Denise Richards has become one of the first Hollywood stars to speak openly about undergoing a full facelift, sharing unedited before-and-after images of her face. The 55-year-old actor and model, known for her role in Wild Things, discussed the procedure in a new interview with Allure, explaining that she wanted to 'put things back up, where they were before.'
While Richards had previously undergone cosmetic surgery, receiving breast implants at 19, this was her first time having work done on her face. 'I was terrified,' she admitted. 'Being in the public eye since my 20s, people know what I look like — a facelift is not something that I could hide.'
After several consultations, Richards chose Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Ben Talei. The surgeon provided Allure with images showing Richards's face before the surgery and with blue surgical markings. In both, her eyes appeared more sunken and her jawline less tight. Richards documented her recovery with selfies from two days after the operation, showing her head wrapped in a white bandage and bruising on her neck, under her eyes, and around her mouth. By day 10, the bruising had nearly vanished, and within a month, she looked fully healed.
'It is night and day,' Richards said of the transformation. 'It's given me… Especially with what I'm going through in life, you know? It's just given me a new lease on life. It's given me confidence.' She referred to her recent contentious divorce from ex-husband Aaron Phypers. Asked if she would have had the surgery if she were not an actress, she replied, 'I would have.'
Richards has previously expressed regret over her breast implants, writing on iVillage in 2011: 'At 19 when I first got my breasts done, I wish that I was confident enough with my body to not have had surgery.' She told Howard Stern in 2009 that she was inspired by her roommate's implants. Nonetheless, she wrote, 'I often get asked about my thoughts on plastic surgery, and I honestly feel it's whatever makes a person feel good about themselves.'
