Despite what the tabloids claim, celebrities really aren’t “just like us.” On top of their genetic blessings, they also have the best doctors on speed dial. (Not to mention the financial resources at their disposal.) But it turns out that having money and access to top-tier surgeons doesn’t necessarily guarantee satisfaction after a cosmetic procedure. And these days, stars at every level—from movie stars to models—aren’t shy about sharing their aesthetic missteps. Here, what 14 celebs have to say about the procedure they regret.
Injectable fillers
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 94%
Injectable fillers, both hyaluronic acid ones (Juvéderm, Restylane) and biostimulatory options (Sculptra, Radiesse), can be used in a wide variety of ways. Not only can they help restore fullness and volume, but they can sculpt and lift the face as well. Results aren’t permanent in either instance, and hyaluronic acid fillers can be dissolved via an injectable enzyme known as hyaluronidase.
There are many reasons a patient may dislike their results. Going to an inexperienced injector can lead to poorly placed filler; an overdone or puffy look; and, in the most extreme cases, vascular occlusion, persistent nodules, and skin necrosis. Your best bet for successful filler treatment is to seek out a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon who understands the right amount to use—and where—for facial symmetry, and who knows when to deny patient requests.
Courteney Cox
Cox’s dissatisfaction with fillers reached a breaking point after she found herself unrecognizable as a result of gradual, repeated injections. “The next thing you know, you’re layered and layered and layered. You have no idea, because it’s gradual, until you go, ‘Oh sh*t, this doesn’t look right.’ And it’s worse in pictures than in real life. I have one friend who was like, ‘Whoa, no more!’ I thought, ‘I haven’t done anything in six months.’ I didn’t realize,” she told NewBeauty in 2017, when she revealed she had dissolved all the fillers in her face. “I’ve learned to embrace [facial] movement and realize that fillers are not my friend.”
Amy Schumer
The actress and comic took to Instagram in December 2021 to tell her 11 million–plus followers that she was having her filler dissolved. “I tried getting fillers. Turns out I was already full. Thank God you can dissolve them I looked like #malificent thanks @drjlodnp,” she captioned a photo of herself with numbing cream on her cheeks.
Jessica Simpson
Simpson’s appearance has been a hot topic of discussion for years. She discussed undergoing two tummy tucks in her memoir, Open Book, but back in 2006—fresh off her divorce from Nick Lachey—she told Glamour that she wasn’t a fan of injectable lip filler. “It fades—it went away in, like, four months. My lips are back to what they were. Thank God! It looked fake to me. I didn’t like that,” she said.
Simon Cowell
In a recent interview with The Sun, 62-year-old Cowell admitted that overdoing it on fillers left him looking like “something out of a horror film.” “There was a stage where I might have gone a bit too far. I saw a picture of me from ‘before’ the other day and didn’t recognize it as me, first of all,” he said, adding that his appearance even left his son, Eric, in “hysterics.” He went on to say that he’s dissolved all of his fillers. “Enough was enough. There is no filler in my face at all now. Zero.”
Rhinoplasty
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 91%
Also known as a nose job, rhinoplasty is a surgery that can change the size, shape, and/or structure of the nose—and is arguably one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries among the Hollywood crowd.
But not only is it a technically complex procedure, as evidenced by its high revision rate, it’s also commonly performed on teenagers, who may not be mentally prepared for the drastic change in appearance that a rhinoplasty can cause.
Jennifer Grey
The Dirty Dancing star has referred to her rhinoplasty as “the nose job from hell” and blames it for negatively impacting her career. “I went into the operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous. I’ll always be this once famous actress nobody recognizes because of a nose job,” she said in 2012.
In the first 17 pages of the actress’ new memoir, Out of the Corner, Grey writes in detail about the trauma she refers to as “schnozzageddon,” saying she had two surgeries that left her nose “truncated” and “dwarfed,” making her unrecognizable to people who had known her for years and celebrity photographers who’d once clamored to capture her. “Overnight, I lose my identity and my career,” she writes.
Bella Hadid
The supermodel set the record straight on several plastic surgery rumors during a recent Vogue interview, including speculation about her nose, saying she regrets getting a nose job at 14: “I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it.”
Breast Augmentation
RealSelf Worth It Rating: 95%
Breast augmentation surgery changes the size and shape of the breasts with saline or silicone gel implants. While it’s consistently one of the most popular surgical procedures in the U.S., a growing number of celebrities are choosing to remove their implants—and aren’t shy about talking about it.
Some common reasons for regret post-breast augmentation are size dissatisfaction (if you’re debating between sizes, many doctors recommend sizing up, but plenty of women say they wish they’d gone more natural); health symptoms related to breast implant illness (BII); not feeling comfortable in the clothes they want to wear; and complications such as rupture and capsular contracture.
Before undergoing breast augmentation, it’s important to thoroughly research the pros and cons, consult with multiple board-certified plastic surgeons, and look through their before and afters to find the doctor whose aesthetic aligns with your goals.
Victoria Beckham
Posh Spice underwent a breast augmentation as a teenager but later had the implants removed, she told Allure in 2014. “Don’t mess with your boobs. All those years I denied it—stupid. A sign of insecurity. Just celebrate what you’ve got,” she wrote in a letter to her 18-year-old self, published in Vogue.
Ashley Tisdale
Tisdale cited health issues as the reason for her 2019 breast implant removal. “Years ago, I underwent breast enhancement surgery. Prior to the surgery, I constantly felt my body was less than and thought this change would make me feel more whole and more secure about myself. And for a short period of time… it did. But little by little, I began struggling with minor health issues that just were not adding up—food sensitivities as well as gut issues (full story on @frenshe) that I thought could be caused by my implants. So last winter, I decided to undergo implant removal,” she captioned an Instagram photo of herself in a bikini.
Gisele Bündchen
Bündchen wrote candidly about her 2015 augmentation in her memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life, saying it was a decision she immediately regretted. “When I woke up, I was like, ‘What have I done?’ I felt like I was living in a body I didn’t recognize,” she wrote. “I was always praised for my body, and I felt like people had expectations from me that I couldn’t deliver. I felt very vulnerable, because I can work out, I can eat healthy, but I can’t change the fact that both of my kids enjoyed the left boob more than the right. All I wanted was for them to be even and for people to stop commenting on it,” she told People about the decision to have the surgery in the first place.
Tara Reid
A 2004 wardrobe malfunction infamously revealed the results of Reid’s botched breast surgery. “First of all, I asked for big Bs, and he did not give me big Bs,” Reid told US Weekly in 2006. “He gave me Cs, and I didn’t want them. At all. Right after the surgery, I had some bumps along the edges of my nipples, but the doctor said, ‘Don’t worry. It’s going to be better.’ But after six months of ‘It’s going to get better,’ it started to get worse and worse.” That same year, she underwent a revision to correct both her breasts and the results of body contouring liposuction surgery that left her abs rippled and disfigured.
Chrissy Teigen
14 years after her original breast augmentation surgery, Teigen decided it was time for her implants to come out. “I’m getting surgery soon. A lot of people are understandably curious (and nosey!) so I’ll just say it here: I’m getting my boobs out! They’ve been great to me for many years but I’m just over it. I’d like to be able to zip a dress in my size, lay on my belly with pure comfort! No biggie! So don’t worry about me!” she captioned a topless Instagram photo posted before her 2020 explantation.
Kourtney Kardashian
“I had my boobs done but if I could go back, I wouldn’t have done it. I was so cute before,” Kourtney told Showbiz Spy in 2011. “I’ve realized that I was made to look a certain way and I’m considering removing them.” Flash forward 10 years, and she hasn’t yet done so—at least as far as we know.
Adrienne Bailon
Bailon attributed a desire to “feel sexy and womanly” as her reason for undergoing a breast augmentation but ultimately decided to have them removed. “I got my breast implants taken out because I looked crazy. The insecurity was like, ‘I don’t have big breasts’ to ‘Now everyone is looking at my breasts,’ and I was more embarrassed that people knew I was so insecure that I went and got breast implants,” she said on an episode of The Real.
Heidi Montag
A breast augmentation was just one of 10 plastic surgery procedures Montag infamously underwent in a single day back in 2010. Just a few years later, she spoke openly about regretting going to such an extreme; she had the implants removed in 2013. “They were so heavy, they were falling through the skin. It was just too heavy for my body, and I was in pain and uncomfortable all the time. I thought, ‘What do I need this big of breasts for?’ she told People.
