On May 18, Geena Davis walked the red carpet outside the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. A few hours later, the internet decided it had questions. The event was the debut of her new Netflix series, The Boroughs, in which she co-stars with Bill Pullman. The ensemble, which included a deep V-neck, sheer black tights, and a black-and-white beaded minidress—a style she had largely shunned in favor of longer gowns over the years—was the catalyst. Fans appeared ecstatic. Many others appeared dubious.
To be honest, it’s weird to watch. An ongoing trial concerning a 70-year-old woman’s face uses the fact that she looks good in a short dress as evidence. The rumors are not brand-new. This round has been louder than most, partly due to Reddit threads comparing Davis to other actresses accused of “freezing” their expressions with Botox. It has followed Davis for years, resurfacing every time she appears somewhere well-photographed.
The fact that Davis has never directly addressed much of this conjecture is noteworthy. She hasn’t acknowledged getting a facelift. Fillers have not been denied by her. Botox is the closest thing to an admission that has surfaced, and even that is filtered through secondhand commentary rather than anything Davis has recently stated on record. There’s a pattern here that seems familiar: theories get more detailed the less a celebrity says, and Davis has largely remained silent, letting the internet fill in the blanks.
Commenters on a Boroughs discussion thread have suggested that her speech now sounds different, even slurred, and they have linked this to cosmetic surgery, which has caused some of the online chatter to take an odd turn. Some users vehemently disagreed, pointing out that Davis has been speaking with the same unique cadence for decades and that any change could easily be explained by her hearing loss. It’s the kind of online debate that says more about people’s desire to diagnose famous people than it does about Davis.
There’s also an irony to consider. Davis and Dr. Reza Jarrahy, a craniofacial plastic surgeon, had a long-term relationship and were married in 2001. Still, court documents from 2019 showed the couple had never really obtained a marriage license. A woman who has a close relationship with a plastic surgeon is currently battling rumors about her own plastic surgery. It’s almost too tidy, and it’s difficult not to wonder if the speculation sticks to her more than it might to someone else because of that past.
A more uncomfortable cultural habit lies beneath it all. In any case, aging actresses are scrutinized. appear unaltered, and surgery is presumed. When you appear noticeably older, the criticism takes a different, cruel turn. There is rarely a public version of aging that appeals to everyone, and Davis appears to be more aware of this than most, having spent two decades leading an organization devoted to combating precisely this kind of reductive gaze on women. The conversation surrounding her face reveals as much about Hollywood’s expectations as it does about her, regardless of whether she has completed any work.
