Why Rosie O'Donnell got a facelift after swearing off procedure

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYWed, May 27, 2026 at 1:45 PM UTC

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When it comes to her stance on cosmetic surgery, Rosie O'Donnell has done an about face.

The comedian, 64, published a poem on her Substack on May 25 detailing her decision to get a facelift in January, despite previously being "morally" opposed to the procedure.

In her poem, O'Donnell explained she had "assigned myself as head of all women who would never" get a facelift, feeling that it would be a "betrayal" of "feminism," of "aging," and of "our team of women worldwide." But she began to soften her position after losing 50 pounds.

"I'd look in the mirror and think, this isn't aging, this is melting with intention," she wrote, adding that she soon started "considering something" that she "swore" she'd never do.

Rosie O'Donnell attends the Elle Women in Hollywood celebration in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2024.

But O'Donnell revealed her 13-year-old child, Clay, was very much against her getting a facelift, telling her that "I wouldn't be able to respect you if you did it." This "really threw me," causing O'Donnell to delay the procedure for months, she said.

Ultimately, though, she decided she wanted her child "to grow up in a world where they don't feel like they have to change but also knows they can, if they want to, without losing moral standing in their own life." So O'Donnell went ahead and got the facelift in January. She wanted to make sure she still looked like herself, and this seemed to be a success based on the fact that "no one has noticed," she wrote.

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"My teen daughter, has not said a word. Nothing," she wrote. "I went through a full existential feminist crisis, had my face and neck surgically altered, and the result is… zippo. Which honestly is the best possible outcome."

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She continued, "I didn't disappear, I didn't become someone else — I just stopped arguing with the mirror. And maybe that's enough. Or at the very least… it's what a lower deep plane face lift looks like when it minds its own business."

O'Donnell noted that while she feels she doesn't owe "anyone an explanation," she has never liked "secrets," so she wanted to make clear that her "rejuvenated lower face" didn't happen "naturally," but "cost more money than I have ever paid for a car." She also acknowledged feeling some shame about the "gross excess."

On Instagram, O'Donnell posted a photo of herself, smiling in a green sweater, along with an excerpt of the poem.

During a facelift, a surgeon "pulls back a flap of skin on each side of the face," "tightens tissues under the skin to give the face a more youthful shape," and then "puts the skin back into place, tightens it and removes extra skin," according to the Mayo Clinic. "This helps create a more youthful look."

Rosie O'Donnell attends the "Stronger Together" awards luncheon on Oct. 28, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.

The "A League of Their Own" star's revelation comes after she previously spoke about getting Botox. In August, O'Donnell posted a throwback photo on Instagram of herself on the Oprah Winfrey Network, writing that it showed her "right after i tried botox - a huge mistake."

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"My head felt like i had masking tape on it - do not recommend," she added.

O'Donnell has also previously discussed her recent weight loss. In a 2025 TikTok video, she said she has lost weight partially as a side effect of Mounjaro, which she started taking for diabetes. "It's also because I had a chef for over two years in Los Angeles, and I don't have a chef now," she said, adding that getting clothes in smaller sizes than she used to wear has been "completely shocking."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rosie O'Donnell opens up about getting facelift after prior opposition

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