With Hollywood fixated on appearances, it is little surprise that so many celebrities have succumbed to the temptation to go under the knife.
But with so many lifts, tweaks and fillers lots of famous faces are now unrecognizable when compared to their former selves.
Among the stars who seem to have seemingly taken their alterations too far are Madonna, Demi Moore and Mickey Rourke – and it has not gone unnoticed by fans.
Earlier this week, Madonna came under furious speculation about what work she might have had done when she stepped out at the Grammy Awards sporting an ‘unrecognizable’ look.
The pop sensation later hit back at the comments about her appearance, blaming them on ‘ageism and misogyny’, while insisting that any ‘distortion’ to her face on-screen was the result of a long lens camera.
Madonna is the latest in a long line of A-listers who have been accused of going under the knife – and going too far with cosmetic procedures – in order to maintain their youthful looks.
Here, FEMAIL reveals what some of the industry’s most plastic surgery-addicted stars would look like had they aged gracefully… running images of them in their youth through an aging app in order to lay bare how they could look today had they not had the helping hand of injections and surgery.
But, without the tucks, tweaks, and lifts – can you guess who they all are?
1. This pop icon seems to have got Hung Up on her appearance
Pictured ageing naturally: How this 80s pop icon would have looked had she not got Hung Up on her appearances
This fresh-faced star burst onto the music scene in the Eighties, quickly becoming a household name with her hits such as Material Girl, Like a Virgin and Like a Prayer.
When she reached her 30s, fans began to suspect she was starting to experiment with subtle enhancements but she never confirmed the claims.
Instead she credited her famously strict macrobiotic diet regime — eating grains as a staple food, supplemented by vegetables, beans and nuts — for the new, fuller texture to her skin.
But she famously said in 2012: ‘I am certainly not against plastic surgery. However, I am absolutely against having to discuss it.’
The singer has looked increasingly different over the last few months and Dr. Michael Horn, a board certified plastic surgeon from Chicago, Illinois, gave DailyMail.com his expert opinion on the procedures she may have had.
Dr Horn believes she not only had a ‘facelift’ – which he said was ‘obvious because her skin’ appeared ‘tight and pulled back with no wrinkles’ – but that she also received a nose job, brow lift, Botox and excessive facial filler.
2. This music mogul’s post-surgery look left his own son in hysterics
Pictured ageing naturally: This is what the music mogul would have looked like had he steered clear of Botox injections
The music mogul first began undergoing slight tweaks back in 2016 during the 11th season of America’s Got Talent.
But in recent months, he had become almost unrecognizable as he sported an incredibly smooth complexion, bright white teeth and enhanced features – which left fans worried.
The 63-year-old himself admitted that he took his love of Botox too far and decided to stop when his latest look left eight-year-old son Eric in hysterics.
He previously told the Sun: ‘There was a phase where everyone was having their faces pumped full of this and the other.
‘I saw a picture of me from ‘before’ the other day and didn’t recognize it as me first of all.’
The star, who shares his son with partner Lauren Silverman, 45, revealed that as a result he no longer has any filler in his face.
3. This Swiss-born Manhattan socialite is nicknamed ‘Catwoman’ due to her appearance
Pictured ageing naturally: The Swiss-born Manhattan socialite, nicknamed ‘Catwoman,’ shown had she aged gracefully
As recent as 2018, this famous face claimed to DailyMailTV that she had never undergone any form of cosmetic surgery.
Speaking exclusively, the Swiss-born Manhattan socialite, nicknamed ‘Catwoman’ explained that her distinct appearance dates back to her youth.
When asked if she had gone under the knife, the now 82-year-old, said: ‘No, especially when we look back at my pictures – I think of course I am maybe more beautiful [back then].
‘When we are young there’s a certain freshness we lose with the years.
‘But you still find the same eyes, same high cheeks, or same nose. I think I was more pretty.’
The star’s fiance Lloyd Klein, 55, added: ‘I don’t understand the whole press and the Catwoman thing because [she has] always looked like that.
‘She never really did anything to change her face. I have pictures from 16 years old where she looks exactly the same as today.’
4. This mother-of-three seems to have gone Full Throttle with her surgical tweaks
Pictured ageing naturally: How this mother-of-three would have looked had she not opted to undergo cosmetic surgeries
This actress first sparked rumors of plastic surgery after stunning spectators on the catwalk at Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris in 2021.
The mother-of-three left many questioning whether she’d had cosmetic work to alter her face with several cosmetic experts appearing to agree with the claims.
Board certified dermatologist Dr. Corey L Hartman, founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology in Birmingham, Alabama, told DailyMail.com that it appeared as though the now 60-year-old had undergone more than one procedure to alter her face.
Noting that he did not treat her personally, Dr. Hartman he said: ‘While a lot of this look may be attributed to makeup and lighting, it also appears that perhaps she has had too much fat removed from her buccal fat pads.
‘This appears to have caused dermal filler in the cheek to appear too augmented resulting in this dramatically different appearance.’
The star has never publicly addressed the plastic surgery speculation.
5. This star said she ‘looked like a Cyclops’ following a bad face lift
Pictured ageing naturally: This former The Talk co-host would have looked drastically different had she not gone under the knife
In 2021, this famous face, who has often been seen with taut visage, detailed her traumatic face lift experience.
During an interview with The Sunday Times, the former The Talk co-host, 70, shared that she had a five-and-a-half-hour procedure last year which left her with a ‘horrendous’ outcome.
‘I’m telling you, it was horrendous. [To the surgeon] I’m, like, “You’ve got to be f***** joking. One eye was different to the other.
‘I looked like a f***** Cyclops. I’m, like, “All I need is a hunchback,”‘ she recalled.
The author’s iconic singer-songwriter husband Ozzy Osbourne, 73, apparently concurred that the results were not great and offered to pay to fix it.
‘He said, “I don’t care how much it costs, we’ll get it redone,”‘ the star- who shares three children with Ozzy – said.
6. This famous face says his career as a boxer prompted his plastic surgery
Pictured ageing naturally: How this Hollywood star would have looked had he not changed his appearance with the help of a scalpel
This boxer-turned-actor has always been open about his changing face throughout the years, claiming to have undergone plastic surgery predominantly for facial restructuring due to injuries from boxing.
He told DailyMail.com back in 2009: ‘Most of it was to mend the mess of my face after the boxing. I went to the wrong guy to put my face back together.’
The now 70-year-old continued: ‘I had my nose broken twice. I had five operations on my nose and one on a smashed cheekbone.
‘I had to have cartilage taken from my ear to rebuild my nose and a couple of operations to scrape out the cartilage because the scar tissue wasn’t healing properly.’
The star described it as one of the most ‘painful operations’ he has ever had.
He has notoriously battled addiction — both drugs and alcohol — in the past and has taken blame for his own career decline over the years.
7. This popular actress admitted she went ‘crazy’ with her facial alterations
Pictured ageing naturally: This Friends star would have looked radically different had she steered clear of Botox
This Friends star previously admitted that she ‘didn’t realize’ how ‘strange’ she looked after undergoing cosmetic procedures.
The 58-year-old actress admitted she initially tried to fight looking older with various ‘injections’ and other treatments but eventually realized she went ‘crazy’ and is now trying to age gracefully.
She told the Sunday Times Style magazine in 2021: ‘There was a time when you go, “Oh, I’m changing. I’m looking older.” And I tried to chase that [youthfulness] for years.
‘And I didn’t realize that, oh s***, I’m actually looking really strange with injections and doing stuff to my face that I would never do now.’
While she has given up cosmetic procedures, the star loves trying new products because she still puts a lot of ‘intense’ pressure on herself to look good.
She said: ‘The scrutiny is intense, but I don’t know if it could be more intense than what I put on myself.’
8. This on-screen star insists that she doesn’t let the ‘haters’ get to her
Pictured ageing naturally: How the When Harry Met Sally actress would have looked if she had avoided procedures
In the past, this When Harry Met Sally actress has been accused of undergoing several cosmetic surgeries, from Botox to face lifts to lip fillers.
Many fans noted that her face has managed to remain remarkably line free over the years — something which most insist could not have been done without the help of plastic surgery.
In 2013, the discussions reached fever pitch when she appeared at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, Italy, with a very plump, wide smile.
She has never addressed the surgery rumors but insists that she doesn’t let the ‘haters’ get to her.
The now 61-year-old said she actually finds it unbelievable how many people waste their time judging others.
‘There’s a lot of hatred in the world today — it’s so easy to judge,’ she said. ‘Imagine being a hater, how stupid!’
9. This star retreated from the limelight after a cosmetic procedure left her ‘permanently deformed’
Pictured ageing naturally: This is how the 90s fashion star would have looked had she not been left ‘permanently deformed’ from her procedure
In a shocking interview, this former model revealed that she had retreated from the public eye after a cosmetic procedure, designed to decrease fat cells, left her ‘permanently deformed.’
The 90s fashion star – whose French businessman ex is now married to Salma Hayek – revealed she ‘stopped eating’ because she feared she was losing her mind when she noticed the bulges on her body.
She told People Magazine that she was ‘done hiding’ following a CoolSculpting procedure she says ‘brutally disfigured’ her.
She said: ‘I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know. I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn’t live in this pain any longer. I’m willing to finally speak.’
The icon filed a lawsuit last September suing CoolSculpting’s parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, for $50 million in damages.
She claims she has been unable to work since the procedures.
10. This iconic fashion designer has always questioned ‘what is natural?’
Pictured ageing naturally: The A-lister has always had naturally full lips and smooth skin and would have aged gracefully
Her designs for Versace may have sparked thousand of copycats, but there are few who would want to recreate her plastic surgery journey.
This famous face, who has been at the helm of a fashion empire for decades, has always had naturally full lips and smooth skin.
But, in 2002, the fashion guru appeared to have started her cosmetic surgery journey with regular fillers as well as ‘more invasive procedures,’ Vicki Smith, of Absolute Aesthetics, previously told Daily Mail.
And her plastic surgery spiral appears to have continued from there – with her lips, forehead and cheeks transforming the most over time.
The designer has admitted to using Botox, and talking about her hair color previously, said: ‘Natural? What is natural? What is that?
‘I do not believe in totally natural for women. For me, natural has something to do with vegetables.’
11. This famous rapper appears to have made more than a Lil’ tweak
Pictured ageing naturally: This rapper would have still rocked her natural look, had she not gone under the knife
In a 2005 interview with popular radio host Angie Martinez, this rapper revealed that she went under the knife after an abusive boyfriend broke her nose – and insisted that she was unfazed about the speculation over her changing looks.
She said: ‘It don’t bother because I’m beautiful. I love myself! There’s certain things that I think I was obsessive with that I think I’ll always have time to fix, or whatever.
‘But the thing is, people think I did it because I had low self esteem but that wasn’t the case. I think I did it because I was a little too vain, trying to be perfect. I’m a perfectionist… It teaches you a lesson, too. You’ve got to pull back from certain things.’
Dr. Boris Ackerman, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Newport Beach, shed light on the musician’s appearance during an interview with the New York Daily News in 2016.
He explained: ‘[She] seems to have undergone significant alteration of her face, and not for the better.
‘It looks like she had her nose operated to make it her nostrils look more narrow. Her facial features like her cheeks and especially her jaw line are essentially unrecognizable.
‘She also appears to have her upper eyelids operated on. Her skin has undergone a significant amount of lightening, which can be done with combination of chemical peel and skin lightening creams’, he added.
12. This singer’s penchant for surgery seems to run in the family
Pictured ageing naturally: How this singer would have looked had she not gone down a similar route to brother Michael
This singer once criticized her brother Michael over his obsession with going under the knife.
But it seems she had a change of heart on the issue, developing her own penchant for altering her appearance with the help of a scalpel.
In recent years, the 66-year-old has stepped out with impossibly smooth visage and a more pointed chin.
Fans were also quick to point out that her skin appeared to be paler than when she first found fame and her nose looked to be tightly pinched – similar to that of her brother.
Dozens of surgeons have warned about repeated rhinoplasty as each surgery carries more risk of collapse and the patient under the knife can end up with narrow, unnatural nostrils.
There were rumors that she shared the same plastic surgeon as Michael but the star has never publicly admitted having anything done.
13. The self-declared world’s first supermodel went bankrupt funding her procedures
Pictured ageing naturally: This is how the icon would have looked had she not undergone numerous surgeries to the point of bankruptcy
The self-declared world’s first supermodel has never been shy about admitting she has had a little plastic surgery and in 2013 declared herself bankrupt owing almost $1 million in taxes and unpaid cosmetic bills.
At the time of her bankruptcy filing, the star owed $8,000 to Beverly Hills dermatologist Arnold Klein and over $8,000 in debt to the Beverly Hills Anti-Aging Center.
She readily admits she has gone under the knife – she has had a breast enlargement, tummy tuck, neck and facelifts, liposuction and Botox.
In 2007, her son Nathan said he was desperate for her to stop, but she said: ‘I won’t do any more plastic surgery – if he’s looking.’
In 2015, she appeared on Botched to fix a breast enlargement done 30 years prior which had left her with rippling across her breasts.
During the episode, the former model was seen swearing, demanding drugs and, after her implants were replaced, walking around naked, which led Dr Terry Dubrow to brand her his worst patient ever.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk