The era of the "hush-hush" plastic surgery secret is rapidly coming to an end, replaced by a new wave of radical transparency among Hollywood’s elite. For decades, the glittering facade of perfection was maintained through a combination of genetic luck and carefully guarded surgical interventions. Today, however, many of the world’s most recognizable faces—from Kim Kardashian and Selena Gomez to screen legends like Jamie Lee Curtis—are pulling back the curtain on the nips, tucks, and injectables that define their public images. This shift in the cultural landscape suggests that for many stars, the reality of "life in plastic" is something to be discussed openly, whether the results were a source of newfound confidence or profound regret.
At the forefront of this movement toward honesty is the Kardashian-Jenner family, whose aesthetic choices have influenced global beauty standards for over a decade. While the family was once criticized for being evasive about their transformations, recent years have seen a marked shift toward candor. Kylie Jenner, the founder of Khy and a major beauty mogul, recently offered a surprisingly detailed account of her surgical history. During a June 2024 TikTok interaction with YouTuber Rachel Leary, Jenner responded to inquiries about her "natural-looking" breast augmentation by crediting the family’s trusted surgeon, Dr. Grant Fisher. She revealed the technical specifications of her procedure, noting she received "445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle."
However, Jenner’s transparency isn’t just about sharing medical details; it also involves sharing the emotional weight of those decisions. On a 2023 episode of her family’s reality series, The Kardashians, she expressed a sense of mourning for her pre-surgical body. Speaking to her close friend Stassie Karanikolaou, the 27-year-old lamented the choice to alter her natural form. "I had beautiful breasts, like natural t-ts," she confessed, describing them as "perfect size, perfect everything." Reflecting on her journey, she admitted she wished she had never undergone the procedure and offered a piece of advice to her massive following: "I would recommend anyone who is thinking about it to wait until after children." Her ultimate takeaway was a sobering one: "I wouldn’t touch anything" if given the chance to do it all again.
Jenner is far from the only star to voice surgical remorse. Jamie Lee Curtis, an icon of natural aging, has been vocal about her attempts to stall the clock. Speaking as far back as 2002, Curtis revealed she had "done it all," including liposuction and Botox. Her conclusion, however, was that the pursuit of perfection through surgery is often a futile one. "None of it works. None of it," she told The Telegraph, noting that despite the procedures, she still felt she had "bad thighs and a fat tummy." Similarly, Sharon Osbourne, known for her brutal honesty, described her 2021 facelift as "the worst thing" she ever did. In late 2023, she recalled the immediate aftermath of the surgery with horror, stating, "I looked like Cyclops."
These cautionary tales stand in stark contrast to the experiences of stars like Jennifer Aniston, who views her cosmetic history through the lens of health and functionality. The Friends alum has been open about her 2007 rhinoplasty, which she underwent to correct a deviated septum. For Aniston, the procedure was life-changing in a practical sense. "Best thing I ever did," she told People. "I slept like a baby for the first time in years." While she maintains that the rest of her features remain untouched by the scalpel, her admission highlights a significant category of celebrity surgery: the "tweak-ment" that serves both aesthetic and medical purposes.
The narrative of "fixing" a previous mistake is a recurring theme in Hollywood. John Stamos, the beloved Full House star, used his 2023 memoir, If You Would Have Told Me, to detail a double rhinoplasty journey. After being dissatisfied with his first nose job—which he felt made him look "like Peter Pan"—he sought out the surgeon who worked with Michael Jackson to achieve a result he was finally comfortable with.
In the realm of reality television, the documentation of these procedures has become a sub-genre of entertainment in itself. The Real Housewives franchise has produced numerous stars who treat cosmetic maintenance as a routine part of their professional lives. Caroline Stanbury of The Real Housewives of Dubai took this a step further by documenting her 2023 facelift recovery in real-time on social media. She defended the move by arguing that transparency is the only logical choice for someone in the public eye. "I literally looked like I’d been in a car crash and the car had won," she told E! News, but noted that within ten days, she was back in restaurants feeling "completely fine." Her reasoning was simple: it would be "weird" to return for a new season looking ten years younger without explaining why.
Other reality stars have utilized their platforms to discuss the reversal of procedures. Brielle Biermann and Larissa Santos Lima both appeared on E!’s Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind in 2025 to showcase their journey back toward a more natural look. Biermann expressed a surge in confidence after reversing her under-eye fillers, while Santos Lima described downsizing her 1,500 cc breast implants to 700 cc as one of the most "liberating and healing" decisions of her life. She explained that the original implants were an attempt to meet an image and expectations that weren’t truly hers.
This psychological aspect of cosmetic surgery is something Julia Fox has also grappled with. The Uncut Gems actress, who has admitted to liposuction, rhinoplasty, and Botox, told Allure in August 2025 that she sometimes regrets the motivations behind her surgeries. "I wish I could go back and be that person [who never did anything]," she mused. "I was so hung up on this idea that I needed to be attractive to men so that I could survive." While she hasn’t ruled out future work, she noted that her priorities have shifted away from that external validation.
The conversation also extends to the "quick fixes" like Botox and fillers, which have become nearly ubiquitous. Ariana Grande surprised fans in late 2024 by revealing she had "fillers in various places and Botox" for years before deciding to stop the practice around 2020. Selena Gomez has also briefly mentioned her use of Botox, while lifestyle icon Martha Stewart admitted in 2024 that she utilizes a combination of fillers, Botox, and lasers to maintain her skin. "I don’t want to look my age," Stewart explained on her podcast, summarizing the sentiment of an entire generation of high-profile women.
Even those who were long-term holdouts are joining the conversation. Andy Cohen, the face of Bravo, revealed during a 2025 reunion episode of Married to Medicine that he had finally tried Botox for the first time at age 56. Meanwhile, some stars use their experiences to warn against the dangers of unregulated procedures. Lady Gaga once shared a harrowing period in her life where she became "obsessed" with facial injections, often getting them at "strip malls" in Chicago while in an unstable frame of mind. It took an intervention from a photographer friend to make her stop.
Whether it is Lily Allen discussing the "contrast in age" between her new breast implants and her face, or Julie Chen reflecting on the eye surgery she had early in her career to appear "less Chinese," the common thread is a desire to reclaim the narrative. These stars are moving away from the "perfect" facade and toward a more nuanced discussion of body image, aging, and the pressures of fame. As Kailyn Lowry of Teen Mom 2 fame recently stated, while a "nip and tuck" can be fine, the drive to "mutilate" one’s body to meet a specific standard is a mental health struggle that deserves respect and honesty. By sharing their successes, their "car crash" recoveries, and their deepest regrets, these celebrities are ensuring that the conversation around beauty is finally becoming as real as the people behind the cameras.
