Kristi Noem Is Nearly Unrecognizable In Throwback Pics Without Lip Fillers

People began noticing a change in Kristi Noem's face around 2019. Since then, the Secretary of Homeland Security has been called out more and more frequently for changes to her physical appearance, with people noticing the potential use of lip fillers, facial fillers, and Botox. While it's important to mention that she hasn't addressed speculations around lip fillers or any kind of plastic surgery, Noem's face transformation is a sight to see. There's no denying that something has changed. 

Some have speculated that Noem's facial changes — particularly the lip filler, but not limited to that — may go back to her association with Donald Trump. Noem used to be a rancher, then got involved in politics in South Dakota, working her way up until she served as the Republican governor of the state from 2019 to 2025. The dates match up. As soon as Noem became governor, she started altering her face, all with the presumed goal of making herself more appealing to Trump. The logic may have been that if Noem could look more glamorous, more like a Fox News anchor, she'd be more likely to get appointed for a position in Trump's inner circle. The phenomenon, known as the plastic surgery trend called Mar-a-Lago face, isn't singular to Noem. Many MAGA members have undergone similar treatments, creating an artificial uniformity among those in Trump's inner circle. For Noem, this appears to have resulted in extreme changes to her makeup routine — with some epic makeup mistakes by Noem, too — as well as major facial changes, particularly to her lips. 

Kristi Noem's lips completely changed over the course of her political career, culminating in an exaggeratedly full and artificial look. The changes were not lost on anyone, and netizens on X called her out on it, lamenting the transformation. "Kristi Noem looked so much better before the lip fillers and hair extensions. I loved her look! So sad!" someone tweeted. "Every time I see a picture from Mar-a-Lago I think I should invest more money in companies that do lip filler, cheek filler, botox, hair extensions, and spray tans," another tweeted about a photo of Noem at Mar-a-Lago. Even Noem's fans didn't know what to make of the change. "Did Kristi Noem get lip filler right before the confirmation hearings or just stung by a bee?" another began, "I adore her, but she was beautiful before and now I can't stop staring at her inflated lips!!" 

Plastic surgeon Dr. Adam Rubinstein assessed Noem's face — without seeing her in person — telling Daily Mail that he felt her use of lip filler, while noticeable, didn't count as major plastic surgery. It was just a form of making glamorized tweaks to her appearance. While that may be so, Noem's lip filler is anything but subtle.