Celebrity Nose Jobs

Celebrities have been undergoing rhinoplasty, or nose-reshaping surgery, for decades. In May of 1930, The Los Angeles Examiner reported, “Having one’s nose shaped to fit the talkies is the most popular thing in Hollywood now.” In the 1950s, it was not uncommon for Hollywood stars to seek out the procedure—or have it thrust upon them. Carrie Fisher told London’s Daily Mail that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, was pressured by her studio to have rhinoplasty, even though the results of these early procedures were notoriously unreliable. “My mother was made to have her ears pinned back,” says Fisher, “but she refused the nose job because they were really butchering them then.”

The best celebrity nose jobs are the ones you can’t spot but whose impact you can feel. Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Winona Ryder, Ashlee Simpson, and Cameron Diaz have all admitted or been rumored to have had rhinoplasty. When you compare old photos of these stars with more recent ones, they look subtly improved but still readily identifiable. And Natalie Portman’s nose, which may not be her original one, is reportedly the one most often requested by prospective rhinoplasty patients.

Today, celebrity rhinoplasty procedures are so common that it’s often said, “no one in Los Angeles has their original nose.” Of course, not all rhinoplasties are good. Jennifer Grey, who starred alongside Patrick Swayze in the 1987 hit movie, “Dirty Dancing,” had rhinoplasty to remove a bump on her nose. The surgery altered her appearance so radically that no one recognized her. The sudden anonymity ruined her career.

Celebrity plastic surgery is not limited to rhinoplasty.  As the population’s focus on celebrities has grown, so too has their fascination with plastic surgery.  It has gone from mundane to extreme.  Once a rite of passage only for the privileged classes, rhinoplasty has become maintstream and  at times even, extreme.  While many believe that extreme plastic surgery has served Kim Kardashian well, it has certainly backfired on Heidi Montag.

Dr. Yagoda firmly believes that while it’s fun to browse celebrity galleries of ever-changing faces, you shouldn’t expect to copy someone else’s feature, no matter how expertly it is sculpted. The right nose for you is the one that enhances your appearance without compromising your identity.

Read about Dr. Yagoda's Integrative Post Operative Care Program