Ricki Lake Is Nearly Unrecognizable After Major Plastic Surgery Transformation

Many celebrities don't like to share if they've had cosmetic work done, which can make it difficult to escape from plastic surgery rumors — something Lara Trump, Mariah Carey, and various HGTV stars know all too well. However, Ricki Lake isn't afraid to admit she's gone under the knife — and she looks unrecognizable.

When she appeared in a June episode of "Watch What Happens Live," host Andy Cohen complimented Lake's appearance and the "Cry-Baby" actress confirmed she's had work done. She revealed that she has "had a lower face and neck lift," and Cohen gushed about how great it looked. Hilariously, Lake then thought it was a better facelift than others she's seen before. Honestly, you can't even tell Lake went under the knife; the doctor's work was that seamless.

Lake then explained that she didn't want to keep the cosmetic procedure a secret and didn't want to contribute to the stigma on choosing to have work done. She'd slimmed down and was bothered by the excess skin hanging from her face, so she did something about it. Case closed. Lake has had a stunning transformation, and plastic surgery helped her on that journey.

Ricki Lake's facelift isn't the only aspect of her that makes her unrecognizable. When she rose to fame as the lead in the 1988 movie "Hairspray," she was much plumper. Being plus sized is essential to the role of Tracy Turnblad, so it made sense for them to cast someone with a fuller figure. Still, Lake struggled with feeling comfortable about her weight for decades.

On an episode of "Where Are They Now," Lake told Oprah Winfrey, "I became famous for being a certain size, and I was a role model for so many young women. But I loved when I lost weight and felt good about my body. I loved telling the world!" She added, "At the same time, I felt like I was perpetuating this obsession that we have with weight" (via HuffPost). When Lake began to host her own daytime talk show in 1992, she had shed a lot of pounds and looked quite different.

Lake had dark hair in "Hairspray" and on the talk show, yet she was rocking gray locks on her "Watch What Happens Live" appearance. She explained to host Andy Cohen that she dealt with hair loss, so she decided to just shave her head. When it grew back, she went totally natural instead of coloring it.  After decades of seeing Lake with dark hair, we're rooting for her as she thrives in her gray era.