Taking A Trip Down Memory Lane: How Madonna's Look Changed Over the Years

Fatima Araos
Closeup of Madonna
Getty | Kevin Mazur

Madonna has been grabbing headlines lately due to looking unrecognizable at the 2023 Grammy Awards. People were quick to flood social media with their shocked reactions, calling out the 64-year-old Queen of Pop’s perceived obsession with plastic surgery and urging her to just embrace her age.

She Has A Penchant For Reinventing Herself

Closeup of Madonna wearing veiled hat
Flickr | girls teeth

However, there were also those who attributed Madonna’s altered look to her penchant for reinventing herself. After all, this isn’t the first time she’s changed her appearance in her decades-long career.

Let’s take a look at her many faces below.

1980s

Madonna with messy hair in the '80s
Flickr | Truus, Bob & Jan too!

The eccentric artist rose to fame in the ‘80s with iconic hits like Material Girl, Like a Virgin, and Like a Prayer. She was a beautiful 20-something woman back then and obviously didn’t need any cosmetic treatments.

Punk Madonna

Madonna with short blonde hair in the '80s
Flickr | booboo_babies

Her signature look in the ‘80s? Messy hair, thick eyebrows, and heavy makeup, which she mixed with punky outfits consisting of tutus and fishnets. Later during the decade, she would transition into short blonde curls.

1990s

Closeup of Madonna with platinum blonde hair in the '90s
Flickr | RobertoMDNA

In the ‘90s, when Madonna was in her 30s, rumors started spreading that she’d begun having cosmetic procedures on her face. Though she never confirmed them, fans suspected she had a nose job and Botox.

Alleged Nose Job, Botox, And Collagen Injections

Madonna's "Justify My Love" single cover
Flickr | mossos007

In the video for her 1990 single, Justify My Love, she also had fuller lips, leading fans to speculate she’d had collagen injections.

2000s

Madonna performing in the 2000s
Flickr | ladypkm1

Plastic surgery rumors continued into the 2000s. For example, when the Take a Bow singer was seen with what appeared to be facial bruising in 2008, people suspected it was due to lower eyelid surgery.

Alleged Cosmetic Procedures

Madonna performing in the 2000s
Flickr | ladypkm1

It was also alleged that she underwent a procedure called ribbon lift to address the sagging skin on her neck area. Though she never confirmed the rumors, she seemed to drop a hint when she once said, “I don’t regret any of it, but I do sometimes think: ‘Oh God, what was I thinking....’”

2010s

Madonna performing in 2015
Flickr | alanmerson1

In the 2010s, Madonna was in her 50s but still appeared to have wrinkle-free skin. She never admitted to getting Botox, though, and instead attributed her youthful look to a strict macrobiotic diet.

Her Current Look

And now, her much-talked-about Grammys look. Dr. Michael Horn, a board-certified plastic surgeon from Chicago, talked to Daily Mail about the procedures he thought she might have had. They include a facelift, a nose job, a brow lift, Botox, and a lot of facial fillers.