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Oh, the pain of HDTV and 'unfortunate' skin

She might have a dazzling smile, a pop-star boy toy and one of the heftiest paychecks in Hollywood, but get her on high-definition TV and poor Cameron Diaz apparently "looks more like a Charlie than an angel." [Missing Links]

Leslie Katz Former Culture Editor
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
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  • Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
Leslie Katz

She might have a dazzling smile, a pop-star boy toy and one of the heftiest paychecks in Hollywood, but get her on high-definition TV and poor Cameron Diaz "looks more like a Charlie than an angel."

That's according to OnHD.TV's list of top 10 celebrities who look worse on HDTV. Diaz, the statuesque star of such films as "There's Something about Mary," "Being John Malkovich" and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" has the dubious distinction of clocking in at No. 1.

According to Phillip Swann, owner and operator of the online guide to high-definition, Diaz can blame her problem skin. Swann charges that (gasp), "her cheeks and forehead are littered with unfortunate pockmarks."

But Diaz needn't feel alone. The list gets equally snarky about celebs including Britney Spears, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Douglas, Brad Pitt and Joan Rivers, all of whom apparently exhibit assorted larger-than-life flaws when seen in the unforgiving light of razor-sharp high-definition television.

But if HDTV's strikingly high resolution bumps some actors' looks down a notch, it makes others appear even better, notes OnHD.TV. The site gushes that tennis star Anna Kournikova's "skin is glistening and luscious. It's easy to see why her matches sell out despite her limited talents." Actress Liv Tyler, meanwhile, gets a rather backhanded compliment: "How can she look so great when her father is headed for Keith Richards territory?"