Former Friends Star Courteney Cox Talks Cosmetic Surgery Regrets

She’s best known for her role as 20-something Monica in the hit TV series Friends, but Courteney Cox is actually a grown-up 53. She looks tremendously youthful, unbelievably so and it turns out there’s a reason for that.

The actress is blessed with good genes and she has taken incredibly good care of herself too, but she’s also dabbled in injectables (both fillers and muscle freezers), which has clearly made a massive difference to her appearance. We’re all good with that here at The Beauty Insider. Our feeling is that women (and men) should love what they see in the mirror – and if that means a tweak or two then we reckon you should go for it.

But, and this is a big but, you need to be very aware of two things before you do. Firstly, no amount of injectables can change the way you feel about yourself on the inside. That can only come from a hearty dose of self love and appreciation. Secondly, you will only make you look better if the ‘work’ is very carefully done and by a doctor, or even surgeon, who leans towards a distinctly natural look.

This is something that Courteney knows and from experience.

 

In an interview with New Beauty the TV star has revealed that she regrets the procedures she has had done and does not plan to have any more. She also reveals she felt under pressure to maintain her youthful looks – particularly given her work in Hollywood, a notoriously tough place for women over the age of 18.

“I grew up thinking that appearance was the most important thing. That’s kind of sad because it got me in trouble. I was trying so hard to keep up, and I actually made things worse,” she was quoted as saying in the interview.

She also revealed that every time she underwent one procedure, the doctors she saw would encourage her to have another.

“[W]hat would end up happening is that you go to a doctor who would say, ‘You look great, but what would help is a little injection here or filler there.’

“So you walk out and you don’t look so bad and you think, no one noticed—it’s good. Then somebody tells you about another doctor: ‘This person’s amazing. They do this person who looks so natural.’ You meet them and they say, ‘You should just do this.’ The next thing you know, you’re layered and layered and layered. You have no idea because it’s gradual until you go, ‘Oh shit, this doesn’t look right.’ And it’s worse in pictures than in real life,” she said.

 

It took a trusted friend to tell Courteney that she was looking ‘done’ and that it wasn’t good. And thankfully, Courteney listened and listened hard. And she decided to give up on injectables altogether, she said. No more filler, no more muscle freezers.

“Everything’s going to drop,” she said.

“I was trying to make it not drop, but that made me look fake. You need movement in your face, especially if you have thin skin like I do. Those aren’t wrinkles — they’re smile lines. I’ve had to learn to embrace movement and realise that fillers are not my friend,” she said.

Courteney said her face is now entirely natural. And heck, if that’s true then more power to her because she looks incredible. And if it isn’t, that’s fine too. Because she looks beautiful – naturally so – and that’s what counts. She’s now engaged to Snow Patrol musician Johnny McDaid, 40, too so she’s no doubt happy as a clam. And if anything is going to give you that special glow it’s that!