If you grew up in the '90s, watching Saved by the Bell was a rite of passage. I, along with millions of other teens, tuned in every Saturday to catch cunning cutie Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), hot school jock Slater (Mario Lopez), activist Jesse (Elizabeth Berkley), and sweet, girl next door Kelly (Tiffani Amber Thiessen).
But it was Lisa Turtle, played by Lark Voorhies, who was the envy of every girl I knew. She was sassy, cool, had a great wardrobe (by '90s standards, that is), and was drop-dead gorgeous.
Needless to say, fans freaked out when Voorhies, now 38, recently resurfaced on The Yo Show on Yahoo!'s OMG! blog looking nothing like the hottie adolescent boys once salivated over (see below).
But really, what's the big deal? People have gone as far as to say it's plastic surgery gone wrong. I will concede she got a bad makeup job that day, but the explanation for her so-called "new look" is way simpler than botched Botox, folks. Blame Mother Nature. Yes, Lisa Turtle got old. So let's leave the poor, almost-40 girl alone.
It's been 20 years since she played that smokin' hot teen. Of course she looks older, pudgier, and more world weary. Pretty much out of the spotlight since the cult hit went off the air in 1993, Voorhies probably hasn't made enough dough for the regular nips, tucks, and Botox injections required to stop the hands of time. No one in Hollywood ages gracefully without a lot of help (even you, Demi Moore!). Ask yourself, how many of us look as hot or thin or bright-eyed as we did in high school?
The fact of the matter is, some people age well but most of us don't. Besides, who wants to look exactly like they did in the '90s? Big hair, jeri curls, silk jackets, parachute pants, and banana clips are all vestiges of the decade I would rather forget.
Does Lark Voorhies really look that bad?
Images via omg.yahoo.com