What HAVE The Devil Wears Prada cast done to their faces? Plastic surgeons verdict on the stars’ ageless appearances as 20-year comparison shots go viral

Twenty years ago, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci walked the red carpet for The Devil Wears Prada. 

When they did it again earlier this month for the premiere of its highly anticipated sequel, onlookers were quick to notice just how little the stars had changed.

One recent post on X from the Turkish news website Jurnal showed side–by–side face comparisons of the four actors and has now been viewed more than 29 million times. 

Summing up the general reaction to Tucci’s lack of aging, one reader wrote that his face was ‘the strongest possible evidence for a Mediterranean diet’. 

Others, however, suggested the female stars may have had a little help from the surgeon’s knife and needle. 

‘I wonder what Anne would look like without the facelifts?’ Asked one. 

‘You can see exactly what plastic surgery they’ve all had done… except for Tucci, of course,’ wrote another. 

So what is the truth? The Daily Mail asked some of America’s leading plastic surgeons, who looked at photos of the stars but have not treated them, to give their verdict on just how the Devil Wears Prada 2 cast have age so very gracefully. Their answers were eyebrow-raising, to say the least.

Anne Hathaway: Botox… and a maybe a ‘ponytail facelift’ 

In the 2006 original, audiences met Andy Sachs, played by Hathaway – then in her early 20s – as the eager young journalist who lands a fashion magazine job ‘a million girls would kill for’.

Today, at 43, the actor looks perhaps even more defined and youthful than she did two decades ago, says Dr Frank Agullo, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Texas.

Agullo, who has not treated the movie stars, said: ‘Hathaway still looks more youthful than one could possibly be naturally at that age.’

He added that Hathaway embodies the ‘natural’ result, ‘but it is clear she underwent plastic surgery.’

Agullo added: ‘The most striking shift is Hathaway’s current brow position, sitting noticeably higher and more open, especially the lateral tail compared to 2006. 

‘This appearance is consistent with an endoscopic brow lift or ponytail lift.’

In an endoscopic brow lift, a surgeon makes several small incisions, each about an inch long, behind the hairline. 

A tiny camera called an endoscope is inserted through one incision, allowing the surgeon to see the underlying muscles and tissue on a screen. 

Special instruments placed through the other incisions are then used to lift the brow and forehead tissues upward, securing them in a higher position. 

This raises the brows, opens up the eye area, and smooths forehead wrinkles. Recovery typically takes one to two weeks, with most swelling and bruising resolving during that time. 

The procedure generally costs between $4,000 and $8,000, depending on the surgeon’s experience and geographic location.

A ponytail lift – sometimes called a lateral brow lift or temporal lift – focuses specifically on the outer tails of the eyebrows. Small incisions are made just inside the hairline near the temples. 

The surgeon then uses either permanent suspension sutures or dissolvable threads to pull the outer brow upward and backward, creating a lifted, ‘snatched’ appearance similar to the effect of pulling hair into a tight ponytail. 

This procedure is less invasive than a full brow lift, with a shorter recovery time. However, results from thread-based lifts may last only one to three years, while suture-based lifts can last longer. 

Costs range from $1,500 to $5,500, with thread lifts on the lower end and surgical suture lifts on the higher end.

Agullo added: ‘Her jawline looks far sharper and more angled and her chin projects more clearly in profile now than it did back in 2006.’ 

This, he suggested, may be the rest of a chin implant, possibly with buccal fat removal.

A chin implant enhances jawline projection by placing a solid silicone implant over the front of the jawbone. 

The surgeon makes a small incision under the chin or inside the mouth, creates a pocket in the tissue, and inserts the implant. Recovery takes about one to two weeks and the typical cost is $3,000 to $5,500.

Buccal fat removal reduces lower cheek fullness by removing the buccal fat pads through small incisions inside the mouth, leaving no visible scars. 

It creates a more sculpted facial contour. Swelling lasts one to three weeks. The typical cost is $2,000 to $5,000.

Beyond surgery, Hathaway’s non-surgical maintenance is ‘obvious’, the experts told the Daily Mail. She has never addressed plastic surgery rumors directly. 

Hathaway’s forehead moves, ‘but not excessively’, which would be a sign of mild, regular botulinum toxin injections – most famous of these is Botox – which temporarily paralyzes muscles to soften lines, Agullo said.

Her cheeks have volume without looking puffy or overfilled, suggesting strategic use of hyaluronic acid filler, an injectable gel that restores lost facial fullness, he added. 

And her skin reflects light evenly with a smooth texture, a hallmark of ongoing laser resurfacing treatments that remove damaged surface layers to stimulate collagen and improve tone.

Meryl Streep: A deep plane facelift, subtle Botox and fillers 

Two decades ago, Streep looked good for a woman in her mid-50s, but naturally so, said Chao.

However, in the intervening years, she appears to have aged backward and has positioned herself against plastic surgery. 

‘Her skin texture and neck contour are pretty remarkable for someone in their mid-70s,’ he added.

Streep, now 76, has experienced many normal changes to her face over the span of her long career, including a typical loss of fullness in the mid-face, banding in the neck and more forehead movement.

‘Streep is the most interesting,’ Agullo said. ‘Her lower face and neck show some looseness and visible vertical neck bands, both natural signs of aging.

‘But the fact that she looks relaxed rather than sagging or pulled suggests she may have had a deep plane facelift about five to seven years ago.’

This technique repositions deeper tissues, not just skin, and by letting everything settle, she has avoided the taut, unnatural look of older facelifts.

Unlike older facelift techniques that only pull the skin tight, a deep plane facelift repositions the deeper layers of the face, including muscles, fat and connective tissue, as a single unit. 

The surgeon makes incisions that typically start at the temples, curve down in front of the ear, and end behind the hairline. 

Through these incisions, the surgeon lifts the deeper tissues and repositions them to a more youthful position, then smooths the skin over the top without tension. 

This approach restores volume to the mid-face, sharpens the jawline, and can improve neck laxity without creating a ‘pulled’ appearance. Because the deeper tissues hold the lift, results look natural and can last seven to ten years or longer. 

Recovery is more involved than with a standard facelift, with significant swelling and bruising for two to three weeks; most patients return to normal activities after four to six weeks. 

The typical cost ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 or more, depending on the surgeon’s expertise, geographic location, and whether additional procedures, such as neck lift or eyelid surgery, are performed at the same time.

Steep’s smooth upper suggests the use of botulinum toxin, Agullo said, adding: ‘Her current skin texture looks better maintained than untreated skin of that age and likely results from follow-ups with a dermatologist.’

Dr Diana Ponsky, a plastic surgeon in Ohio who has not treated Streep, told the Daily Mail that the actor’s nose is the same, ‘she just has more volume in her mid–cheek section,’ which can be achieved with filler.

Streep likely gets annual chemical peels, occasional light laser treatments or uses potent topical products, Ponsky added. 

Agullo said: ‘She is a great example of how holding back on procedures allows for a more expressive face.’

Emily Blunt: ‘Tweakments’ and possibly a brow lift

Between the ages of 23, when she appeared in the first film, and 43, Emily Blunt’s lower face has slimmed down. 

Her brows have lifted slightly and the ’11’ lines between her brows are softer, all consistent with light, regular use of neuromodulators such as Botox.

The mother-of-two, who is married to actor and filmmaker John Krasinski, has been batting away plastic surgery rumors for years. 

And both Chao and Agullo say her youthful appearance appears the least altered of the cast’s female stars by plastic surgery.

Instead, they suggest she may have undergone small, regular cosmetic ‘tweakments’.

Agullo said: ‘Today, she still appears fresh and has the same midface fullness she had in her early 20s. 

‘The sharp jaw definition is still there and she shows no signs of overfilling or puffiness.

‘This sort of preservation into the early 40s usually involves stellar genes, sun protection habits, modest injectable filler, a good quality topical regimen and possibly an endoscopic brow lift.’ 

Compared with older brow lift techniques, which involve a much larger incision along the hairline, an endoscopic brow lift generally leaves smaller scars and produces subtler, more natural-looking results.

She has never addressed plastic surgery rumors directly. 

Stanley Tucci: No ‘work’… yet he’s managed not to age

Multiple plastic surgeons agreed that Tucci, now in his mid-60s, appears to have had little to no cosmetic work. 

Tucci, Agullo said, ‘represents perhaps the best ‘intentional natural aging’ that can occur today without intervention,’ noting his skin shows age-appropriate texture and no signs of pulling, puffiness, or surgical tightness 

His skin shows normal texture and pigmentation for a 65-year-old with no signs of facelift pulling, filler puffiness, or surgical tightness. His jawline is softer but defined, his under–eye area has natural creasing and his cheeks remain full and mobile.

‘To my eye,’ Agullo said, ‘Tucci does not appear to have undergone a facelift, eyelid surgery or injectable use.

‘Instead, he has embraced the signs of aging gracefully, and today he appears both authoritative and trustworthy because his appearance has not been artificially changed.’   

‘When comparing Tucci at age 45 to age 65, you will notice there is not much, if any, work done. The temple hollows and skin texture in his recent photos are natural,’ Chao added.

‘My guess would be he has a fantastic skincare regimen and maybe had mild laser resurfacing at some point, but that’s about it.’

Tucci has never had to address any plastic surgery rumors.  

Representatives for the four actors were approached for comment.