Kim Basinger Looked Unrecognizable During Rare Public Outing At Daughter Ireland Baldwin's Baby Shower

Oct 10, 2023

Kim Basinger is a talented actress. She was born on Dec. 8, 1953, to mother Ann Cordell and father Donald Wade Basinger. While Basinger’s mother was a model, actress, and swimmer, her father was a big band musician and a loan manager. Hence, it is no surprise that she was nurtured into the arts from an early age. Basinger, who was a shy child, started ballet classes at 3 and continued taking those classes until her teen years when she gained the confidence to join the cheerleading team.

At the age of 17, Basinger competed in the Junior Miss Scholarship Pageant, where she won at the city level. Despite not winning at the state level, her beauty was profiled at the national level. Basinger went on to become a Ford model, but despite raking in impressive cash from modeling, she hated it because it made her overly conscious of her body.

After years as a cover girl, she abandoned modeling and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Basinger landed several guest roles on small screen projects until 1978 when she earned her first starring role in “Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold.” She went on to feature in several other projects until she got her breakthrough role as Bond girl Domino Petachi in the 1983 James Bond film “Never Say Never Again.”

Since coming into the limelight, she has won several accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1997 and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. With her reduced activity in the industry, Basinger has not made public appearances for some time. However, on March 7, 2023, the former Bond girl looked unrecognizable at her daughter Ireland Baldwin's baby shower.

Besides making headlines for the success of her career as an actress, Basinger was also a subject of attention in her personal life. In addition to her rich dating profile, the “L.A. Confidential” star has been married and divorced twice.

She was first married in 1980 to makeup artist Ron Snyder-Britton. The couple met on the set of the 1981 film “Hard Country” and got married after a whirlwind romance. In the same year, the actress suffered her first episode of agoraphobia after she had a panic attack in a health-food store. She was homebound for months. When she was eventually ready to work again, Britton had to quit his job to accompany her to film sets because of her panic attacks. The pair were married for nine years until their divorce in 1989.

One year after her first marriage ended, Basinger met her second husband, Alec Baldwin, on the set of “The Marrying Man,” where they co-starred as lovers. Their onscreen romance continued offscreen, and in 1993, the lovebirds exchanged vows. They welcomed their daughter, Ireland, on Oct. 23, 1995, and separated in 2000. Basinger called Ireland her “greatest achievement.” Nowadays, Basinger is a doting grandmother to Ireland’s child. In 2002, the divorce between the couple was finalized, but that was not the end, as it was followed by a bitter custody battle for their daughter.

In 2014, over a decade after her divorce, the former Bond girl found love again with hairstylist Mitch Stone. The couple started dating shortly after they met and are currently living together.

Despite all she has been through in life, Basinger has no regrets. 

“I truly have no regrets, I try to live everyday in the present not having one foot in the future or one foot in the past. I try to stay in the present everyday and to be grateful and thankful to God for life,” she told The Georgian Journal. 

The actress, who had turned down a role in “Sleeping with the Enemy,” told Net-A-Porter, "Isn't it funny that I turned down 'Sleeping with the Enemy' and then I went on to sleep with the enemy! Alec and I are cool now, though. Life goes on."

In the prime of her career, Basinger was a sight for sore eyes, and she remains absolutely beautiful today. Besides making a statement with her cover feature in Playboy Magazine, she was ranked number three in Los Angeles Times Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful Women in Film.” 

However, as she grew older, people began to notice changes in her facial structure, fueling rumors that she had undergone cosmetic procedures. In a 2006 publication by Evening Standard, plastic surgeon Alex Karidis analyzed changes in her facial features that were synonymous with beauty procedures.

“I am absolutely convinced that Kim has had some filler put into her lips and work done around the mouth,” he said.

Although Basinger has not publicly acknowledged these rumors, she has openly talked about her struggles with social isolation. In an April 2022 publication by People Magazine, taken from her appearance on “Red Table Talk,” Basinger gave insights into her battle with agoraphobia.

"I wouldn't leave the house. I would no longer go to dinner," she shared.

According to the National Institute of Health, Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that involves intense fear and anxiety of any place or situation where escape might be difficult. It also comes in the form of avoidance of situations such as being alone outside of the home; traveling in a car, bus, or airplane; or being in a crowded area.

"It is characterized by the fear that a panic attack or panic-like symptoms may occur in these situations. Individuals with agoraphobia, therefore, strive to avoid such situations or locations,” the NIH said on their website. 

According to The Mayo Clinic, Agoraphobia can be treated trough psychotherapy and medicine. Taking anti-deppresants, anti-anxiety medicine, and cognitive behavioral therapy are widely considered effective measures to overcome Agoraphobia. 

Other notable celebrities that suffers from Agoraphobia are Emma Stone, Brian Wilson, Macauly Culkin, Carly Simon, and Barbra Streisand.

In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2000, Basinger revealed that her anxiety might be rooted on her childhood 

Describing herself as "flat-out paralyzed by fear and selfconsciousness," Basinger pointed out that her parents might be the reason of her anxiety. 

"Parents can be very influential in designing those little creepy-crawlers that jump around in your mind for the rest of your life," she added. "It's the fear of not being good enough. Someone somewhere along the way has given you the idea that maybe you might not be."

Looking back, Basinger felt like her mother’s attempt to shield her from dangers were “misguided.” There was even a point that Basinger’s decision not to eat meat caused a war between her and her mother. 

"She was a mother tiger; she thought she was protecting me, whereas in reality I needed help – That was a sign of something that was definitely wrong."

Basinger revealed to People Magazine that she had to go through a learning curve, learning again to do everything that was considered basic.

"I had to relearn to drive, and for many years I would not go through the tunnels at Malibu," the actress revealed. "Everything used to make me nervous, like the glass (sliding) to open the door, or, 'Where do I step to open the door?' Everything became a big job to figure out how to do it."

The actress later opened up to The Daily Mail about a panic attack she had while shopping. 

“My basket was almost full, and I found something really overcoming me in such a way that I couldn't breathe,” she said. 

She made it to her car but didn’t drive for several months afterward. Basinger also admitted to Net-A-Porter that accepting her Oscar for “L.A. Confidential” was “terrifying” for her.

Thankfully, Basinger has found a great partner that she feels comfortable going out in public with. In January 2022, The Daily Mail reported that Basinger and Stone were spotted grabbing dinner together for the first time in three years.

Basinger and Stone have been together for quite some time, and it’s always great to see them support each other. In August 2023, Basinger took to Instagram to share how proud she was of Stone for releasing a book.

“I’m proud of anybody who finishes anything in this life… who sets out to do something and completes it…. To finish a book is an especially huge accomplishment…. and Mitch has finished his book! @thegoalnovel is available now on Amazon 👏👏👏👍,” she said in the caption. 

The following month, Basinger was spotted in public again — and fans were over the moon to see the beautiful star. While some thought she looked unrecognizable in her big hat and oversized sunglasses, others were just happy to see Basinger in such a rare moment.

“She is beautiful as always!” one person said. Another commented, “Perfectly recognizable. Looking good.” A third fan chimed in and said, “She is fine!!”

Aside from Stone, Basinger also have her daughter Ireland by her side amid all the chaos in her mind. 

Ireland is an actress, model, and social media influencer, and has appeared in several editorials for magazines. She is also an animal rights advocate and has modeled for PETA. 

Baldwin and Basinger divorced when Ireland was 7. For a while after that, Ireland lived in the spotlight after Baldwin’s angry voicemail leaked to the public when she was 11. TMZ bought the recording that thrust Ireland into the limelight, where she lived until public interest died down. 

Baldwin shared previously that Basinger spent over $1.5 million to keep Ireland away from him. Unfortunately, the leaked voicemail in which Baldwin called his daughter a “rude, thoughtless, little pig” caused him to temporarily lose his visitation rights and further strained his relationship with Ireland. The actor spoke about his ordeal later and confessed that the situation made him suicidal. However, he got over it with professional help. 

Ireland and Baldwin have since worked on their relationship to the extent that she now jokes about the voicemail incident. When Baldwin forgot to include her in a post about his children in May 2023, she also took it in good stride. The actor quickly corrected his error when he found out and celebrated that he would soon become a granddad through his first child. 

Ireland also have a great relationship with her mom, Basinger, who she said is the first person she calls when she wants to talk. The duo has kept their relationship going despite all they went through. The animal rights advocate also previously shared that she is grateful for getting a start in her career because of her parents’ influence.

In fact, Ireland has also vowed to follow in her mother’s footsteps – specifically on posing nude for PETA, where she stripped down to protest the use of fur in fashion in a nude photoshoot in 2018. 

"I saw the images from when my mom shot this campaign, so it was something that I had aspired to do since I was a little girl," she said in the video. "This is something my mother has fought her entire life and has advocated for and something I am trying to do as well."

While many lauded Basinger and Ireland for their dedication to the advocacy, personality, and their beauty, the matriarch was subjected to harsh criticism on social media by people who thought that she looked unrecognizable in a rare outing. 

In March 2023, Basinger was spotted at her daughter Ireland’s baby shower wearing a dark gray trouser suit over a button-up black blouse. Basinger paired her look with a brown handbag and black shoes. She wore minimal makeup and left her blonde hair to fall around her shoulders.

Although the actress dressed differently from the theme of the baby shower, the focus wasn’t on her attire. Rather, it was about her looking different from the sex symbol of her heydays. 

People on social media were brutal upon seeing Basinger’s new look. 

“She does look unrecognizable with all that stupid plastic surgery,” a user wrote. 

“Fake cheekbones,” someone said.

Plasti-face Baldwin....😱” another commented. 

Are you a fan of Kim Basinger? What can you say about her journey in overcoming Agorophobia? Do you know someone who also suffers from the same illness? Do you think her illness contributed to why she looked unrecognizable today? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends, and other Kim Basinger fans out there!