The Staggering Amount Of Plastic Surgery Procedures Joan Rivers Had Done

On top of her legacy as a late-night trailblazer who could hold her own in a male-dominated timeslot, late comedian Joan Rivers was also known to the public for the exorbitant amount of plastic surgery she had done during her life. Rivers looks unrecognizable in throwback photos because she elected to undergo all sorts of cosmetic procedures over a 50-year span, ranging from, but not limited to, facelifts, a nose job, and plenty of Botox, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Speaking with the late Barbara Walters in a 2012 segment of "20/20" (via Burgess Plastic Surgery), Joan also revealed she would get dermal fillers biannually.

While it's known that Joan had an extensive amount of cosmetic surgery done throughout her life, the number of procedures she had up until her death in September 2014 varies, depending on who you ask. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, CNN personality Anderson Cooper once asked Rivers if she had, in fact, had 734 surgeries in her lifetime. Rivers said that the true quantity was actually 739.

Joan's daughter, Melissa Rivers, reported a much smaller number in her memoir, "The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation," claiming her mother underwent 348 surgeries in her lifetime (via USA Today). Regardless of which, if any, of these numbers is true, it's reasonable to assume the amount of cosmetic procedures Rivers underwent falls somewhere within the hundreds.

In an interview with The Times' Tim Teeman in October 2010, Rivers explained that she started getting plastic surgery because she felt unattractive, and she had no remorse about doing so. "I've never regretted it," she said. "In this business you have to look fresh and clean on camera. You don't want to see Clint Eastwood with a turkey neck or Julia Roberts looking like she needs a wash." In fact, she told Barbara Walters on "20/20" that getting such work done helped boost her confidence. "I think it gives you such self-esteem," she said. "It makes you feel good. It's a very happy experience."

Regardless of the attention she received for her cosmetic changes, Rivers maintained a humorous outlook toward her appearance. On multiple occasions, she could be heard joking about her procedures and how she looked, from wishing she had a twin in order to see what she might naturally look like, to always wearing bandages. "I've had so much plastic surgery, when I die, they will donate my body to Tupperware," she once said, per Variety.