Identity Crisis

You never know what a midlife crisis can cause a person to do. For Janet Cunliffe, a British woman in her early 50’s, her crisis drove her to take on the physical identity of another person — her daughter.

As shocking as this may sound, Janet spent tens of thousands of dollars to try and look exactly like her 29-year-old daughter Jane. While they do not look like twins, their appearance is strikingly more similar than what you would expect from a mother/daughter tandem.

Janet was getting out of a bad relationship and suffered from severe self-confidence issues. She moved in with her daughter Jane and the two began doing everything together. Whether it was simply fueled by a desire to look younger or by some deeper irrational obsession with her daughter, Janet decided to undergo a complete cosmetic makeover so that she could more closely emulate the person she most admires.

Janet has admitted to having blepharoplasty, a nose job, and lip implants. However, she also dropped from a size 14 to a size 6, which happens to be her daughter’s size. Most likely she also had a tummy tuck or liposuction to help achieve her new body.

The transformation did not stop there. Janet went from being a red head to a bleached blonde and got hair extensions so that her hair would be just like Jane’s. Janet and Jane also wear the same exact makeup and the same exact outfits. If you were to see them out on a Saturday night, they would not only look alike, they’d be dressed identically.

Surprisingly, Jane doesn’t seem to have a problem with her mother completely latching onto her life. She has been completely supportive throughout the process and seems to welcome her mother’s eccentric behavior.

What is even more alarming is that Janet Cunliffe is not the only woman who has taken these drastic measures to look exactly like her daughter. Several plastic surgeons have noted that over the past five years, they have witnessed a growing trend where mothers come in and ask to look exactly like their daughters.

It is one thing to opt for plastic surgery in order to regain a more youthful appearance. However, attempting to usurp your daughter’s life by getting a complete makeover to look exactly like her is somewhat inappropriate. As children become adults, they start their own lives. This is the natural order of the world. As hard as it may be for a parent to handle, it is important to let your child live his or her own life. Part of that is allowing your child to have her own identity that is separate from you.