Facing Off over Plastic Surgery

10/07/2004 at 12:00 PM EDT

Patricia Heaton took her red carpet walk at the Emmy Awards on Sept. 19 seriously. After all, the 46-year-old star of Everybody Loves Raymond and mother of four had put a lot of effort into looking radiant. And so she did, in a dress by Elie Saab, jewelry by Tony Duquette – and a tight tummy by the plastic surgeon also responsible for her nicely lifted breasts, all of which she?ll cheerfully discuss if you ask. Accepting a compliment about her appearance, she smiled slyly. "There?s a reverse thing that happens when you move (to L.A.)," she said. "You get younger-looking as you get older. It?s odd."

Call it odd. Or a dream come true. Or go with the term such A-list actresses as Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore and Jamie Lee Curtis use: "an epidemic." A troubling one that many believe is sweeping the industry. From press interviews to red carpets to the lunch line for craft services, actresses are talking about plastic surgery with a passion usually reserved for discussions of tax cuts or, you know, what to wear to the Oscars.

"It?s out of control," says Shannen Doherty, 33, star of FOX?s North Shore. "Why get lipo when you can work out or eat better?" For Kirstie Alley, 53, who plans to take on the phenomenon in her new Showtime series Fat Actress, "it?s sick. We should start concentrating on our lives, (not) our noses and breasts."