Celebs Who Faded From The Spotlight After Plastic Surgery

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Cosmetic tweaks are becoming more common and openly spoken about in Hollywood. But it's still not unusual for celebrity plastic surgery to precede a fade from the spotlight. Getting a nip, tuck, or a little more is not only a hugely personal decision that should never be taken lightly (anyone considering plastic surgery should thoroughly research the risks involved), but many famous faces have discovered they also have to be aware of the impact changing their features could potentially have on their career.

An unnamed casting executive admitted to The Hollywood Reporter, "We brought back a fan-favorite character a season later for an episode [of a TV show] and they had obviously gone overboard with Botox and lip fillers ... The producers were not happy and we never brought that actress back. They just would not consider her." They added, "She was young, so what she had done was even more jarring." Botox (which can actually have health benefits) and filler fall into the cosmetics procedure category over more invasive plastic surgery, but there are multiple celebrities who have been open about going under the knife before experiencing a career slow down. In fact, some famous faces like Crystal Harris, Tara Reid, and Jennifer Grey have shared their careers stalled as a direct result of their changing looks.

Tara Reid was everywhere in the early '00s. The star gained notoriety for several big roles in films like "American Pie," "Josie and the Pussycats," and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder." But the spotlight on the actor eventually dimmed. For reference, Reid only had one acting credit to her name in 2025, an appearance in the indie movie "Dr. Quarantine" as Dr. Quarantine.

Reid, whose transformation since her "American Pie" days has made her nearly unrecognizable, believes at least part of her fade from the spotlight has to do with botched plastic surgery. She told Us Weekly in 2006 of her breast augmentation two years earlier, "[The surgeon] gave me Cs and I didn't want them," claiming she'd asked for B cup implants. Reid, who got porcelain veneers to overhaul her smile following an injury as a child, also got candid about an unsuccessful body contouring procedure. "My stomach became the most ripply, bulgy thing. I had a hernia, this huge bump next to my bellybutton. As a result, I couldn't wear a bikini. I lost a lot of work," she said.

In 2007, The New York Times declared that Ashley Tisdale had "come down with a minor case of Jennifer Grey syndrome." That followed the "High School Musical" star opening up about her rhinoplasty, which she claimed was for health reasons. "Growing up I always knew I had a deviated septum on the right side of my nose, which caused trouble breathing," she told People at the time. "The older I got, the worse it got. I went to get it checked out, and the doctor told me the septum was 80 percent deviated and that I had two small fractures on my nose."

15-years post-surgery, the star opened up on Frenshe about the intense criticism she received. "In the aftermath ... the hardest part was not the recovery but the media who constantly tried to paint a picture of me as someone who didn't like their appearance," she wrote. "... Plastic surgery wasn't culturally accepted then like it is now. When I got it done I was scrutinized, judged, and made to feel ashamed ... I made a decision that was no one's business (and is STILL no one's business) and for that decision, I was constantly made to feel bad about it." 

Though Tisdale continued working in Hollywood after her plastic surgery, she has yet to land a role quite as prolific as her Disney Channel icon Sharpay Evans. The actor even made the decision to share less of her life on social media in 2025 after years of dealing with intense criticism. "Social media is such a blessing when you want to connect with everyone but can also be so noisy when used with judgement and assumptions," she wrote in an Instagram Story (via E! News).

In the '80s, Jennifer Grey was a huge name. Not only was she one of the main stars of "Dirty Dancing" alongside Patrick Swayze, she also appeared in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and guest starred in early episodes of "Friends." The actor had the world at her feet, but admitted her decision to undergo rhinoplasty played a part in her once hugely promising career stalling.

"After 'Dirty Dancing,' I was America's sweetheart, which you would think would be the key to unlocking all my hopes and dreams. But it didn't go down that way," she wrote in her memoir, "Out of the Corner." Grey shared she felt pressured to alter her nose, revealing, "My so-called 'problem' wasn't really a problem for me, but since it seemed to be a problem for other people, and it didn't appear to be going away anytime soon, by default it became my problem." Against her better judgement, Grey got two rhinoplasty surgeries. She told People the procedures changed her face so much that people didn't recognize her. "It became the thing, the idea of being completely invisible, from one day to the next. In the world's eyes, I was no longer me," she said. 

Grey elaborated to Mirror, "I went into the operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous. It was the nose job from hell. I'll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognizes because of a nose job." Grey has continued working as an actor since her days of huge fame and notoriety, but, much like Tara Reid, only gained a single acting credit in 2025. And she never starred in a role as beloved as "Dirty Dancing"'s Baby again.

Linda Evangelista was once one of the most accomplished models in the world, which appearances in the likes of Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Harper's Bazaar. But she shared she underwent a botched CoolSculpting cosmetic procedure (which claims to freeze fat cells) that changed her life. "It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries," she wrote, in part, on Instagram in 2021. "I have been left, as the media described, 'unrecognizable,'" she added, confirming her plans to sue the company. In 2022, the model confirmed via Instagram that she'd settled the suit.

Evangelista took a step back from public life following the incident. "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," she told People, sharing she was diagnosed with Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), which can be a rare side effect of the procedure. The star did eventually start sharing photos of herself on social media and modeling again, but she told Harper's Bazaar in 2025 she still wasn't truly comfortable with the way she looked. "I have to go through therapy to like what I see when I look in the mirror, and I still don't look in the mirror. I didn't want to see myself because I didn't love myself or like myself," she said.

Ashlee Simpson was one of the biggest music stars of the 2000s. Her debut album "Autobiography" was certified three times platinum by the RIAA and her second, "I Am Me," also went platinum. But Jessica Simpson's younger sister faded from the spotlight and her 2008 album "Bittersweet World" failed to get an RIAA certification. At the time of writing, she hasn't released a single since 2012's "Bat For A Heart."

Part of the star's step back may have been down to the intense backlash that surrounded her rhinoplasty. When asked by Us Weekly if she'd gone under the knife, Simpson responded, "I think as long as people have two eyes, then you probably know the answer." She continued, "[Plastic surgery] is something that everybody should think about for a really long time. Once you know it's something you really feel comfortable with, then to each their own." The "Pieces of Me" singer added, "I was never really unhappy with how I looked, [and] I don't think I am more beautiful than I was [before]."

But many weren't happy with her decision to change her appearance so drastically after heavily promoting body confidence. Simpson had told Marie Claire (via TMZ), "Everyone is made differently, and that's what makes us beautiful and unique. I want girls to look in the mirror and feel confident." However, over 1,000 readers messaged the magazine to share their disappointment over Simpson's remarks, and Marie Claire's then editor in chief Joanna Coles also hit out at the singer. "She was quoting chapter and verse about how crucial it is to love yourself as you are, etc. We're dazed and confused — and disappointed — by her choice too!," Coles shared.

Ariel Winter shot to fame playing Alex Dunphy in "Modern Family" and is a celebrity who's been open about getting breast reduction surgery. Winter told Glamour in 2015 she grew uncomfortable with seeing stories written about her chest size. "I was 15 years old with [size] F [breasts]. It's like, How do you navigate that?'" she said. "That's pretty much all I was known for and that upset me ... Every article that has to do with me on a red carpet always had to do with Ariel Winter's Crazy Cleavage!' Or Ariel Winter Shows Huge Boobs at an Event!' That's all people would recognize me by, not, 'Oh, she does great work on 'Modern Family,'" Winter, who bared her physical scars for a good cause, continued.

A few years after her surgery and after shooting the final episode of "Modern Family," Winter, who's had a stunning transformation, left Hollywood. She revealed she swapped Los Angeles for Tennessee because she wanted a more private life and less focus on her appearance. "I have been followed by paparazzi for a very long portion of my life. And I really, really dislike having my space invaded," she said in 2022 on her "Modern Family" co-star Julie Bowen's podcast, "Quitters.""I don't like pictures of me when I haven't signed up for pictures of me. I don't like feeling watched. I've always just wanted to live a very normal life," she added.

Farrah Abraham was one of the most famous faces from the "Teen Mom" franchise, having started out on "16 & Pregnant" and later appearing on the spin-off "Teen Mom OG." During the height of her reality TV stardom, she underwent multiple plastic surgeries, with Daily Mail claiming in 2025 she'd undergone rhinoplasty, three breast augmentations, and a chin implant, as well as less invasive cosmetic procedures like glute injections, cheek filler, and lip filler. Abraham claimed her procedures came with hefty price tags, sharing, "I mean my mouth is $50,000 ... I would say, yeah, [I've spent] hundreds of thousands of dollars and not just on my looks, but on my mental health, my wellness, my happiness, my confidence."

In 2017, Abraham purported on Facebook that starting a career as an adult entertainer (which was likely aided by her plastic surgery) caused her to lose her gig on "Teen Mom OG." Aside from a few reality TV appearances on the likes of "Ex on The Beach" and 2022's "Teen Mom: Family Reunion," Abraham grew less prominent in the spotlight after leaving the MTV show. She even shared plans to leave fame behind and start a new career in plastic surgery. "I am starting licensing ... and then want to work up through cosmetics, aesthetics, everything up to plastic surgery and my Ph.D.," she told People in 2015. "I'm just trying to do it and live it my best and that's where I want to potentially be," she continued. It's not clear if the ex-reality star followed through on her career change plans, but while she's continued to share her life on social media, she hasn't landed another regular reality TV gig since departing the franchise.

Crystal Harris, once known as Crystal Hefner, has been honest about how plastic surgery affected her career. As a model and the wife of the late Hugh Hefner, Harris told "Inside Edition" she began getting plastic surgery and Botox in her early 20s while living in the notorious Playboy Mansion. In 2021, though, she shared she'd undergone fat transfer surgery that almost took her life. "I lost half the blood in my body and ended up in the hospital needing a blood transfusion," she wrote on Instagram, sharing the scary incident taught her the importance of loving her natural body. "I should have learned my lesson the first time but I guess the universe keeps sending you the same lesson until you learn it," she noted. That followed the star having her breast implants removed a few years earlier after experiencing back pain and other health problems.

But the former Playboy model shared on Instagram that her decision to embrace a more natural look after her plastic surgery nightmare had a knock-on effect on her career. "I saw followers drop by the thousands every day ... I was watching the girls that had similar pages keep posting the same scantily clad stuff and growing exponentially while I tanked hard," she wrote. Though Harris may not be a staple in the gossip columns like she once was during her time on E!'s reality series "The Girls Next Door" (also known as "The Girls of the Playboy Mansion") instead, she found a new niche and community on social media promoting a healthier, more natural lifestyle.

Hot on the heels The Hills" fame, Heidi Montag did not hesitate to enhance her appearance. She reportedly got 10 procedures in one day back in 2010, including a breast augmentation, buttock augmentation, and a chin implant (in addition to rhinoplasty she'd already had). The star proudly shared the results on the cover of People, but later told "Extra" she dealt with serious public criticism that made her step away from the spotlight. "You have to be tougher. You have to have a really thick skin. And when it comes home through your family and stuff, it makes it a harder situation," she said. "I think that's kind of one of the reasons I went into hiding and just kind of bowed out of it because it gets too intense," she added. The reality star also explained, "If you're a public figure, you have to come out eventually. You have to feel good and feel confident about it. Even if you were feeling confident about it, sometimes it takes you back from it and makes you feel guilty about it or more judged about it when the whole world is talking negative about you."

In 2013, Montag went under the knife again to reduce the size of her breast implants. "I put my security and sexuality in my breast size instead of my confidence," she told ET, sharing her regrets over her initial surgery. Following her purposeful step back, Montag eventually returned to the spotlight with appearances on the likes of "Celebrity Big Brother" and "The Hills" spin-off "The Hills: New Beginnings," but even Montag and her husband Spencer Pratt acknowleged their star had dulled. "We know we're not super famous anymore, but we want a relaunch," Pratt told People in 2018.

Melanie Griffith opened up to Porter magazine about her plastic surgery regrets. "I didn't [realize it had gone too far] until people started saying. 'Oh my god, what has she done?!'" she said (via People). "I was so hurt I went to a different doctor and he started dissolving all of this [stuff] that this other woman doctor had put in. Hopefully, I look more normal now," she added. In the book "The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco," it was also claimed that Griffith had secretly gotten a breast augmentation during a break in filming "The Bonfire of the Vanities" in 1990.

Griffith hasn't confirmed if the response to her plastic surgery played a part in her stepping back from the spotlight, but it's hard to deny her career never quite reached the heights it did pre-plastic surgery when she starred 1988's "Working Girl." Griffith only has three acting credits between 2020 and 2025 and has shared her belief that her age and appearance may have had something to do with a lack of roles. "In a lot of ways, [Hollywood] a very superficial place," she told Fox News in 2013. "It is all about youth and beauty, for women anyway. You just have to keep biting and pushing your way through, doing theater."