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“They’ll always remember me in Vertigo and I’m not that good in it, but I don’t blame me because there are a couple of scenes where I was wonderful.” Hollywood saw an incredible transformation in the 1950s in an era that was later dubbed as New Hollywood thanks to many new stars taking the stage in addition to an obvious shift in casting young, gorgeous blondes in leading roles. One of the biggest stars of the era was Chicago native Kim Novak who, ironically enough, got her start as a trade show model for a refrigerator company that affectionately dubbed her “Miss Deepfreeze.”

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Traveling to trade shows around the country, Novak found herself at a show in Los Angeles and, along with a friend, decided to make the best of her trip by signing up to be an extra in The French Line and Son of Sinbad. Luckily, fate intervened as Novak was discovered by an agent who immediately signed her with Columbia Pictures who hoped the young actress-to-be would become their own version of the massively popular Marilyn Monroe. Soon after, she made her silver screen debut in Pushover in 1954 before finding moderate success in Picnic, Pal Joey and the Alfred Hitchcock favorite, Vertigo.

Unfortunately, Novak didn’t have enough star power to come close to the likes of Monroe or greats like Rita Hayworth and saw her career suddenly hit a roadblock as film offers were replaced with made-for-television films and shows like Falcon Crest. By 1991 and with little on the horizon in Hollywood, she was more than happy to close the chapter of her career after appearing as Lillian Anderson Munnsen in Liebestraum. At that point, not even the lure of additional awards, higher paydays or critical acclaim could lure the Golden Globe winner back into the spotlight. However, loyal fans couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ever see her again.

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Making good on her promise not to disappear from Hollywood for good, Novak was well into her 80s before she returned to the spotlight but not before she joined a long list of New Hollywood celebrities who had already turned to plastic surgery to help them age. Out of the public eye for decades, everything changed at the 2014 Academy Awards when Novak took the stage alongside actor Matthew McConaughey to present an award. Celebrities, fans and the media alike gathered together for a collective gasp as Novak looked drastically different and a far cry from the beauty of her youth.

Novak’s face seemingly launched a million rumors on social media as people tweeted, shared and mocked her new look. One person wrote, “Kim Novak has had so much plastic surgery she can’t actually speak,” while another said, “Kim Novak’s face just won for Frozen.”

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While the criticism was harsh, Novak did her best to let it roll off her back before she addressed the bullying with a letter. She wrote, “I will no longer hold myself from speaking out against bullies. We can’t let people get away with affecting our lives. For days, I didn’t leave the house, and it got to me like it gets to kids and teenagers. I’m not going to deny that I had fat injections in my face. They seemed far less invasive than a facelift. In my opinion, a person has a right to look as good as they can, and I feel better when I look better.”

Despite her confession, many seasoned plastic surgeons said that Novak didn’t stop at only injections and even argued that the injections weren’t as safe as she let on. Dr. Brent Moelleken acknowledged that injections are incredibly dangerous and, in most cases, can’t be reversed. “Most Hollywood ladies who ‘age gracefully’ actually do so with subtle plastic surgery that keeps them looking younger,” he said. Too much can obviously be a mistake.

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Surgeons also believe that Novak opted for a chin implant due to the changing “angulation of her chin” that was much different than her jawline from her youth. At the very least, surgeons said that Novak likely had the injections done too close to the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony because the extensive swelling from the procedure had not had enough time to subside, which caused her puffy and nearly unrecognizable appearance.

Since then, Novak admits that the negative comments, rumors and bullying took their toll even though she’s a Hollywood veteran. “It really did throw me into a tailspin and it hit me hard,” she confessed. But, after hiding for a few days and licking her wounds, she finally mustered the courage to face the world and has been actively speaking out against her critics although she has no plans to ever return to the silver screen. Instead, the former actress is content cultivating a peaceful life as a photographer, poet and painter in Oregon where people simply know her as their neighbor and friend.