• e-mail

In having a suspected eye lift, Renee Zellweger has eradicated a key facial feature of her Norwegian Sami heritage to look more traditionally 'European,' suggests a top professor of Finnish culture.

'The reason Renee used to be distinctive looking - with her narrow eyes and epicanthic eye folds - is because she is an unusual genetic mixture,' Edward Dutton, Professor of Finnish Culture at Oulu University in Finland, tells MailOnline.

'With a Swiss father and a mother who is part Kven and part Sami - ethnic minorities Indigenous to Norway, Finland and Sweden - Renee had a somewhat "eastern" face.'

Scroll down for video

Roots: Edward Dutton, Professor of Finnish Culture at Oulu University in Finland, suggests that Renee's naturally narrow eyes, pictured in 2001 (left), are down to her Norwegian Sami/Kven heritage, and that she amy have had an eye lift, pictured last week (right) to look less ethnic

Mr Dutton compares this eastern narrow-eyed look to that of Icelandic singer Björk - whose ancestry is thought to be Inuit.

'I suspect Renee has had plastic surgery which makes her look less Sami, less Kven, and more stereotypically North European,' argues Mr Dutton.

'She was so much more beautiful and interesting when she had the courage to be Sami and Kven.' 

Mr Dutton points to another famous example, remarking: 'There seems little question that Michael Jackson underwent plastic surgery to make himself look more European, and Renee seems to have done exactly the same thing. How sad.'

Similarly, The Talk anchor Julie Chen revealed last year that she had cosmetic surgery on her eyes when she was 25 to make them look 'less Asian' as a young TV news reporter. 

Bare-faced: Renee (pictured on Saturday) has sparked much speculation in regards to her 'new face,' with many suspecting she has had blepharoplasty to remove excess fat from her upper eye region

The eyes have it: Icelandic singer Björk (left) whose ancestry is Inuit, has not dissimilar eyes to Renee (center, in 1997) or even Michelle Williams (right) who is of Norwegian descent 

Comparison: 'There seems little question that Michael Jackson, too, underwent plastic surgery to make himself look more European,' points out Mr Dutton. The late singer pictured (left) as a child and (right) after his surgery 

Confession: The Talk anchor Julie Chen, pictured before having a cosmetic procedure to make her eyes look 'less Asian' in her early 20s (left) and pictured in a headshot after the surgery (right)

The Sami, explains Mr Dutton, are reindeer herding people living in Lapland in the far north of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia.

They are distinct from Scandinavians in that they maintain the eastern facial look that is an adaptation to extreme cold.

In turn, Kven people are descended from Finnish peasants, and studies have shown that the Finns have the highest percentage of 'East Asian' genes of any European population.

'Renee's defining trademark characteristic was her small, squinty eyes, which complemented her quirky personality perfectly,' Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon Dr. Randal Haworth tells MailOnline.

'In my opinion, Renee underwent a blepharoplasty; which entails removing the perceived excess amount of eyelid skin and fat from the area between the eyebrow and the upper eyelash. 

'This procedure... would unveil her eyes which were "hiding" behind this drape of skin.'

Distinctive look: Pictured (left), a Sami gentleman living in Lapland, Northern Finland and (right) a Sami woman living in Norway

Meet the parents: Renee's father Emil Zellweger (left) is Swiss and her mother Kjellfrid Zellweger (right) is part Norwegian Sami and part Kven

Mr Dutton argues: 'There's something rather poignant about this.

'In my own fieldwork in Finland, I found that Finnish women regarded themselves as unattractive in comparison to stereotypical Swedes.'

Pictured: Edward Dutton is Professor of Finnish Culture at Oulu University in Finland

During the 19th Century, Finns - and the Sami people - used to be categorized as 'yellow' rather than 'white,' by leading anthropologists including Arthur de Gobineau, who penned a now-controversial book called An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races.

'Renee appears to be following in the long tradition of Finns making themselves look more stereotypically European,' suggests Mr Dutton.

'Genetically speaking, we value that which is both beautiful and rare, and Renee was beautiful for precisely this reason,' Mr Dutton continues.

'She had value because, in a Hollywood of living Barbies, she looked a bit unusual, especially when she portrayed Bridget Jones, and thus had a very different figure from the Hollywood norm.'

He concludes: 'She has reached into a history of the Finns not seeing themselves as beautiful and she has made Hollywood yet more plastic and conformist.'