Cosmetic procedures don’t always work out as expected, and nobody knows that better than celebrities. Many famous people have expressed regret over getting work done, like Jessica Simpson, who wished she could turn back time on her lip fillers and tummy tucks. Nicole Kidman is a well-known A-lister who has had a similar experience.
Before Kidman opened up about her cosmetic work eventually, but before she did, she claimed that she had never gotten Botox. Speculations about potential Botox injections began after the 2007 Oscars. Later that year, she opened up in an interview with Marie Claire, commenting on the rumors, “ I actually don’t read them. To be honest, I am completely natural. I have nothing in my face or anything. I wear sunscreen, and I don’t smoke. I take care of myself. And I’m very proud to say that.”
Kidman didn’t judge anyone else for partaking, but it wasn’t for her, explaining that she believes in physical health due to her upbringing. Many people didn’t believe her comments in the interviews. After the revealing talk with Marie Claire, Radar created a fake cover with Kidman’s face Photoshopped onto a Barbie-esque body for a piece on celebrities getting plastic surgery.
Years later, Kidman admitted that while she did try Botox at some point, it didn’t turn out the way she hoped.
Botox left Nicole Kidman unable to move her face
Acting is all about expressing feelings; you can’t exactly do that if it’s hard to move your face. When participating in an interview with a German magazine called TV Movie, Kidman responded to a question on how she prevented wrinkles, saying that nothing made a difference besides “sports and good nutrition.” She then confirmed that she tried Botox as a means of keeping wrinkles at bay but said she didn’t like how it made her face look and, more specifically, how it prevented her from moving her forehead.
Yeasts later, when speaking with Italian outlet La Repubblica, Kidman repeated that while she never went under the knife, she did try Botox, but eventually the effects wore off, and “now I can finally move my face again.” She referred to the face-freezing injections as an “unfortunate move” and ever since has always expressed her dislike for Botox.
People still aren’t sure if actions are lining up with words and if the actress has truly avoided Botox per her statements. After fans watched a 2022 behind-the-scenes image from her latest show on Amazon Prime called “Expats,” they speculated that Kidman had in fact gotten work done over the years. One commenter said, “You are so beautiful! Please don’t do anything else to your face for it needs no more work.” Another left a less positive comment saying, “Oh my God you were so pretty why are you doing this? HORRIBLE.»
Many plastic surgeons are convinced Kidman has had work done
The New York Post decided to take research into their own hands and interviewed multiple plastic surgeons on Kidman’s “Expat” look. Dr. Dara Liotta said that the images prove that the actress has likely had a facelift and neck lift surgery, saying that she noticed plastic surgery scars and even drawing arrows on the image in question to show where procedures might have been done over the years. Liotta added that Kidman’s features appeared too young to be fully natural, and if procedures weren’t done, extreme photo editing was.
Another surgeon interviewed, Dr. David Shafer, said that photo-tweaking is common and that often, how people look in a static image online can be “completely different from how they look in person or in real life.” Still, Dr. Shafer didn’t rule out surgery, saying that beyond filters, Botox and dermal fillers like Juvéderm can smooth out wrinkles and add volume to cheeks.
Still, we mustn’t forget our own bias amid all this amateur detective work that the public tries to figure out celebs with. Dr. Shafer reminded us that although people often remember celebs for their most memorable scenes and youthful moments at the height of their fame, celebrities age just like us non-famous folks and it’s normal for their appearance to change.