If you’ve spent any time on the internet lately, you’ve probably seen Julia Fox in some iteration of a DIY denim bikini or wearing eye makeup so thick it looks like a Rorschach test. She’s the queen of the "unhinged" aesthetic. But lately, people have been digging up old photos from 2015 and 2019, and the collective jaw of the internet has basically hit the floor.
Julia Fox before plastic surgery looks like a completely different person, yet also exactly like herself. It’s a paradox. Honestly, looking at her Uncut Gems era versus the 2026 version of Julia is a lesson in how much a face can change when you stop trying to please everyone else and start treating your body like a canvas for performance art.
The High School Rhinoplasty and Early Changes
Most people think the transformation started when she met Ye (Kanye West) in early 2022. That’s actually wrong. Julia’s history with cosmetic procedures goes way back to when she was literally just a teenager in New York City.
She’s been surprisingly open about this. In a 2023 interview with Hannah Berner, she dropped a bombshell: she had a rhinoplasty during her senior year of high school. It wasn't some smooth, Beverly Hills experience either. It was kind of a nightmare. Julia admitted she went out partying the night before the surgery and didn't get home until three hours before her appointment. Because of the alcohol in her system, the anesthesia didn't work right. She actually woke up mid-procedure and could hear the surgeons breaking her bones.
Think about that for a second.
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Most people would be traumatized for life, but Julia just added it to the lore of her chaotic NYC upbringing. That nose job was the first major shift from her truly "natural" state. By the time she was 21, she was already experimenting with Botox and fillers. She told Allure in August 2025 that she started these tweaks because she felt like she had to be attractive to men to survive. It was a utilitarian choice, not necessarily an aesthetic one she actually liked.
The "Uncut Gems" Illusion
When the world first met Julia as Julia De Fiore in 2019’s Uncut Gems, she was heralded as the new "it-girl" with a classic, bombshell look. She had softer features, dark brunette hair, and a face that felt "real" in a way Hollywood rarely allows.
But even then, she wasn't "natural."
By 2019, she had already had:
- The high school rhinoplasty.
- Years of filler and Botox (started at age 21).
- Veneers (which she later showed off on TikTok in 2023).
- Liposuction (which she confirmed to Elle in early 2023).
The reason she looked so different back then wasn't just the lack of surgery; it was the intent. In 2019, she was playing the game. She was styling herself to be the "gorgeous brunette with an hourglass figure," as photographer Mike Krim described her during her art gallery days. She was catering to a specific gaze. The "Julia Fox before plastic surgery" that fans mourn on Reddit is often just Julia before she decided to stop being a "doll" and started being a "ball"—her own words for the two roles women are forced into.
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Why She Says She Regrets the Work Now
In late 2025, Julia’s tone shifted. She started talking about regret. It’s not that she thinks she looks "bad" now, but she’s expressed a deep sadness about losing the face she started with.
"Now, when I see someone and I can tell they've never done anything... I wish I could go back and be that person," she told Allure.
It’s a heavy admission for someone whose career is built on her image. She’s realized that the "young and hot" identity is a trap. Once you start chasing it, you’re on a treadmill that never stops. She’s seen the "unrealistic bar" women set for each other and decided she’s done with the secrets. She’s admitted to the tanning creams, the face tapes, the wigs, and the fillers because, as she puts it, "none of us look like this."
The Kanye Factor: Influence vs. Autonomy
There’s a common misconception that Kanye West forced her into a plastic surgery makeover. While she wrote in her memoir Down the Drain that "the artist" offered to pay for a breast augmentation, Julia actually turned it down.
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Her style changed drastically during that month-long whirlwind—the heavy liner, the bleached brows—but those were stylistic choices, not surgical ones. If anything, the relationship gave her the platform to realize she didn't want to be "styled" by a man ever again. Since 2022, her look has become progressively more "ugly-cool" and less "male-gaze friendly."
Understanding the Aesthetic Shift
If you compare a 2015 photo of Julia at a Marc Jacobs event to her 2026 red carpet appearances, the most jarring difference isn't the surgical work—it's the fat loss in her face and the aggressive styling.
- Cheekbones: In 2015, she had natural "baby fat" in her cheeks. Now, her face is much more angular. While some fans suspect buccal fat removal, Julia has largely attributed her changing face shape to aging and the stress of her lifestyle.
- The Brows: Bleaching her eyebrows was probably the single biggest "unmasking" she ever did. It changes the architecture of the face more than a nose job ever could.
- The Lips: This is where the filler is most obvious. Her Uncut Gems lips were full but balanced; her 2025/2026 look often features a more pronounced "pout" that she’s admitted to occasionally regretting.
Navigating Your Own View of Beauty
Julia Fox is a walking reminder that even the women we think are "perfect" are often wishing they could go back to their original settings. Her transparency is her biggest asset in 2026. She isn't telling you not to get surgery, but she is telling you to check your "why."
If you're looking at your own reflection and feeling the pressure to "tweak" something, take a page out of the Julia Fox handbook. Ask yourself if you're doing it to "survive" a standard created by men, or if it's actually something that makes you feel like an artist of your own life.
Stop scrolling through the 2019 photos of her and thinking you need to look like that. Even Julia doesn't look like that anymore—and she’s the first one to tell you that’s okay. Focus on evolving rather than chasing a ghost of who you used to be. Whether you choose to age naturally or keep the Botox on speed dial, the goal is to see who’s waiting for you on the other side of the "young and hot" trap.
To really see the contrast, look up her 2015 photography book Symptomatic of a Relationship Gone Sour. You’ll see a version of Julia that was raw, brunette, and largely "un-tweaked." It’s a great baseline for understanding how far her visual journey has actually gone.