Once the embodiment of classic Hollywood glamour, Kim Novak was one of the most captivating faces of the 1950s, known for her mesmerizing performances in
Picnic and
Pal Joey.
She was Columbia Pictures’ shining star, earning two Golden Globes, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a reputation for her bombshell beauty on screen.
But decades later, in the 2010s, Novak’s appearance changed dramatically following cosmetic procedures, particularly fat injections to her cheeks, which she later admitted she deeply regretted.
“It was the worst thing I could have done,” she
confessed in an interview, explaining how the treatment left her looking unrecognizable and stripped her of her natural features.
Her appearance at the 2014 Oscars led to harsh online criticism, with trolls mocking her altered looks.
The backlash was so intense that she withdrew further from Hollywood, choosing a quieter, private life.
At 92, after spending over a decade away from the spotlight, Kim accepted the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in September 2025, only to face yet another wave of backlash as fans criticized her evident plastic surgery.
One netizen commented, “Why so much cosmetic surgery? She’d be better without it.”