For decades, plastic surgery has been fairly common among celebrities. It makes sense, of course: when your career is dependent on your appearance, it’s worth investing in a good surgeon who can help you maintain your look. Outside of Hollywood, though, it can be downright surreal to see someone go under the knife, especially when they come out looking completely different than they did before.
Aside from celebrities, the people most likely to get plastic surgery are politicians. As part of their job, these men and women are constantly in front of the camera, so they decided to take their cue from Hollywood and find a good plastic surgeon. Of course, “good” is relative, and some of the biggest politicians in the world look completely different than they once did.
Don’t believe it? Or maybe you just want to see if your favorite politician made the list? Either way, keep reading to discover the politicians who have had work according to some of America’s leading plastic surgeons!
Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem has been making headlines lately for all the wrong reasons. As the former Secretary of Homeland Security, she oversaw several controversial activities by ICE, some of which resulted in the death of protestors. She eventually lost her job amid all the negative press, and that same month, the other shoe dropped: the world learned that her husband had an embarrassing “bimboification” fetish, where he liked to dress and act like a busty woman. Long before that, though, some experts claimed that Noem decided to change her own appearance in a much more permanent way!
In an Instagram video, plastic surgeon Dr. Diana Ponsky said, “Before she started working for Trump, her pictures looked leaner … she was aging in the upper face area, and she was starting to show neck lines in the lower face area.” The expert believes that “Since [Noem] started working for [Trump], or in the last 10 years, you’ve seen certain changes.” Ponsky went on to allege that Noem had undergone several procedures, including laser treatment, a brow lift, upper eyelid surgery, and “lots of fillers.”
RELATED: Is Melania Trump Secretly Besties With Kristi Noem?
Matt Gaetz
These days, Matt Gaetz is a disgraced former politician. From 2017 to 2024, he served as a Florida Congressman who supported Trump wholeheartedly and enjoyed many benefits from their alliance. Gaetz began losing political capital, however, when he was accused of offenses ranging from using drugs and taking bribes to sexual trafficking. He was also accused of paying a 17-year-old girl (among others) for sex. While the Department of Justice declined to press charges after their own investigation, Gaetz resigned after a bipartisan ethics committee confirmed these accusations, including the startling fact that the former Congressman paid $90,000 to 12 different women, most likely in exchange for sex.
On top of all those controversies, though, Gaetz raised some eyebrows by…well…making it impossible to raise his own eyebrows! Many have noted how his appearance changed over the years, with some comparing him to Dr. Seuss’s Grinch. In an interview with Esquire, dermatologist Corey L. Hartman that Gaetz’s appearance had changed because someone had an “overly heavy hand” and “poor placement” when giving the Congressman Botox. “It’s too heavy in the forehead and not lateral enough to prevent Spock Eye.”
Botox, bribes, and babes? Sounds completely illogical, captain!
Sarah Palin
Few politicians have relied on their appearance quite as much as Sarah Palin. While she had already become the governor of Alaska, she didn’t appear on most people’s radar until she was chosen as John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 presidential election. She was, to put it bluntly, McCain’s response to Barack Obama. The Democrats had fired up the youth vote with their young, smooth-talking presidential hopeful. The presence of Sarah Palin proved that Republicans had their own young politicians, and the fact that this former Miss Alaska contestant was so pretty only made her more useful to McCain’s cause.
As it turns out, though, Palin might have had a little help maintaining her famous beauty. Back in 2009 (after McCain and Palin lost to Obama and Biden), several plastic surgeons told HollywoodLife that they were fairly certain she had used Botox to alter her appearance. Unfortunately, that can only work so long, and many internet users (some crueler than others) have pointed out that she now looks completely different (more like Steve Tyler than a beauty queen) than when she ran for VP.
RELATED: Sarah Palin: How She Gave Her Life (And Herself!) A Makeover
Ivanka Trump
In one key way, Ivanka Trump is similar to Sarah Palin. Earlier in her life, she (at the behest of Donald Trump) hosted a Miss Teen USA pageant, just as Palin competed in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant (she won the title of Miss Congeniality). Later, both women made unexpected leaps into politics: Palin was elected to the Wasilla City Council and Ivanka became one of her father’s presidential advisors. As it turns out, though, both women might have something else in common…using plastic surgery to stay beautiful!
Because Ivanka has been in front of cameras for her entire adult life, we have been able to watch her face change, often in some dramatic ways. In an interview with Express U.S., plastic surgeon Gary Motykie claimed, “I think she’s had at least one rhinoplasty, if not two, and it looks like she did some sort of chin augmentation when she was younger.” Meanwhile, in the video below, plastic surgeon Ross Kopelman claimed that Ivanka had had buccal fat removal, Botox, cheek filler, and lip filler. Most of this happened, he claims, in 2016, when Ivanka was thrust into the spotlight like never before, thanks to her father’s presidential ambitions.