Denise Richards' Face Has Been Totally Changed By Plastic Surgery
If you're among millions of smitten fans of '90s pinup Denise Richards, then you probably noticed that there was something different about her face in recent months. The "Wild Things" actor ended up spilling the beans in March 2026, officially disclosing that she underwent a full facelift the year prior. "I wanted to put things back up, where they were before," Richards shared in an Allure exclusive, referring to her June, 2025 procedure. According to Richards' plastic surgeon Ben Talei, she had an Auralyft – a facelift with a temporal brow lift (which she described as the most painful part), upper blepharoplasty, a lip lift for the outer corners of her mouth, and fat grafting.
Speaking candidly about the blepharoplasty, the actor explained, "Dr. Ben took some skin out of my upper eyelid to open my eyes up." The temporal brow lift left her with numerous stitches. "I had stitches in front of my ear, behind my ear, on my chin, up here [behind my hairline]. But now you can't see the scars," she said. Although she didn't have to shave her hair, the procedure left her battling an unfamiliar yet intense headache and temporary numbness around her ears. She joked about asking Dr. Ben if he had "taken them off of my head and put them on the table!" adding, "I said, 'I won't tell anyone if you did'," but followed up to say he did not.
Now, nine months post-op, it was all worth it. Richards, who looks more than a decade younger, admits her face has been totally changed by plastic surgery, describing her reflection in the mirror as "night and day," adding, "It's shocking, actually."
Richards talks Botox and fillers
Like other celebrities who have owned up to their cosmetic tweaks, this isn't Richards' first rodeo with cosmetic surgery. She revealed having her breasts done at 19, followed by several revision surgeries. Still, she admitted being "terrified" of putting a scalpel to her face, especially since her many admirers were watching. "I always said I would never get a facelift, because that's my face. This is how I make my money," she explained to Allure. "I've been in this business a long time. People know what I look like."
She has had non-invasive cosmetic procedures, such as Botox and fillers here and there, but wasn't particularly happy with the latter. "This is my nose. I've done a little Botox. I've done very little filler — it made me look like I was heavy; it just did not work for my face," she said.
Though the effects faded a long time ago, Richards revealed there was residual filler that hadn't totally dissolved from her face when it was time for her facelift. "About two weeks before we did the surgery, Dr. Ben had to dissolve filler in my upper cheeks, and I was shocked," she said. "I haven't done that in so long!' It had probably been about a year and a half. I didn't know that stuff stays."
As for the future, she's open but now very selective about what she does to her face. "A little Botox? I would be fine with that," she said. "But otherwise, I'm not letting anyone else touch my face, except Dr. Ben. I'm hoping this lasts."