Mischa Barton walks along Sunset…
Over the years—and especially these past few months in the Land of La—I’ve learned that a celebrity’s private and public images don’t always match up. (In fact, they rarely do.) That TV star everybody simply loves? Yeah, she’s a total nightmare diva. The faithful movie star boyfriend? Er, he sleeps with anything that walks (including a friend of mine). Mr. Bubbly himself, the internet-created star-du-jour? Satan on earth. Conversely, they’re not actors for nothing…but there are often those with truly horrendous reps that are exceedingly funny, nice and courteous. The same bizarro-inversion can hold true for appearances; you’ll see a celebrity in person and think, “Eh, nothing special.” Suddenly, there they are on Access Hollywood at last night’s movie premiere, looking prettier and glossier than Anybody You Have Ever Seen In Your Entire Life. While walking down Sunset Boulevard Tuesday afternoon (you all know I don’t have a car, right? That’s correct! LA-dwelling, and no vehicle. I belong in a museum), an SUV pulled up alongside me at the light with the passenger window rolled down, and I had the chance to surreptitiously check out Mischa Barton for about fifteen seconds. She was gorgeous. Flawless. Next-to-no makeup, natural hair, casual outfit…but truly stunning, not to mention healthy-looking and calm. So today, while clicking through photos on People.com, I was horrified to find this picture of Mischa, below—from the same afternoon!—which makes her look bloated, puffy-eyed and unremarkable. (Although happy, still.) It goes back to what I’ve said all along; the airbrushed photos, the shellacked makeup, the stylized face…it’s not reality. And when a beautiful young thing looks kind of icky in a photo…well, maybe it’s the photo, not the girl.
People.com: DS-ISM/Flynet
