Lady Gaga's Nose
Yesterday I was contacted by E! News as one of their writers thought Lady Gaga looked different at the Grammy Awards, and thought that maybe she had had a nose job (rhinoplasty) recently. So I looked at a lot of photos and videos of Lady Gaga going back to 2005, including an amazing video of her (Stefani Germanotta back then) perfoming two of her own songs on piano at a 2005 NYU talent show.
My conclusion was that she has never had cosmetic nose surgery (rhinoplasty). There was only one older photo of her which is on all of the "Lady Gaga had a nose job" websites, which when put next to a newer photo, does look very different. However, the "before" photo is of poor quality and was taken with a wide angle lens from above, which makes it look bigger and wider. (See my previous blog post on photography and plastic surgery). Looking at many other older photos and comparing them to newer photos, and trying to correct for the different makeup, costumes, lighting, and angles, I came to the conclusion that there is nothing to the rumor. Of course, I could be wrong.
But if I'm wrong, it's the most subtle rhinoplasty ever, so why would she have bothered? She still has a prominent bony cartilaginous dorsum (the hump) and prominent lower lateral cartilages (the sides of the tip). She has a retrusive (weak) chin on profile as well, which accentuates the prominence of her nose. This is not to say that I think she needs plastic surgery, and apparently she has denied it in the past and expressed a fear that it could change her voice.