There is no shortage of plastic surgery in Hollywood — but not all cosmetic work is created equal.
According to experts, this has never been more apparent than in recent weeks.
Two A-listers that are heavily rumored to have had face lifts recently are actor Kevin Spacey and reality TV matriarch Kris Jenner.
Jenner, who is 69 years old, has previously confirmed having a facelift. Recently, fans noticed a new and youthful appearance in her photos on Instagram.
The consensus among fans and plastic surgeons alike was that it was really good and make her look more like her much younger daughters.
On the contrary, viewers did not speak favorably about Spacey, who is 65 years old and has kept a low profile since facing, and later clearing, allegations of sexual assault in 2017.
He attended the Cannes Film Festival this week in a rare public outing, where onlookers couldn’t help but notice his ‘puffy’ and swollen face.
Three plastic surgeons interviewed by the Daily Mail shed light on why there is such a contrast in public reactions to what seems to be comparable cosmetic procedures.
As Spacey walked the red carpet at the event (right), he looked noticeably different with a taut, plump face. He is pictured left in 2017
A Now and Then contrast of Jenner in May 2025 vs Jenner in Los Angeles in February 2020
The surgeons — who stressed they had only looked at photos of Jenner and Spacey and had not treated them — all said Spacey had had work done.
Spacey has not revealed whether he’s had any work done, but the plastic surgeons said it looks likely that he had received fat grafts to restore fullness to his face.
Dr Smita Ramanadham, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey, said Spacey ‘just looks overfilled.’
‘We lose volume in our face as we age, but even if we compared photos of Spacey today to photos of him in his 20s and 30s, I would bet his face is more full now than it was back them.’
Fat grafts are when fat is taken from a part of the body, typically the thighs, and injected into the face to restore volume.
People often get them because they are much longer lasting than fillers, although they have a significantly higher price tag — at up to $8,000 per procedure compared to around $600 to $1,200 for fillers, which involve injecting fat into the face.
Surgeons warned that the grafts tend to cause swelling in the face due to inflammation which, they said, can last for months.
If someone gains weight, these transferred fat cells will still expand as though they are in the area of the body they were transferred from — such as the thigh — also causing a more puffy appearance.
These tend to cause swelling, they said, which can last for months — although the final results can be much more long-lasting.
For comparison, any swelling from fillers will likely resolve within a week.
On the other hand, the surgeons said Jenner likely plumped the cheeks with fillers.
Dr Reagan said she had likely only used a small amount of filler to enhance her appearance.
Kevin Spacey, 65, has sparked plastic surgery rumors as he made an appearance at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival this week
The surgeons also speculated that Spacey has a very different bone structure to Jenner, which would have likely affected the results.
While Jenner has high cheekbones, a well-defined jawline and classic plump lips, the surgeons said Spacey did not have the classic Hollywood male face.
Dr Brian Reagan, a plastic surgeon in California, told this website: ‘When you do work on a beautiful woman, it really works and it looks amazing because what you’ve done is, you haven’t created beauty, you are just restoring it.
‘The beautiful canvas is already there, and you are just using your skillset to restore it, and then they look amazing, and the camera loves them, and people are wowed.
‘For comparison, with someone who maybe doesn’t have the same attributes, you can do a wonderful rejuvenation on them, but people’s eyes won’t recognize it in the same way, and you won’t get the same level of beauty.’
Dr Gina Maccarone, a plastic surgeon in Ohio, also suggested the difference could be down to the bad press Spacey has received, which may make it more likely that people will react negatively.
Spacey has faced nine sexual assault charges, although he denies the allegations and was cleared of all of them in court — with the last being dropped by a jury at a London court in July 2023.
The Oscar-winning actor says, however, that he has been left penniless by the legal fees, and says he was forced to give up his $5.6million luxury Baltimore condo to pay them. He says he still has more legal fees to cover.
In addition to the fat grafts, the surgeons also suggested it looks like Spacey had either a lower facelift or deep plane facelift to tighten the skin around his neck and jawline.
In a lower facelift, the skin on the neck and jawline is lifted and tightened to make the area more defined. In a deep plane facelift, on the other hand, surgeons also lift the tissue beneath the skin — which they say can help to restore a more youthful look.
Kevin Spacey is pictured above attending the 31st amfAR Gala during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France
The surgeons said it was the alleged fat grafting rather than the face lift that had caused the swelling.
Although face lifts can also cause swelling, which may be evident if someone steps out too early after getting the procedure — within a few weeks of the surgery.
Surgeons have also suggested that Jenner’s new look is down to a lower facelift which made her jawline and neck more defined.
Dr Lisa Friederich, a plastic surgeon in Australia, previously told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s quite possible that she’s undergone a lower facelift.
‘Her jawline is noticeably sharp and defined, a possible sign of lower-face filler to enhance structure and balance facial proportions.
The surgeons also suggested it looks like Spacey had received an upper blepharoplasty, or surgery to remove skin above the eyelids that becomes heavier with age.
They pointed out that in the before photo, it is hard to see the crease of the upper eyelid, but in the after photo it is clearly visible, suggesting he has had work done.
Surgeons have previously suggested Jenner had an upper blepharoplasty, making the claim in 2019 citing a lack of heavy skin above her eyes. None have recently made the claim, however, in relation to her latest work.
Dr Maccarone also suggested Spacey may have had surgery to reduce the size of the area between the nose and upper lip.
She said this tends to widen as people age, and that it is now becoming more common to have surgery to reduce this to give someone a more youthful appearance.
Viewing the photos, she said the distance between the nose and the upper lip was smaller in his most recent images from Cannes.
Jenner has not previously been speculated to have had this procedure.
Spacey has never said publicly whether he has had any plastic surgery.
The Daily Mail contacted his press team for comment before this article was published. We also contacted Kris Jenner’s team, who said they had revealed the name of her surgeon — as Dr Steven Levine.
