It’s so refreshing to see pictures of celebrities without plastic surgery in a world where cosmetic treatments are so easily available – accepted and encouraged, even – and it almost feels like a necessity to have the perfect face and body to have any chance at succeeding not just in Hollywood, but in the entertainment industry as a whole.
The entertainment industry alone isn’t to blame for the increase in plastic surgery among A-listers and regular people not in the public eye, as social media also has a huge part to play. According to the latest annual statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, almost $16.7B was spent on cosmetic procedures in the U.S. in 2020, and we know that not all of that came from celebrities!
Having said that, altering your appearance with cosmetic surgery seems to be as common to celebrities as getting a haircut these days, as we have seen A-listers transform from natural beauties into completely unrecognizable versions of themselves, either because they want to change their appearance completely, or just hang onto their youth. The latter has proven to be a big problem for anyone in the public eye from the start, as ageism isn’t going away, leading to the immense pressure female stars face to get plastic surgery to preserve their youth and keep their careers.
What Celebrities Have No Surgery?
However, not all female actresses, singers, comedians, (the list goes on) have felt the need to go under the knife or even have non-invasive procedures such as Botox and fillers to conform to these beauty standards – and we admire them so much for it! Some of the biggest and most successful A-listers have chosen to *not* have plastic surgery, and they are a great example that you *can* grow old gracefully and still be successful.
15 Celebrities Without Plastic Surgery
Take a look at our list of celebrities without plastic surgery, including some of the things they have said about their decision to grow old gracefully and not go under the knife.
1. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep is proof that you don’t need to conform to old fashioned Hollywood beauty standards to succeed in the industry, as she is the most Academy Award-nominated actress in history with 21 nominations and three wins – yet doesn’t appear to have had much if any cosmetic surgery!
The 73-year-old Devil Wears Prada actress opened up about not wanting to go under the knife due to seeing how it has gone wrong for so many of her peers, which sounds like a great reason to us! "When I see it in people I meet, it's like an interruption in communication with them," she told Vanity Fair back in 2009. "It's like a flag in front of the view, and that, for an actor, is like wearing a veil - it's not a good thing." She also told Good Housekeeping in a separate interview: "I just don't get it. You have to embrace getting older. Life is precious, and when you've lost a lot of people, you realize each day is a gift."
2. Kate Beckinsale
The 49-year-old Underworld actress proved that she doesn’t need plastic surgery to look young or attract younger men when she was linked to Pete Davidson – who is 20 years her junior – back in 2021. Not only that, but she regularly blows fans away with her age-defying, natural appearance on red carpets too! She told the Sunday Times back in 2021 that she hasn’t "had any" cosmetic procedures, adding: "I'm not against people having it. But I do get [expletive] off. It's sort of a given that I've had it, which I just literally haven't."
The Serendipity star also went on to say that her unwillingness to have cosmetic surgery or even less invasive non-surgical procedures such as Botox and fillers stems from her fear, as well as a warning from her mother about it potentially going wrong!
"I'm frightened of paralyzing my face," she said. "My mom's voice is in my head, very loud, at all times. My mom wouldn't even get a facial, she is suspicious of anything like that, and looks [expletive] radiant and amazing. I know if I did do Botox, I'd be the one that would get the droopy eye, and my mum would go, 'I [expletive] told you! See? You should never do that.'" So it seems like good, age-defying genes run in the family!
3. Michelle Pfeiffer
The 64-year-old Scarface actress said that she wants to age gracefully and not look like a wax figure of herself – and we think it's mission accomplished! She did say that she would never rule going under the knife out completely, as long as it was done tastefully (and safely, as like so many of the celebs in this list, she fears it going wrong!) while also confirming that she doesn’t judge other people for having it, as long as it doesn’t completely transform their faces and they become unrecognizable!
"Sometimes I think about it, sometimes I don’t," she previously told People. "I’m not saying that I won’t have plastic surgery at some point. I think that it’s harder and harder the older you get to say never. Especially being in the public eye. It doesn’t really matter, I think that if people actually want to do something here or there, who cares? If it makes them feel a little bit better about themselves… What I object to is too much. And really bad plastic surgery. When I think it becomes a distraction and when people don’t look like themselves anymore. As long as it doesn’t overtake them."
4. Charlize Theron
The 47-year-old Prometheus actress has not been shy about talking about her fear of getting older. In 2012, she told Interview that she was scared of the ageing process and wishes she was brave enough to age gracefully but she is all too aware of the unrealistic beauty standards of Hollywood. "There are days when I definitely look in the mirror and go, 'All right, I need to find a cream.' It's hard in this industry, because I think so much importance is put on how you look. I'm not brave enough to be like, 'You know what? I'm just going to let it happen. Whatever. I'm so cool with every line on my face,'" she explained.
Having said that, at the time, she said that she didn’t think she would get plastic surgery! "I can't foresee myself ever going under the knife, but then again, I'm only in my mid-thirties," she said, although she did say that she would never say never, which we do admire her for! "Maybe it's different when you're in your mid-sixties. So I don't want to make statements about where I'm gonna be in 30 years," she added.
5. Brooke Shields
You might think that the 57-year-old Suddenly Susan star's good looks were down to cosmetic surgery, however, it looks like she's a natural beauty as she actually said that she was "afraid" of plastic surgery. Yes, really! In a 2019 interview on What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Shields opened up about how she's handling the ageing process, telling the talk show host that she isn’t going down the route of plastic surgery, and instead, is taking care of herself in less invasive ways!
"You said, 'I have not done a thing to my face,' Cohen said. "Would you ever consider it? Do you think about it?" he asked, to which she replied: "So I’m afraid of it. But I also want to do everything I can to just look my best and feel my best." And one of those things, she confessed, is a non-invasive body contouring treatment known as WarmSculpting with SculpSure. "It’s actually incredible," Shields said. "I work out so much and yet I still have like, [expletive] from my babies. It’s really great. It eliminates the fat cells and it actually works." We guess she's living proof that it does!
6. Pink
Pink doesn’t play by anyone's rules, so it should come as no surprise to learn that she isn’t following in the footsteps of many of her peers who are getting cosmetic surgery to hold onto their youthful appearance. Not only is the 43-year-old "So What" singer not a fan of cosmetic surgery, but she is also going one step further to tell her fans all of the reasons why she has opted to stay natural! And we love her even more for it!
"Dear Me, you're getting older. I see lines. Especially when you smile. Your nose is getting bigger… You look (and feel) weird as you get used to this new reality," she wrote as a 'note to self' on Twitter. "But your nose looks like your kids, and your face wrinkles where you laugh… and yeah you idiot… u smoked. Continued note to self: Every once in a while you consider altering your face, and then you watch a show where you want to see what the person is feeling… and their face doesn't move. I cannot get behind it. I just can't."
7. Kristen Stewart
The Spencer actress is one of the youngest stars on our list at just 32 years old, but as many of her peers have already undergone many non-surgical and surgical cosmetic treatments before they reach their thirties, it's refreshing to see someone who has actively said that they’re against it!
Back in 2015, she said that she would "never" get plastic surgery, saying that she was "so freaked out" by the idea in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. "And maybe that's completely arrogant but I don't want to change anything about myself," she told the pub, adding: "I think the women who do are losing their minds. It's vandalism." Yikes!
8. Eva Longoria
The 47-year-old Desperate Housewives alum has aged gracefully without the need of plastic surgery. And even if she *has* had a little help from non-invasive procedures such as Botox, which she hasn’t confirmed, it’s clear to see that the results are as natural as can be, as she looks just the same as she did at the start of her career. Or better!
In an interview with Prevention, the actress said the ageing process was "inevitable and it’s happening, so I don’t think we should fight it too hard." "I associate aging with wisdom and experience and maturity. For me, I lean into it. So I kind of have a different approach," she added. "Longoria also went on to say that she might not have the same wrinkle-free appearance as some of her peers, but she actually finds the positives in getting older – and everything associated with it – instead of the negatives. "I know I’m in Hollywood, but I have wrinkles," she confessed. "Everything that happens with aging is happening to me. And I’m like, 'Ok, here we go.' I associate it with positive attributes, not so much, 'Here’s the beginning of the end.'" We like her style!
9. Emma Thompson
The 63-year-old Sense and Sensibility actress had a lot to say about her decision to not have plastic surgery, most recently telling The Wrap in a 2022 interview that she is a "card-carrying, kind of militant feminist about women's bodies" who doesn't understand the "strange" appeal of someone wanting to change their appearance with plastic surgery.
"I do honestly think the cutting of yourself off to put it in another place in order to avoid appearing to do what you're actually doing, which is aging, which is completely natural, is a form of collective psychosis," the Oscar-winner said. "I really do think it's a very strange thing to do."
10. Amanda Peet
The 50-year-old Animal Room actress confessed that she's "never gotten Botox or fillers" or "done anything to my face that's 'invasive,'" saying that being the mother of two daughters had a lot to do with her decision to not go under the knife. "I think it has a lot to do with having two girls," she said on SiriusXM's Conversations with Maria Menounos, adding that choosing to forgo surgery doesn’t mean that she doesn’t take pride in her appearance, either. "I've certainly spent a lot of time and money doing other stuff, and I certainly am vain!" she confirmed.
11. Jodie Foster
While the 59-year-old Silence of the Lambs actress doesn’t necessarily have bad opinions about people who have plastic surgery, she made it very clear that she personally doesn’t want it – and that's her choice! "It's not my thing," she told More Magazine about going under the knife, before adding that she would much rather someone criticize her natural appearance than slam a cosmetic procedure that has gone wrong!
"I don't have anything against it for other people. Whatever they want to do, I'm fine with it," she continued. "For me, it's really a self-image thing. Like, I'd rather have somebody go, 'Wow, that girl has a bad nose' than, 'Wow, that girl has a bad nose job.' I'd rather have a comment about who I am than about something that identifies me as being ashamed of who I am."
12. Tina Fey
The 52-year-old SNL alum has spoken candidly about getting older on several occasions, including during a very frank interview with Town & Country magazine. "The greatest challenge for me as an actress is just getting older," the 30 Rock star confessed. "Trying to play the scene at hand while also trying to hold your face up. Fast-forward to being 68, and it's a glorious act of bravery."
She also reflected on a particularly eye-opening moment at the Golden Globe Awards, whereby stars more than half her age had gone down the cosmetic surgery – invasive or otherwise – route, and she wanted to remind people that it was "not mandatory." "There were people on the Globes in their 20s who were so Botoxed," Fey recalled. "In their 20s! We've been so conditioned now to never see a real human face, one that moves, with its original teeth. Sometimes we forget that there is a choice. I choose not to do this. It's like wearing multiple pairs of Spanx: Good for you, not for me. Not mandatory."
13. Cate Blanchett
The 53-year-old Blue Jasmine star is another actress who proves that you don’t need to undergo a vast amount of plastic surgery to be respected in Hollywood. And her trophy cabinet – which consists of two Oscars and a whole host of other awards – says it all!
She previously told Fashionista that she took "pity" on the women who felt the need to have so much plastic surgery, as well as saying that she herself would be too "frightened" to go under the knife. "I’m not sitting on a soapbox telling women what they should and shouldn’t do, but I know what works for me. I’d just be too frightened about what it means long term," she confesses. "In the end if you have all that stuff done… in the end you just see the work. It doesn’t fill me with admiration, it fills me with pity."
14. Michelle Obama
We can learn a lot from the 58-year-old former FLOTUS, including her views about going under the knife. Back in 2014, Obama told People that she didn’t see plastic surgery in her immediate future, but she wouldn’t rule it out or judge anyone who had it. We love how understanding she is, and how she is able to see both sides without judgement! "Women should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves," the mom-of-two said. "Right now, I don’t imagine that I would go that route, but I’ve also learned to never say never." It doesn’t look like the former First Lady has had much, if any, work done, as she still looks like a natural beauty!
15. Liv Tyler
The 45-year-old actress and former model has always been a natural beauty; and she hasn’t been shy about telling people her views about going under the knife, revealing that she finds it very "creepy." "I don't want to ever have cosmetic surgery, so I want to do the best I can with what I have," she said, revealing that she wants to take care of her skin and do whatever it takes to preserve her youthful and model-like appearance without going under the knife. "I hate that look where people's faces have just changed. It's so creepy," she added.
These Natural Celebs Look Great Without Plastic Surgery
We love seeing examples of celebs who have sworn off plastic surgery and chosen to grow older gracefully and not go under the knife. Did anyone on our list surprise you?
READ MORE: Fans Think Kylie Jenner Has 'Botched' Plastic Surgery In Her Latest Instagram Post: 'She Looks 50'
