(All gender confusion rumors aside - and yeah, I do think they were just rumors.)
Jamie Lee Curtis has generally been considered a fairly "hot" actress, amongst those who consider such things. In a magazine coming out soon, she does a photo shoot of what they now go through to give her that image. This is the "before". And yeah, it was considered entertainment news somewhere that a celebrity was going to let the world know what she really looks like.
Ms. Curtis does the world a service by being open about her relative average-ness. We need to get beyond this body image stuff -- that seems to be ever-worsening. I'm not talking about obesity, I'm talking about people feeling good about looking like Jamie Lee's "before".