hourglass figures became more overt, she began to be costumed in a manner that accentuated her bust.

“In Lee Server's Robert Mitchum biography Baby I Don't Care, he states "Howard Hughes had them make Janet Leigh wear a shoulder-length fall [for hair] and in one scene a sweater so tight it made her breasts stand out like traffic cones." It was Hughes way of getting back at Leigh for her for rejecting his advances as well as injecting some sex into a pretty much sexless film.

Janet's rack was natural. Tony Curtis was obsessed with big boobs, check out his last wife.

According to Tony, so grain of salt, Janet was an alcoholic. I don't know that she could have maintained that tiny figure if she were a big drinker, though.

Here's my look at Janet at 40, looking and acting great, as an unhappy housewife in "House on Greenapple Road." PS, if I was married to jackass Tony Curtis, I'd drink, too!

Fuck the wrinkles! Who cares? Janet Leigh's inimitable husky-lady voice always mesmerizes me....

OT: I spoke with her circa 1995 or so in Century City. She was at the mall book store, browsing. She was frail, yes, but so lovely, gracious and friendly. After an hour of fun chit chat about everything under the sun, as we said good bye, I said “Oh, I forgot to tell you how much I have enjoyed your movie career!!!” She laughed like heck and said….”I really thought you didn’t know who I was!!!” Great gal.

One of my favorite bad movies is NIGHT OF THE LEPUS with Janet starring alongside Stuart Whitman. A movie about killer rabbits 🐰 🤭🤭🤭

OP- Betty Davis always looked 10 years older than she was. In the movie all about Eve she looked like she was in her 50s already even though she was only in her early 40s. By the time she was in the movie what ever happened to baby Jane she looked like a woman in her 60s even though she was only in her 50s.

In the '40s, '50s, '60s, and '70s, many women cut loose as they never had before. They smoked, drank, suntanned to a deep bronze, and starved themselves to stay fashionably thin.

Does that answer your question?

She looked so beautiful in this movie.

Probably from smoking

R88 I like Lepus, but I’m more of a Frogs guy, myself. Who can resist DL faves Sam Elliot & Joan Van Ark?

Giving birth to boy/girl babies is well known to age you rapidly. It's a very exhausting medical marvel.

R30, Robert Wagner said Janet Leigh had the biggest tits in Hollywood.

R85, That was a very good television movie, based on a true story.

She did a good job as the booster woman in The Fog. It's nice that she was able to do that role, at least, considering the type of things she's was being offered (or not being offered) around that time.

Lulu took good care of her skin, r59.

She looked like a normal very pretty woman as she aged- guess your standard is cosmetic procedures as aging OP.