Renée Zellweger is glad people are saying she looks different.

The 45-year-old actress has been the subject of plastic surgery accusations on social media sites after she stepped out looking almost unrecognizable at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills on Monday, but insists her latest look is down to her doing a much better job of taking care of herself.

Describing conversations about her appearance as "silly", she told PEOPLE magazine: "I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows.

"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy. For a long time I wasn't doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn't allow for taking care of myself."

The 'Bridget Jones' star has admitted she previously made "bad choices" in life when she felt "exhausted" and instead of stopping to rest and recuperate she just kept going, but she is now "happy" with her appearance.

She added: "Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion.

"I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things.

"People don't know me in my 40s. People don't know me [as] healthy for a while

"Perhaps I look different. Who doesn't as they get older? Ha. But I am different. I'm happy."