I think it’s fair to assume many celebrities have undergone various degrees of plastic surgery. Some have had botox, while others have chosen to alter their entire bodies. For Amanda Lepore, her experiments with the surgeon’s knife are partly responsible for why she’s famous.
The transgender woman has previously said that she has “the most expensive body on Earth,” having undergone numerous surgeries to change both her face and body.
Lepore began transitioning to become a female with the help of hormones at age 15. Then, in her late-teenage years, she tried plastic surgery for the first time.
Today, she’s 54-years of age – and here’s what she looks like now.
Now, we all want to be the best version of ourselves we can be, and for some, that also means looking good. Or at least what we ourselves perceive to be ‘looking good’. This can entail everything from enjoying dressing up, to testing new skin lotions and different beauty regimes, to dieting or working out in a bid to feel good about ourselves.
Amanda Lepore – ‘inflated’ doll
For some, though, this isn’t enough. Botox and other treatments are pretty common today, and if there’s anything plastic surgery has taught us over the years, it’s that it’s not – as was once assumed – all about drastically changing ones appearance.
No, for some people, having plastic surgery is more about wanting to feel more comfortable with their looks.
Ultimately, we should all be able to do what we want where our appearance is concerned, so long as what we’re doing doesn’t impose any risks upon our life. Put simply, our bodies are ours, and certain people can benefit from adjusting a little here and there.
Of course, there are a few people who take it a bit further, namely those who really do want to completely change the way they look.
One such individual is Amanda Lepore. She underwent gender reassignment surgery at the age of 17, and today she’s become a fashion icon, model, and even an author.
Amanda has gone through many plastic surgeries, and claims to have the most expensive body on Earth. At 52, that statement is bold, but is it true?
How, and why, did she get the body she now has? Here’s all you need to know about her transformation over the years.
Amanda Lepore had a feeling that she had been born in the wrong body when she was still just a child.
Amanda Lepore – early life
Born Armand Lepore on November 21, 1967, in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, she had a tough childhood. Her mother had schizophrenia and was hospitalized, while her father, an Italian-American, abandoned the family when Amanda was only 14 years of age.
“I have a really good memory, and the early part is not all good memories,” she told Observer. “I didn’t like doing it at first. My mother is always on my mind. I don’t think about the past – especially those years. I live in the moment.”
At the same time as Lepore was trying to navigate her teenage years, her mother’s schizophrenia – for better or worse – helped give her some insight into life.
She explained that her mother usually never did her hair or makeup and looked “terrible” when sick. However, when she was on medication, and thus happy, she wore makeup and went to a beauty parlor. This sparked something within Amanda, creating what she thinks of as almost a life motto.
“I associate glamour with being happy. If you put on high heels and lipstick or get a new outfit, you feel great,” she explained. “It’s a celebration of loving yourself, and the whole ritual of it is so great.”
At 10, Amanda saw a television show about gender reassignment surgery. She told her parents that she wanted surgery because she identified as a girl.
At 15, she became friends with a transsexual stripper, who gave her hormones in exchange for bikini tops Amanda had designed.
Her father didn’t like the idea of her going through with a gender reassignment surgery, but since he had already abandoned his family, Amanda saw her chance to become the person she always knew she was.
Gender reassignment surgery
Her mother, meanwhile, supported her daughter; when Amanda started to dress as a girl, she bought her lipstick and a padded bra. Her name was easily changed, and so she decided to add an “a” so that she became Amanda in place of Armand.
In 1985, before her 18th birthday, Amand needed her parents’ permission to undergo reassignment surgery.
When she was 15, she went through with a rhinoplasty, having her nose slimmed down and shaped to appear more upturned at the tip.
“It healed quicker than the doctor expected, and the packing gauze went down my throat,” she told the New York Post. The procedure was done in New York – the doctor, who she met in a nightclub, did it for free.
Though her mother supported her, she couldn’t accept that she wanted to undergo gender reassignment surgery. To save her dream, Amanda came up with an idea, arranging for her father-in-law to adopt her. He paid a doctor in New York to do the procedure and thereafter signed the necessary documents.
“I think he was happy that his son found a nice girl,” Lepore said about her father-in-law paying the surgery bill.
Moved to New York and became a star
The operation was a success, and Amanda continued on her journey to becoming the woman she always wanted to be. In 1988, aged 21, she received her first set of breast implants. Over the next ten years – which also saw her leave her husband – she had two more breast implants.
“If a girl or a gay guy wants to touch them out of curiosity, I’m fine with that,” she explained. “But with a straight guy, I feel invaded and wonder if he is going to buy me dinner afterward.”
Not only did Amanda leave her husband, but she also went through tragedy when she lost her mother to cancer. She saw her father and brother for the last time at the funeral, before deciding she needed a fresh start to her life. She moved to New York – and it didn’t take long before she had turned herself into a true star.
In 1990, Amanda appeared on The Joan Rivers Show with NYC’s “Club Kids – the first time she was introduced to the public eye.
Club Kids were, according to Dazed, an “outrageous set of party-goers whose outfits and personas heavily shaped the New York club scene.” She worked several jobs before meeting famous director and photographer David LaChapelle. Amanda would go on to become a model, working with David and other prominent photographers like Terry Richardson and Ruben van Schalm.
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Her talent for acting was obvious. Though she didn’t move on to star regularly in Blockbuster films, Amanda featured in several music videos and even appeared in the 2001 comedy film Zoolander, as well as in several documentaries.
“I had to work hard to look nice”
She also recorded music and was able to collaborate with several rap artists.
As she was a transsexual model, Amanda became a huge inspiration for many. What’s more, her passion for glamour allowed her to keep her focus.
“It kept me out of trouble,” she said. “When I worked for [club promoter] Michael Alig, everybody was overdoing partying. It would take me so long to get ready because I was never one of those girls that were naturally the cover of Vogue. I had to work hard to look nice.”
“I would take hours and hours to get ready. If you have high heels on, if you’re dressed nice, you really can’t be drunk or sloppy because it’s dangerous. It’s part of being a lady, so it really kept me out of trouble.”
Lepore became a celebrated individual for her excellent performances and talents. At the same time, her looks became of interest to the public, especially since she laid claim to having “the most expensive body on Earth.”
By her own admission, Amanda underwent numerous surgeries in her 20s, and has go on to have several more.
Her procedures include having her hairline lowered and eyebrows lifted, giving the impression that she has a smaller forehead. Other surgeries followed, such as cheekbone augmentation, double eyelid surgery (removing skin), lip augmentation, and eye surgery to make her eyes bigger and more “doll-like.”
Broke her bottom ribs to get a smaller waist
In 2000, she underwent rib reshaping surgery in Mexico. She explained that she had her bottom ribs broken and pushed in to achieve a smaller waist and a more hourglass-like figure. She also does “corset training” for a few hours each day.
All told, Amanda’s surgeries have been reported to have cost her over $1million. She herself says she doesn’t know the total amount.
“Fortunately, everything was at its best when I had it done,” she told Observer.
“I didn’t have to do silicone injections in the boobs and things like that. They had implants by then. In those ways, I was lucky. And the sex change was really good. I didn’t have to fix everything.”
In 2017, Amanda published her first book, Doll Parts. Through it, she gave the world a fresh perspective on her life, sharing inspirational stories and lessons learnt.
As stated, the 54-year-old has undergone many surgeries, but in the end, the most important thing is that she’s comfortable and happy with herself. In her book, Amanda explained that she feels like a doll.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, she has a net worth of around $2 million.
Amanda Lapore – pictures
“I’m inflated in the right places. I think I look better than a blow-up doll,” Amanda Lepore told Out.
“I do have that blow-up doll thing with the boobs, and the big round lips and the long hair. My boobs and lips and ass and hips are inflated. My head a little bit, too”.
She also added that there weren’t any surgeries she wanted that the doctors refused to do.
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“No, but I recently got my eyes done, and I was really happy with them. They’re now much more doll-like. I’m glad I waited because I went to a Korean doctor, and they know how to make Japanese eyes into white eyes. I wanted my eyes bigger,” Amanda explained.
“I think I look a lot more proportionate. It makes everything else look natural because everything else is fake, so I have matching eyes now. I know I said I wasn’t going to do any surgery, and I was happy, but who can resist bigger doll eyes?
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