Hollywood’s beauty standards are far more rigid than the already ridiculous pressures the rest of us face. If an actor or singer doesn’t fit the mold, there’s pressure to “fix” whatever’s deemed a flaw — often cosmetically.
Here are 14 stars who got cosmetic surgery to “make it” in Hollywood:
1.
Julie Chen got eyelid surgery during her early days working in local news after her director made a racially charged comment about her eyes.
On a 2013 episode of The Talk, she, “[My secret] dates back to when I was 25 years old, and I was working as a local news reporter in Dayton, Ohio. I asked my news director, over the holidays, if anchors want to take vacations, could I fill in? And he said, ‘You will never be on this anchor desk, because you’re Chinese.’ He said, ‘Let’s face it, Julie, how relatable are you to our community? How big of an Asian community do we have in Dayton? On top of that, because of your Asian eyes, I’ve noticed that when you’re on camera, you look disinterested and bored.’ Well, fast forward, I’m like, I need to get another job — if I can — so I start meeting with agents for career advice. This one big-time agent basically told me the same thing. He said, ‘I cannot represent you unless you get plastic surgery to make your eyes look bigger.'”
After talking the decision through with her parents, she ultimately decided to get the blepharoplasty. She continued, “And after I had it done, the ball did roll for me. And I wondered, did I give in to the man? I have to live with every decision that I’ve made. And it got me to where we are today. And I’m not going to look back.”
In 2023, Julie told AARP, “I got some blowback within my own family before I had it. I had a sister who thought it was, you know, denying my heritage, and she thought it was ridiculous. And then people in the newsroom back then in Dayton, Ohio, they were just kind of baffled. Like they didn’t even understand what it was I was doing, trying to achieve or why.”
2.
Before she was a musician, Courtney Love was an actor. However, she felt her nose was holding her back, so, at age 20, she got a rhinoplasty.
In 2014, she told Jimmy Kimmel Live, “Let’s just be real. I had a really big nose. That schnoz was not taking me anywhere… I got my nose fixed… In six months, the whole world changed.”
4.
Actor Rich Rotella got limb-lengthening surgery to add three inches to his height to help him book more roles.
In 2022, he told Business Insider, “I’ve always felt the need to be taller, even as a teenager. I was 5’5” and felt like I paled in comparison to my peers… I’ve been an actor in Hollywood since 2009 and have worked with a handful of celebrities, from Betty White to Mindy Sterling, and talented filmmakers. Over time, it seemed like I was stuck in the sidekick role. So in 2019, on the eve of my 10th anniversary in Hollywood, I asked some directors and filmmakers to share their honest opinions about my career. They told me I hadn’t been able to get lead roles because of my height. Lead actors are typically 5’8″ and up, they told me. This came as a shock, and I felt like I was knocked down a few pegs.”
A few months later, he took steps towards finding a surgeon. He said, “The price of the procedure depends on the method you choose and if physical therapy is included. I chose to do a femoral surgery, or above the knees, and ended up spending more than $100,000. My insurance didn’t cover the surgery, but I’d recommend that people include physical therapy sessions in their cost analysis. I increased my height by 3 inches, going from 5’5″ to 5’8”. Immediately after the surgery, I sent a mass email to my family and friends informing them of my decision. I received mixed reactions, but a lot of people questioned my judgment…I’m currently working on the documentary… I’m also starting to look for opportunities to get in touch with executives from major studios in the hopes of selling the rights to my story. In the meantime, I have several other films that I’m looking to work on.”
5.
As an up-and-coming artist, K. Michelle got illegal silicone butt injections, thinking it would help her career.
In 2022, she told Essence, “I had just got a new record deal, and I felt like the bigger the butt, the bigger the career. I already had a big butt. It was just ridiculous.”
She later had to have four surgeries and two blood transfusions to remove them. In 2018, she told People, “[The injector] wasn’t a doctor — it was black market, it was these ‘hydrogel’ injections — that’s what they were being called. When I found out my favorite rapper did it, that’s when I decided, ‘I’m getting it done.'”
Five years later, she started experiencing pain in her legs and back, migraines, fatigue, and other unexplainable symptoms. Eventually, her doctors found out that the silicone was spreading down her legs, so one suggested she get liposuction. She said, “He thought that you could go and suck it out, but it spread… It’s definitely a new procedure, so he didn’t know… I went on tour about a week and a half later … but after a few performances, I was rushed to the emergency room.” Removing the affected tissue required three additional surgeries. She said, “I had these lumps, and I was very disfigured.” She planned to get reconstructive surgery.
6.
Blondie singer Debbie Harry got cosmetic work done so that she could keep having the career she wanted.
In 2025, she told Vanity Fair, “It’s always been a tool for me. It’s not like I started having cosmetic surgery as a kid in school — I think nowadays a lot of girls are getting cosmetic surgery when they’re 10, 11 years old. God bless if it improves their lives and they feel happy. But as far as me having cosmetic surgery, it made me feel better about myself. Maybe it made me feel happy or more confident. It was just something that I felt necessary at the time. I wanted to work, and so much of women being attractive, and being a selling point, is clearly showbiz. If you’re going to be in the business, be in it.”
7.
K-pop idol and Super Junior member Kyuhyun alleged that his label forced him to get double eyelid surgery.
Appearing on the variety show Dolsing Fourmen in 2023, he reportedly said, “You may not believe me, but at the time [in high school], I didn’t have double eyelids. I got them after I debuted because the label forced me to… [Netizens] call me a cosmetic monster just because I got my eyes done. To make matters worse, my double eyelids often come undone. I was squinting in my high school photo that people use when mentioning my past. There are other normal photos, but they seem to only use that one.”
8.
After her breakout role in Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey had her first of two rhinoplasties, which her mom suggested would help her book more roles.
In 2022, Jennifer told People, “She loves me, loved me, always has, and she was pragmatic because she was saying, ‘Guess what? It’s too hard to cast you. Make it easier for them.’ And then I did, and she was right. It wasn’t like, ‘You’re not pretty.’ It’s like, ‘Guess what? If you don’t want to be an actor, okay. But if you wanna be an actor…’ “But when I was a kid, I was completely anti-rhinoplasty. I mean, it was like my religion. I loved that my parents [underwent rhinoplasty]. I understand it was the ’50s. I understand they were assimilating. I understood that you had to change your name and you had to do certain things, and it was just normalized, right? You can’t be gay. You can’t be Jewish. You know, you can’t look Jewish. You’re just trying to fit into whatever is the group think.”
However, her second rhinoplasty rendered her unrecognizable. In 2022, she told the New York Times, “Overnight, I lose my identity and my career.”
9.
Jamie Lee Curtis got work done after the Perfect cinematographer allegedly refused to film her because of her appearance.
In 2025, she told 60 Minutes, “He was like, ‘I am not shooting her today because her eyes are baggy.’ I was 25. For him to say that was very embarrassing. As soon as the movie finished, I ended up having some plastic surgery.”
She said the procedure didn’t go well, adding, “That’s just not what you want to do when you’re 25 or 26. I regretted immediately and have regretted it since. [I regret it] now because I’ve become a really public advocate to women to say, ‘You’re gorgeous and perfect the way you are.’ It was not a good thing for me to do… They give you painkillers. I became very enamored with the warm bath of an opioid. Drank a little bit. I was very quiet and private about it. But it became a dependency for sure.”
10.
Christian Bale got dental work done for American Psycho, getting rid of his tooth gap and altering his incisors.
In 200, he told the Guardian, “I liked my old teeth. I have a moulding of them on a shelf. But with Patrick Bateman, his physicality is much more important than with most characters. He deals totally in the superficial, and he’s incredibly narcissistic. I looked at myself in the mirror, and it just wasn’t right. I was warned that if I got caps, I could get a lisp, and you might still be able to tell in close-up. So I thought, I like my teeth, but I’m not so attached to them that I’m going to ruin this whole movie because I refuse to get them done.”
On a 2025 episode of Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind, she said, “I feel like getting into the industry definitely played a part in me wanting to look the way I look. But definitely, stuff pressures you into doing it, when you feel like, ‘Look, I gotta do this so I can be successful without the help of a man.'”
In 2009, she told People, “I was told repeatedly, ‘You would be pretty if it weren’t for that nose. You’d work more if it weren’t for that nose. Hey, have you considered getting a nose job?’ You would think I had a nose the size of Texas. I was young and impressionable, and I was told that enough that I started to believe it, so I got a nose job.”
13.
Not only was Old Hollywood star Rita Hayworth pressured into using a stage name to hide her Spanish heritage (her real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino), but, at the behest of her first husband, Eddie Judson, she also had to endure electrolysis treatments to change her hairline and dye her dark hair ginger to make her appear less “Latin” (though Rita was not Latina, her dad reportedly made her dye her hair black at 12 so she’d look more “Latin” and older for dance performances).
Rita was reportedly nicknamed “the most cooperative girl in Hollywood” because of the way Eddie treated her in pursuit of making her famous. She allgedly said, “I married him for love, but he married me for an investment. For five years, he treated me as if I had no mind or soul of my own.”
14.
And finally, around 1949-1950, Marilyn Monroe, who was early in her acting career, reportedly overheard someone at a party call her a “chinless wonder.” So, she consulted a cosmetic surgeon and got a cartilage graft.
Needing time to recover, she rescheduled a screen test for two weeks later. When she did the screen test, the director allegedly told her, “Honey, you should have cut your chin two years ago.”
