Whether they are lost in serious thought or just don't feel like smiling, celebrity women often get labeled as cold or angry if they don't beam for the camera. Oscar-nominated actress Anna Kendrick, known for playing strong character roles -- and for her wit and intelligence off screen -- told The Guardian that when she was a little girl, a casting director said to her, "Anna, can you smile more please? You don't seem like you're very happy." I wasn't so good at doing that cheesy little kid thing."
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Kristen Stewart is regularly mocked on celebrity websites for her serious expression. She told one interviewer: "The whole smiling thing is weird because I actually smile a lot. ... I literally want to be like, 'Dude, you would think I was cool if you got to know me.'"
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Victoria Beckham rose to fame as one of the Spice Girls and went on to build a successful career as a fashion designer in a highly competitive field. But that is not enough for some in the media, who insist that she smile more or risk being an RBF.
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Actress January Jones played a seriously unhappy woman on "Mad Men," and some judged her harshly for not banishing that persona off screen. In a New York Times profile, the writer felt compelled to note, "It isn't easy to coax a smile out of January Jones."
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Actress Anna Paquin lamented to Jimmy Kimmel that she suffered from a resting facial expression that makes her look "like you want to kill people, or like you're a giant bitch. That's pretty much how I come across" -- even when she's happy.
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Actress Christina Ricci, whose stock in trade is playing grim, disaffected characters -- she's played Wednesday Addams AND Lizzie Borden -- can't catch a break for wearing a naturally serious expression off screen.
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Anna Wintour, a successful businesswoman as editor-in-chief of American Vogue, was famously sent up by Meryl Streep as cold and brutal in "The Devil Wears Prada." A (male) "60 Minutes" interviewer once reminded viewers that Wintour has "been portrayed as Darth Vader in a frock." She politely fended off the characterization.
