Here's What Sara Gilbert Looks Like Without Makeup

Sara Gilbert has had a stunning transformation since her time as a child star, but she never set out to be a beauty icon. Having worked behind the scenes to bring to life iconic shows like "Roseanne," "The Talk," and "The Conners," Gilbert prefers to focus on representing real people. And she isn't afraid to walk her talk. She often steps out showing off her natural face and made a splash with her "The Talk" co-hosts in 2012 when they presented the show makeup-free. Spoiler alert: Gilbert didn't look very different at all.

That's probably because the actor normally embraces her natural looks on the small screen, so the public is used to what she looks like for the most part. That's what she strives for and what she attributes the success of "The Conners" to, all these years after "Roseanne" made waves. "No one's trying to win a beauty pageant. You know, it's kind of like hopefully people turn it on and they just see regular-looking Americans that are trying to show what it's like to get by," she said on the "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" in 2020.

Gilbert also wanted to show the audience, many of whom watched "Roseanne" in the '80s and '90s, that aging is a part of life. She hoped that seeing the older version of the actors on TV would help the viewers relate, she told Variety. When she went makeup-free on "The Talk," Gilbert proved she was serious about showing her real self.

In September 2012, Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler, and Sheryl Underwood walked onto the stage wearing just a white robe for the premiere of "The Talk" Season 3. "Do not adjust your TV sets, this is what we all really look like without makeup," Chen told the camera. It turns out the idea was Gilbert's. Not everyone loved it, but they went along with her. Underwood was chief among them. "I was mad as hell at Sara for recommending it, I was mad," she said in a 2019 episode. But she was glad the move at least helped the show's hair and makeup team gain well-deserved recognition. "They deserve all the wins," Underwood laughed, referring to the show's hair styling and makeup awards.

In a "Talk Live Video Chat" that same month, Gilbert, who left "The Talk" in 2019, explained her idea was meant to show the audience that the co-hosts were real people. "We want to really show you guys behind the scenes what we're like, so we're going to be showing more of our personalities," she said. Chen agreed with Gilbert and, unlike Underwood, continued to support the idea after the episode came out. "We kind of tell it like it is," she told People (via CBS News). "We decided the ultimate way to be real and authentic would be to go on without our fake hair, fake eyelashes, five pounds of TV makeup."

After Sara Gilbert welcomed her third child with her now-ex Linda Perry in 2015, she let exercise fall down her list of priorities. She set out to change that in 2017, when she signed up for Prevention's #SpreadTheHealth Challenge. She made her goal attainable, aiming for just 15 minutes of exercise a day. Because she started out small, she didn't feel overwhelmed by the challenge and sometimes even managed to go beyond. "I found it was easiest to squeeze in a daily walk or jog, though one day I was able to do an hour of yoga," she said.

Gilbert remembered how much better she felt when exercise was part of her daily life. "I learned [how] much physical activity is connected to my mental well-being," she said. She also noticed she was more productive and had higher energy levels. "Even though exercise takes a little time, I felt I made up for it because it ended up increasing my overall productivity," she added. Gilbert doesn't exercise to look a certain way. For her, staying active is all about feeling healthy, both physically and mentally.

Even her beauty tips have an inward approach, as Gilbert believes inner health reflects on the outside. "I think the thing that works the best is being hydrated, honestly. You can put a million things on topically, but I'm not sure that does much," she told New Beauty in January 2024 before candidly admitting, "I'm not sure anybody should be coming to me for beauty tips, but that's what I got."