There was no shortage of memorable moments in 2021. We witnessed the shocking coupling of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson, thought the pandemic had just about ended (then realized it hadn’t), and watched rich men launch themselves into space. And through it all, there was a constant flow of exciting celebrity plastic surgery news. Stars got implants, removed them, lifted their faces, transplanted their eyebrows, and so much more. Here, the biggest celebrity plastic surgery moments of the year.
Marc Jacobs shares his facelift recovery on Instagram
In July 2021, the fashion designer took to social media to document (in detail—drainage tubes and all) his deep plane facelift recovery. He shared daily selfies with his 1.6 million followers, a decision praised by his doctor, New York City board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Jacono.
“A big frustration is that people in the public eye who have means seem to be genetic mutants and make the rest of us feel like we’re not up to par. But the truth is, there’s a certain point in life where you can’t fix things without surgery. The people who look good never talk about it, so it only adds to the confusion. When someone of Marc’s status is sharing, it helps people realize that there are things we all can do to maintain ourselves and enhance our appearance. It sends people a message: yes, it’s possible to look like yourself, it’s not as bad as you think, and you can get the results you want without looking like you had bad plastic surgery,” he said in an interview with Vogue.
Khloé Kardashian reveals that she had a nose job but denies other plastic surgery rumors
The appearance of the Kardashian sisters is always a hot topic of conversation. During the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reunion episode in June, Khloé admitted to Andy Cohen that she’d gotten a nose job by Beverly Hills, California, board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Raj Kanodia. She also copped to injections (though “not really” Botox, which she said she responded horribly to) but said that was the extent of her cosmetic procedure history.
Zac Efron’s “new face” goes viral
Zac Efron fans were shocked when the star appeared in a virtual Earth Day event—with an entirely different jawline and noticeably fuller face. The photo quickly made its way around the internet, with people speculating that the actor had gotten everything from Botox to fillers to plastic surgery. But a few days later, a new picture revealed that the actor’s face was back to normal, and many blamed dental work for the temporarily changed appearance.
Multiple stars decide to remove their breast implants
If there was one overarching celebrity plastic surgery trend of 2021, it was breast implant removal. “After needing to for many years, I’m finally addressing my expired and recalled implants,” Tori Spelling wrote in an Instagram story in November. In a radio interview a few weeks later, she revealed that she has a surgery date set for February 27. “They don’t know what’s in there until they get in there, basically. So [the surgeon] is going to take them out, clean them up, and put new implants in,” she said.
Bachelor and Bachelorette alum Clare Crawley underwent explant surgery in July, after sharing that she’d been dealing with numerous health issues in recent years. She explained the decision to her social media followers in an Instagram video. “I’ve been going through things medically with my body that I have not had answers to,” she said. “It’s been hard, it’s been frustrating, and it’s been scary for me to not have answers and to know something’s not right.”
Singer-songwriter Kehlani also removed their breast implants, both for physical and mental health reasons. “I got breast implants about four years ago because I was very much struggling with what beauty meant to me,” they told Byrdie. “I remember this video of me performing went viral. People were like, ‘she’s horribly built.’ So I went and got breast implants.” They went on to mention issues such as chronic fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain, which their doctor attributed to breast implant illness, as well as feeling dysphoric about their body. “I actually feel way more beautiful than I ever felt, because I feel healthy,” they said of the removal.
But some still undergo breast augmentations
In an Instagram post, actress and country singer Jana Kramer explained her decision to have a breast augmentation and breast lift in March. “Bottom line, I’m choosing myself, I’m choosing my size, I’m doing what’s right for me. I know a woman’s body is beautiful, no matter what shape or size, but I want this. So I just ask ya’ll [sic] to celebrate this with me. I’m at a place where I feel empowered to do what I want. I’m being honest about what it means. If you need a push to give yourself that same grace, here it is. No one knows what’s in another woman’s head. Or, for that matter, under their shirt. So do what’s right for you, and I’ll celebrate with you, too,” she wrote.
In May, Jessie James Decker captioned a bikini photo: “I treated myself … to new boobies!” She went on to say that despite having previously had a reduction and lift, she wasn’t happy with the size because of her very elastic skin—and now that she was done having babies, it was the time to do something about it. “They were so big and perky before children, and I wanted them back … plus some,” she wrote.
Chrissy Teigen continues to share her cosmetic procedures
Teigen has a history of being open about her cosmetic work on Instagram, and 2021 was no different. In September, she posted a series of IG Stories, talking about having fat removed from her cheeks.“I did that Dr. Diamond buccal fat removal,” she said, while pointing to her cheeks. (She tagged Beverly Hills, California, board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Jason Diamond in the story.) “And since I quit drinking, I’ve really seen the results. I like it,” she went on to say, zooming in on her noticeably more prominent cheekbones.
In November, she again took to Stories, to share the results of an eyebrow transplant. “I never wear makeup, so I was excited for this eyebrow transplant surgery where they take hairs from the back of your head!!” (She tagged Dr. Diamond again as well as Beverly Hills, California, board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Jason Champagne.) In her caption for a candid photo, she said her brows look “so cool” and called the result immediately post-surgery “crazy.” She ended with a word of advice, warning teens not to overpluck their eyebrows, like she did.
Amber Rose reveals she’s getting liposuction again
In 2019, the model and actress shocked some fans when she revealed she was going under the knife for an apparent mommy makeover surgery just six weeks after the birth of her second son. This year, she shared that she was planning on having liposuction again—this time, to remove leftover C-section scarring. “I have a lot of scar tissue from my C-section,” she said in an Instagram video right before going into surgery. “I had two C-sections with my boys, and it kind of makes my stomach poke out a little bit.”
Linda Evangelista claims CoolSculpting deformed her
In a September Instagram post, the 56-year-old supermodel explained to her nearly 1 million followers why she has shied away from the spotlight in recent years. “I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure. It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries. I have been left, as the media describe me, ‘unrecognizable,’’’ she wrote. She went on to explain that she’d developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, which “sent me into a deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing.” Evangelista also filed a lawsuit against Zeltiq this year.
Rachel Bloom undergoes breast reduction surgery
The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star spoke about getting a breast reduction on social media for several months before she finally went under the knife in August. She posted before and after photos, explaining why she did it. “I got pregnant and grew very quickly from a DD/DDD to a size G. Then, after breastfeeding, their entire texture changed; they got super, super soft, which is a thing that pregnancy/breastfeeding does that no one really tells you about. I met with 3 doctors and, over the course of a few months, settled on someone lovely. My request was to just go back to my pre-pregnancy size (if not maybe a little bit smaller). I’m still healing, so we’ll see what happens. But I already feel more comfortable and relieved,” she wrote.
