Renée Zellweger to PEOPLE: 'I'm Glad Folks Think I Look Different'

Renée Zellweger has responded to Internet chatter about her appearance. In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, the Oscar winner says she looks different because she is healthier and happier than ever – and she's fine with people taking notice.

"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," Zellweger, 45, says of the attention she received after an appearance at the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills on Monday.

Calling the conversation about her appearance "silly," she says she is choosing to address it because "it seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn't exist won't get off my porch until I answer the door."

"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy," Zellweger continues. "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. 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."

We're all ashamed to still be thinking private thoughts about Renée Zellweger, but we are http://t.co/YNgqkChXHi

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 25, 2014