RhinoplastyUnited States5 min read
Did Tyra Banks have a nose job? Yes — and she says she had to tell the truth
Tyra Banks, the supermodel and America's Next Top Model creator, spent years at the centre of plastic surgery speculation — and ended it herself, in print. In her memoir Perfect Is Boring she admitted the nose job early in her career and explained why she felt she had to tell the truth. Here is what she wrote and what rhinoplasty involves.
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Key facts about the procedure
- Operation time1.5–3 hours
- Stay in clinic1 day
- AnaesthesiaGeneral
- Price
$6,000from $4,200
Profile
Tyra Banks
- Country
- United States
- Who
- American model, TV host and entrepreneur
- Quote source
- HuffPost, 28 March 2018
What did Tyra Banks say about her nose job?
Tyra Banks had a nose job early in her modelling career — a fact she had long denied and finally confirmed in her memoir Perfect Is Boring, co-written with her mother. As HuffPost reported in March 2018, she described the physical reason with characteristic candour: “I had bones in my nose that were growing and itching.”
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WhatsAppHer announcement was framed as a correction, not a confession forced out of her: “I admit it! Fake hair, and I did my nose. I feel I have a responsibility to tell the truth.” She also pushed back on the way natural looks are used to shame other women: “Natural beauty is unfair.” In her view, natural beauties should not criticise women who get work done — the same message she gave her fans after years of rumours she had publicly dismissed.
That is what this article relies on: her quoted words in the report. Everything below describes rhinoplasty in general, not her treatment.
Why her story matters
Tyra Banks's admission matters for how it happened: she chose the truth herself, in a book she controlled, after years of denial she no longer wanted to maintain. For patients, her story highlights the two conversations a rhinoplasty consultation should include.
More on this topic: Rhinoplasty in one day, Revision Rhinoplasty, Open Rhinoplasty, Rhinoplasty for Patients from Singapore, Rhinoplasty in Melbourne.
The first is the physical one — inside the nose, structure matters, and a surgeon who explains what is actually there (bone, cartilage, septum) makes the plan concrete, exactly the way her description of “growing and itching” bones does.
The second is the honest one about standards. Her line — “natural beauty is unfair” — names the pressure around models' faces without pretending surgery is shameful. A good surgeon tells patients what rhinoplasty can and cannot do, keeps results within the patient's own identity, and never lets the industry's idea of a nose override the person's. That is the balance her story puts on display.
How rhinoplasty is done today
Rhinoplasty reshapes the nose: the bridge, the tip, the nostrils and, in septorhinoplasty, the deviated septum inside that blocks breathing. The operation is done under general anaesthesia or TIVA, with open technique (a small incision on the columella) or closed technique (incisions inside the nostrils), and ultrasonic piezo instruments for precise work on the bone — the very structure Banks described.
Closed rhinoplasty
- What it does
- Reshaping through incisions inside the nostrils
- Typically for
- Moderate reshaping, no external scar
Open rhinoplasty
- What it does
- Full view through a small incision on the columella
- Typically for
- Complex tip and bridge work
Septorhinoplasty
- What it does
- Reshaping plus straightening the septum
- Typically for
- Deviated septum, breathing problems
Revision rhinoplasty
- What it does
- Correcting or improving a previous operation
- Typically for
- Complications, asymmetry, unsatisfactory result
Which option fits is decided at the consultation after examination, not from a celebrity memoir.
Who is a candidate and how to prepare
Candidates are adults, typically aged 18–45 with marked concerns, in stable health; older patients are assessed individually. Contraindications include acute infection, uncontrolled chronic disease and anything that rules out safe general anaesthesia.
- Start preparing 21 days ahead: blood tests, biochemistry, coagulation, infection screening, ECG and chest/sinus imaging.
- Stop blood-thinning medicines, alcohol and smoking a week before; no food or drink for six hours before surgery.
- Buy class 2 compression stockings and plan the first week as complete rest.
What recovery looks like
The first 24 hours are spent in the inpatient unit. For the first days, breathing goes through the mouth and splints sit in the nostrils; swelling and bruising around the eyes are normal. Nasal splints come out around day 7, the external splint stays up to 14 days, and stitches are removed on day 14. For a month there is no exercise, sauna, pool, hot baths or sun.
Congestion can linger for a month or two, the first improvements appear after two to three weeks, healing completes over about four months, and the final shape of the nose settles over one to one and a half years.
How recovery after rhinoplasty usually goes
- Day of surgeryGeneral anaesthesia or TIVA; the first 24 hours in the inpatient unit under monitoring.
- Days 1–3Mouth breathing with splints in the nostrils; swelling and bruising around the eyes are normal.
- Day 7Nasal splints come out; the external splint stays up to 14 days.
- Day 14Stitches removed; swelling visibly declining.
- Weeks 2–4No exercise, sauna, pool, hot baths or sun for a month after surgery.
- Months 1–18Congestion eases, healing completes by about four months, final shape settles over 1–1.5 years.
Rhinoplasty at City Medical Centre
City Medical Centre performs primary, revision and reconstructive rhinoplasty for international patients, including patients from New York. Primary rhinoplasty costs $4,200 (currently reduced from $6,000), revision rhinoplasty $5,400, rhinoseptoplasty $5,000, reconstructive rhinoseptoplasty $4,700 and rib-cartilage reconstruction from $5,400. The first consultation is free; the final cost is confirmed after an in-person examination.
The price includes anaesthesia, the inpatient stay and a lifetime guarantee on the result with a free post-operative check-up. More details are on the rhinoplasty page and the page for patients from New York.
To be clear: City Medical Centre has no connection with Tyra Banks or her treatment. Her story is quoted here only because she chose to tell the truth about her operation openly.
Frequently asked questions
Did Tyra Banks have a nose job?
Yes. She confirmed it in her memoir Perfect Is Boring — "I admit it! Fake hair, and I did my nose. I feel I have a responsibility to tell the truth" — after years of denying the rumours.
Why did Tyra Banks say she had the nose job?
She described a physical reason: "I had bones in my nose that were growing and itching." The procedure happened early in her modelling career.
What did Tyra Banks say about natural beauty?
She said "natural beauty is unfair" — arguing that naturally striking looks should not be used to shame women who choose cosmetic work.
Can rhinoplasty address the internal structure of the nose?
Yes. Bone and cartilage are exactly what rhinoplasty reshapes — conservatively filing bone, repositioning cartilage and, where needed, correcting the septum for breathing.
How much does rhinoplasty cost at City Medical Centre?
Primary rhinoplasty is $4,200 (reduced from $6,000), revision $5,400, rhinoseptoplasty $5,000, reconstructive rhinoseptoplasty $4,700 and rib-cartilage reconstruction from $5,400. The final price is confirmed after the free consultation.
Sources
What the article says about the celebrity is based only on these public statements.
- HuffPost (from her memoir Perfect Is Boring), 28 March 2018
Medical background and further reading
General information about the procedure from health authorities and medical societies. It is not advice for any individual patient.
- PubMed / NCBI — Reporting Outcomes and Outcome Measures in Open Rhinoplasty: A Systematic Review (Aesthet Surg J, 2020)
- PubMed / NCBI — Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Functional Rhinoplasty Outcomes with the NOSE Score (2017)
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Rhinoplasty
- World Health Organization — Safe surgery
How we prepare and review medical content · Medical disclaimer
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