Why Meryl Streep Refuses To Get Plastic Surgery

Remember that scene in the 2009 movie "It's Complicated" when Meryl Streep's character runs out of the doctor's office after a brow-lift consultation? Well, that's not far off from how the actor feels about cosmetic surgery herself. The movie mogul has been in Hollywood long enough to watch her peers go from wrinkles to plastic. She, however, has insisted she will never go under the knife, or get poked with a needle, for that matter.

Streep's powerful deliveries on the silver screen are what captivate her audience the most, not smile lines or crow's feet. That's not to say her un-Botoxed face isn't naturally stunning, with her prominent cheekbones and gorgeous blue eyes. Of course, like many people, it took Streep some time to find peace with her appearance. "So much of a young girl's life — of my life — was taken up with worrying if I was attractive enough, or appealing enough," she told Vanity Fair in 2009. "After a while, I got sort of tired of worrying about it."

However, the three-time Oscar winner doesn't judge the reasoning behind receiving cosmetic surgery. "To each his own," she said (via E! News). "I really understand the chagrin that accompanies aging, especially for a woman, but I think people look funny when they freeze their faces." In addition, Streep has gone deeper into her reasoning regarding why plastic surgery just isn't for her.

There's a reason photographer Brigitte Lacombe adores photographing Meryl Streep, and it's because the actor isn't holding on to her young attraction and is rather embracing her mature beauty. That's what she told Vanity Fair in 2009, adding that attempting to freeze time in their face will keep them from playing characters in later stages of life. "There are quick changes of mood — extraordinary, like quicksilver — and you can see them on her skin," Lacombe said.

Streep has a similar sentiment about the push to alter one's face, saying: "When I see it in people I meet, it's like an interruption in communication with them. It's like a flag in front of the view, and that, for an actor, is like wearing a veil—it's not a good thing." Authenticity is clearly Streep's key to aging so gracefully. While her fans feel lucky to watch the prolific actor continue her decades-long run in the industry, Streep admitted she feels just as fortunate. "I remember as I was hovering around 40, I thought each movie would be my last, really," she told WSJ Magazine, noting how aging has forced women out of the industry since the beginning. 

In fact, Streep is not the only woman in this business who feels an aversion to inauthenticity — for example, some are embracing their naturally gray hair. Stars like Kate Winslet and Salma Hayek welcome the natural look, which Hayek says has given her more opportunities to play nuanced characters. ​​"If you told me today there's a magic potion that can take you back to 25, I would never take it," she told The New York Times. "Because I like me better now."