Did Bea Arthur have plastic surgery?

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/20/21 at 9:17pm

So I really only knew Bea from Golden Girls and her Broadway show as well as some later TV appearances.
I feel like I only remember her as being statuesque with an angular face with striking features.

I started watching Maude. To me Bea looks like a different person. Her face is round and to me she looks older on Maude than she did on The Golden Girls. Very frumpy. Did she alter her appearance with surgery?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/20/21 at 9:38pm

[ArtMan]

Posted: 9/20/21 at 10:28pm

Betty, I've always thought this also.  She looked older in Maude.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 9/20/21 at 11:43pm

Bettyboy72 said: "So I really only knew Bea from Golden Girls and her Broadway show as well as some later TV appearances.
I feel like I only remember her as being statuesque with an angular face with striking features.

I started watching Maude. To me Bea looks like a different person. Her face is round and to me she looks older on Maude than she did on The Golden Girls. Very frumpy. Did she alter her appearance with surgery? "

Ask her. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 9/20/21 at 11:44pm

Golden Girls premiered almost 15 years after Maude did, and Bea was in her sixties…I think it’s just normal aging at that point.

If you watch early episodes of TGG (or even just look up photos) she still has rounder features, just a bit thinner in general.

[Almira]

Posted: 9/20/21 at 11:49pm

She may have had surgery...I dunno.  But I always attributed the change in look to a change in her eye make up.

Her "Maude" eye makeup made her eyes look small and beady.   Her after "Maude" make up was applied in such a way the "opened" up her eyes..

That's my take.

[soulmistin]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 1:05am

Pretty much everybody has plastic surgery lol. Most likely a good deal of botox. No shame in it.

[A Director]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 3:03am

Bettyboy72 said: . Did she alter her appearance with surgery?"

A more interesting question, Betty, have you?

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 3:24am

She looks much the same to me, but thinner on The Golden Girls (she remarks in her Television Academy Foundation interview that she was unhappy with how heavy she looked on Maude and was happier with her weight on Golden Girls). That explains the more angular face. But frankly, I think she looks distinctly Bea, and distinctly wonderful, on both shows.

I haven't watched it in decades, but as I remember, she also looks thinner as Vera in the film version of Mame (the one thing she's done that she says embarrassed her--the movie only, of course) than on Maude, though the show had already begun, I think, when the movie was filmed. I know Kael referenced Maude in her review of Mame (with the great line asking if Lucille Ball did her own vocals or if she was dubbed by Dick Cavett).

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 6:46am

A Director said: "Bettyboy72 said: . Did she alter her appearance with surgery?"

A more interesting question, Betty, have you?"

Believe me, I’m not judging. I haven’t yet, but if I wanted to I would. I find no shame in it. I just started watching Maude and thought she looked very different. I know there are a ton of Bea fans on here who probably know her life well, so I asked  . I’m loving Maude. It’s very relevant with today’s political climate. The show had to be very ahead of its time, groundbreaking and controversial  

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 7:19am

soulmistin said: "Pretty much everybody has plastic surgery lol. Most likely a good deal of botox. No shame in it."

Botox wasn’t introduced and readily available until the early 2000s.  THE GOLDEN GIRLS ended its run in 1992.  Also, Botox doesn’t remove wrinkles, it numbs the facial muscles to avoid making facial wrinkles.  Plastic surgery (aka face lift) and the use of fillers (those plump faces you see) remove wrinkles from faces.  Many women refuse to have any surgery so they overdo the fillers.  

 

[BJR]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 7:48am

I've always assumed she did, and for some reason though it was public knowledge.

But perhaps that's because MUADE has a (double) episode where Vivian gets a facelift - one of the many taboos that show talked openly about.

And yes, plastic surgery was common then in Hollywood and it's as common now, though there are less intrusive procedures like botox and filler, as mentioned. Those latter two are so widespread, even for those in their 20s, it's barely worth discussing.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 11:18am

I think a combination of weight loss, make-up, and certainly some facial work, most definitely the eyelids were done.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 11:32am

There was an episode of TGG where Dorothy reveal to the girls that she had her eyes done.  Not that that proves Bea did in real life but an interesting coincidence. 

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 11:33am

everythingtaboo said: "I think a combination of weight loss, make-up, and certainly some facial work, most definitely the eyelids were done."

I agree about her having a lift done in the eye area - her eyebrows are noticeably higher in GG than they were in Maude.

[soulmistin]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 4:46pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "soulmistin said: "Pretty much everybody has plastic surgery lol. Most likely a good deal of botox. No shame in it."

Botox wasn’t introduced and readily available until the early 2000s. THE GOLDEN GIRLS ended its run in 1992. Also, Botox doesn’t remove wrinkles, it numbs the facial muscles to avoid making facial wrinkles. Plastic surgery (aka face lift) and the use of fillers (those plump faces you see) remove wrinkles from faces. Many women refuse to have any surgery so they overdo the fillers.

"

Not to argue over semantics because you were absolutely right in the point you were making, but botox can definitely get rid of wrinkles and not just prevent them. I've been getting it since I was 18.

[amoni]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 6:04pm

"Did Bea Arthur have plastic surgery?"

 

No Rose, she had a head transplant

[Tag]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 6:24pm

I'm surprised the Patti Murin brigade hasn't come for this thread yet!

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 7:04pm

amoni said: ""Did Bea Arthur have plastic surgery?"



No Rose, she had a head transplant"

This made me smile.

[FosseTharp]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 9:17pm

soulmistin said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "soulmistin said: "Pretty much everybody has plastic surgery lol. Most likely a good deal of botox. No shame in it."

Botox wasn’t introduced and readily available until the early 2000s. THE GOLDEN GIRLS ended its run in 1992. Also, Botox doesn’t remove wrinkles, it numbs the facial muscles to avoid making facial wrinkles. Plastic surgery (aka face lift) and the use of fillers (those plump faces you see) remove wrinkles from faces. Many women refuse to have any surgery so they overdo the fillers.

"

Not to argue over semantics because you were absolutely right in the point you were making, but botox can definitely get rid of wrinkles and not just prevent them. I've been getting it since I was 18."

 

It’s not getting rid of wrinkles it’s preventing them from ever forming  that’s why we start botox in our 20s or 30s while we’re young.  There’s so much that can be done now without doing an invasive surgery, like chemical peels Laser resurfacing and Vampire facials etc.  But the one’s who overdo the Botox because they refuse to age gracefully  or start late in life and are trying to reverse what’s already started are the ones who lose all facial expression by freezing their face.   
 

This thread is silly, but it is fascinating that Maude had a Facelift and Dorothy had an eye lift. It makes me assume that she probably did have both and was transparent and open about it which is why they wrote it into the shows?  How many people deny their work or hope no one would notice when it’s clearly obvious they had stuff done.  

 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/21/21 at 10:27pm

Tag said: "I'm surprised the Patti Murin brigade hasn't come for this thread yet!"

I’m realizing that the thread title sounds very crass. I mean it when I say the question truly came from a place of wonder and not judgment or indictment. I view message boards as a place to throw out a thought among like minded friends. If I was out with any of you at Joe Allen, I might express this thought and get people’s take on it. How Bea’s appearance has changed over the years. 
 

I see nothing wrong with people augmenting their appearance. I always though Bea was very lovely and graceful in the 80s and 90s. I also wondered if someone might have said she changed her appearance to play Maude. I wasn’t sure. 

I was open to a dialogue about how she has evolved appearance wise during her career. I can see how my title may seen disrespectful or how focusing on a women’s appearance is misogynistic. I apologize if I offended anyone. Not my intention. 

 

[Ensemble1692561974]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 9:47pm

i’ve loved the golden girls since the first broadcast. i watch the reruns every nite, and laugh out loud even though i know a lot of the dialogue. i’ve seen each episodes 50+ times. this is something i’ve noticed and wondered about. the first 4 seasons bea arthur did not look glamorous the way that blanche and rose did. but starting with season 5, she looked glammed up. was wondering if she had plastic surgery when they went on break? with each proceeding season she looked more and more glamorous with hair, makeup and outfits.

[east side story]

Posted: 8/21/23 at 9:09am

Bea was perfect in every format, but her appearance from Maude to TGG is noticeably different.

Estelle Getty had a facelift between the first and second seasons, according to Rue McClanahan. 

[goodlead2]

Posted: 8/21/23 at 9:56am

No, bu t she had vocal chord surgery because her  voice was becoming falsetto.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 8/21/23 at 1:16pm

None recently.