Renee Zellweger ignored red carpet scrutiny

Actress Renee Zellwegger, 2015. Photo / Getty Images

Bridget Jones star Renee Zellweger has opened up on the intense public scrutiny her appearance received late last year.

The 46-year-old actress became a topic of chatter on social media over her different look at a Beverly Hills awards event in October, 2014.

She has told Entertainment Weekly she handled the scrutiny by ignoring it and admitted the experience in some ways had changed her.

"What good comes from knowing that something like that happened? Less fear. Sure," she told EW.

Renee Zellweger says she looks different because she's 'living a different, happy, more fulfilling life.' The 45-year-old Oscar winner issued a statement to People magazine in 2014. Photo / AP

However the Oscar winner said she never read media coverage about her appearance.

"All that I know about is what friends and associates would send in texts and emails," she recalled.

"They were sending support, which means that I must have needed it, and I prefer it that way.

"So when people come up to me to ask, 'How did that feel?', I don't know, and I like it like that.

"I know it sounds pretty unlikely that a person might be able to make herself, I guess, keep clear of those words or of that experience, but I have and it takes effort. But I have succeeded."

At the time, Zellweger told People magazine she was glad people thought she looked different.

"I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows."

Zellweger's third Bridget Jones film, Bridget Jones's Baby, is due for release next September.

The film will include the return of Colin Firth and introduce former Grey's Anatomy actor Patrick Dempsey to the franchise.

- AAP