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 Susan
Anton has long epitomized female talent and beauty. Ms. Anton, who
competed successfully in beauty pageants, got her first big break
as the Muriel Cigar Girl. In the ’80s and ’90s, she toured
with Kenny Rogers and was a guest star with the Great Radio City
Music Hall Spectacular. Her stage and screen credits include roles
in Broadway shows such as The Will Rogers Follies, and the films
Goldengirl and Making Mr. Right with John Malkovich. By
Dr. Ronald Goldstein
DR. RONALD GOLDSTEIN:
Do you think our culture overemphasizes beauty?
SUSAN ANTON: Yes, sadly, we do. I don’t
know if it’s more pronounced today because we have more means
of giving attention to it — billboards, magazines, television,
the recording industry. And there have even been scientific studies
— when a baby is in the room with two women, and one is considered
more beautiful than the other, the infant’s eyes will go to
the more beautiful one. So there’s an attraction that we have
to beauty that is innate. But sadly I think the pressure young girls
are up against now is incredibly unhealthy.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: What can be done about
it?
SUSAN ANTON: I think that the pendulum
will swing back to the other side one day. But I like to think that
the more we can encourage girls to appreciate their own uniqueness,
and not some prototype that Madison Avenue is shoving down their
throats, the better.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: Do you think ideal beauty
exists in a world where personal differences are encouraged?
SUSAN ANTON: I go back to the idea
that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I prefer that we choose
to look for the beauty that lies within.
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 DR.
GOLDSTEIN: What are your thoughts about beauty pageants today?
SUSAN ANTON: I am the first one to
acknowledge that I have had many doors open to me because of the
way that I look, which I had nothing to do with. Competing in a
beauty contest was a wonderful experience for me. I was raised in
a very small town so when I was a young girl, I was incredibly curious
about the rest of the world outside my little hometown, population
10,000. So the Miss America program offered a wonderful opportunity
for me to go out and see the world and meet extraordinary people,
and to get connected to what I always wanted to do, which was to
sing and entertain.
Sometimes because a woman is beautiful,
she’s not encouraged to be more, although she may have so much
more to offer. But beauty pageants, or the stage or modeling may
give a person a platform so she can hopefully have her voice heard
and contribute to society in a meaningful way.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: When you were very young,
did people tell you you were beautiful? When did you realize that
your looks were extraordinary?
SUSAN ANTON: Well, I still don’t
think my looks are “extraordinary.” I think we’re
all the harshest judges of ourselves. As a young girl I was incredibly
awkward and shy, and my nickname in school was the Jolly Green Giant,
because I was so tall. So I had a lot of shame and tried to blend
in. And it’s only recently that I realized that I’ll never
blend in. I’m 5’11” and I have teeth the size of
Mt. Everest and a head full of blond hair. Fortunately, my parents
always encouraged me to be grateful that I was healthy, and stand
up and be proud and carry myself with dignity.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: Is there anything about
your face you would like to change?
SUSAN ANTON: Probably not. And it’s
an interesting question because I’m 52 years old, so I am at
that place where I am going, “Hmmm?” There are certain
things that I do consider when I look in the mirror, and I go, “Well,
I would like to maybe change that.” For example, I don’t
like to see my neck getting all drapey. But I would prefer to first
do as much work as I can internally, to make sure that any choices
I might make down the road would be coming from a place of healthy
choice, not out of a desperate need to be something other than who
I am.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: What is your philosophy
or approach to aging?
SUSAN ANTON: Well, first and foremost,
I commit myself to a spiritual path. I believe there is an anti-aging
possibility, but it has to come from within. You’re not going
to necessarily turn back the clock, and to go back to being 20-something.
So “as a man thinketh, as a man will be.” I keep myself
healthy, I keep powerful meditations, I keep my body limber, I eat
well, and I carry a good sense of myself internally.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: Are you saying that
you wouldn’t have plastic surgery, or you don’t think
plastic surgery is something that women should consider?
SUSAN ANTON: Oh, no. I think it’s
wonderful, and I think that if someone is considering it, due diligence
is a priority. But the most important thing is to do the internal
work. If your self-esteem is low, and you think you’re going
to fix that by changing the way that you look outwardly, chances
are that you’re still going to have those issues to deal with
internally.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: You mentioned your big
teeth, but I think you have one of the prettiest smiles in Hollywood!
How do you feel about the role of the smile in personal success?
SUSAN ANTON: I think a beautiful smile
is very important. I have seen people’s self-esteem totally
transform with cosmetic dentistry. I think we lead with the smile.
When you walk into a room, a healthy, beautiful smile is incredibly
important. So I have always felt incredibly blessed to have been
given a wonderful smile. I have my mother’s smile.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: Susan, which part of
your body do you feel is the hardest to keep looking young?
SUSAN ANTON: Well for me, the neck
is very tricky. But as far as the most challenging that I can do
something about, it’s the thighs and derriere. And I have found
that as I’ve gotten older, that it’s harder to keep my
mid-section as trim as it used to be.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: Are you on an exercise
program?
SUSAN ANTON: Off and on. I just started
yoga, and I do Pilates from time to time. And sometimes I go to
the gym and I do the treadmill. I’ve exercised my whole life
but in the last year I’ve gotten a bit bored with all of it.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: But you’ve danced
pretty much all of your life as well, haven’t you?
SUSAN ANTON: Yes. I’m not a trained
dancer, but I’m on stage a great deal, and I’m always
moving around and dancing in a free-form sort of way. So I have
a very active lifestyle, which helps me a great deal.
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 DR.
GOLDSTEIN: Are you one who sets goals, and if so, have they
been fulfilled?
SUSAN ANTON: It’s a funny thing
about goals, I’ve changed my definition or attachment to them,
because I think goals give the impression that there’s someplace
to “get to.” I prefer to live as much as I can in the
moment, and in the moment I find where I want to go next. One of
my favorite expressions is God keeps looking down at all of us and
laughing, saying, ‘Isn’t that cute? They’re making
plans.’ Like we have any idea what the future will bring!
When I was a young girl I did have
the goal of becoming a nursery school teacher. I went to college
and majored in pre-psychology. Then I got swept up in my real love,
entertainment and show business. But I’ve been thinking there
might be a way to use what I’ve acquired as an entertainer
in a teaching capacity, to give young people a platform of expression.
I’ve also been thinking about
taking my band on the road. I’m from Yucaipa, a little town
in southern California, and I recently did a benefit there for the
high school music program. I would love to do a small town tour.
Take my show and go to schools in towns that never get the advantage
of having headline entertainment, then do workshops with the students.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: What do you consider
your greatest life achievement to date?
SUSAN ANTON: I am ESPECIALLY proud
of the fact that I am a dearly loved daughter, sister, wife and
friend. I feel blessed that I have a well of love and support in
my life, and that I also love and support those back. I’m very
proud of the way that I show up as a person.
But career-wise was when I was performing
in the Will Rogers Follies on Broadway, and I was able to fly my
mom and dad to New York. Christmas is very big in our family, so
they flew out for a week in New York to come to the play. Then the
cast was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors and go
to the White House and my parents came along.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: What role has the media
played in helping to define beauty? Or do you think it has?
SUSAN ANTON: You know, it’s interesting,
because they’re always shifting it, aren’t they? You go
back into the golden age of film, and you have Lana Turner, Joan
Crawford, Bette Davis, a very eclectic group of women who were all
beautiful by Hollywood standards at that time. Beauty had more of
a glamour about it. Bette Davis and Kim Novak were as different
as night and day and yet equally beautiful. And then we went into
the ’60s where everything was more raw and rugged and ethnic.
Then Charlie’s Angels came on the scene with Farah Fawcett
and that hair. I think it’s always shifting. Today, you have
Julia Roberts who is obviously beautiful, but it’s Julia’s
essence that makes her so beautiful. Then you’ve got someone
like Meg Ryan, who is different and beautiful in her fun, childlike
quality. So I think it’s that light within us.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: What aspect of your
career has given you the most pleasure?
SUSAN ANTON: Live performance with
my music and my audience and my band. That is such a personal journey,
especially lately. It has been incredibly fulfilling because of
the connectedness I have with my audience. The sense of community
and being creative together each night is very fulfilling.
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DR. GOLDSTEIN: Do you have any tips
for women — any advice you would like to offer about make-up,
hairstyle, etc.?
SUSAN ANTON: Well, one thing that I
have learned is that “less is more.” You know, the less
you do, the better you look, the more natural you look. I believe
it is really important to have hair color that is vibrant and beautiful.
I have tried letting my hair grow out and it didn’t work. I
am supposed to be blonde. It is a part of who I am and I love it.
But I find that the less make-up I wear, the better I feel and the
better I look. As corny as it sounds, the main thing is to love
yourself and the rest will take care of itself.
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Author
of the consumer guide to dentistry, Change Your Smile (Quintessence
Publishing), Dr. Ronald Goldstein is a long-time esthetic dentist
in Atlanta, whose practice was the first to move beyond the smile
and focus on overall facial harmony. With a lifelong interest in
beauty, Dr. Goldstein has conducted research on the concept of physical
attractiveness and its role in the achievement of personal success.
He writes extensively on beauty, esthetic dentistry and related
topics. Dr. Goldstein can be contacted by email at goldsteingarber@goldsteingarber.com.
From the Spring 2003 issue.
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