THE RAGING AGEING DEBATE

Meg Ryan's changing looks caused a stir recently but the actress is unfazed by the scrutiny

- NICOLA WHITFIELD

SHE was the darling of the silver screen, an adorable button-nosed, curlylipped cutie who made the movies of the '80s and '90s that little bit more special.

We rooted for her in Sleepless in Seattle, popcorn forgotten as we held our breath to see if she'd finally meet up with Tom Hanks on top of the Empire State Building. We laughed as Kevin Kline led her in a merry dance through sun-dappled Provence in French Kiss. We got choked up when she was an alcoholic mom trying to get her act together in When a Man Loves a Woman. We sobbed and swooned when Nicolas Cage fell for her in City of Angels. And as for that fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally - it's so famous there's a sign in the New York diner where it was filmed that says, "Hope you have what she had!".

Meg Ryan was pure movie magic, all flicky hair, huge green eyes, great comic timing and tug-at-the-heartstrings ability.

Sadly, though, she hasn't been seen much in recent years, quietly raising her children as the Tinseltown train trundled on which is why a rare recent appearance caused rather a stir.

Meg (61) was pictured alongside her friend Michael J Fox as he hosted a special screening in New York for his new Apple TV+ film, Still: A Michael J Fox Movie.

And it didn't take long for most of the attention to be focused not on Michael, who's probably done more for Parkinson's awareness than anyone else in Hollywood, but on Meg.

Why? Because of how she looked.

"Unrecognisable," some said. Is it really Meg Ryan, others asked.

Cue an internet frenzy with people laying into her for having too much plastic surgery and beseeching her to give the fillers a rest.

Meg does look different. She's clearly been plumped and smoothed. But does it matter? We've moved on in so many ways: body positivity is a big deal and people are encouraged to embrace themselves as they are, warts and all.