Ricki Lake Debuts Facelift After 40-Pound Weight Loss

Former television talk show host Ricki Lake, 56, is sharing her recent weight loss journey and the cosmetic procedure she had as a follow-up.

Lake celebrated the one-year anniversary of her “deep plane lower face and neck lift, plus a mild CO2 laser” on Instagram with a series of before-and-after photos.

Her reason for the procedure? “I had lost 40 lbs and did not like the extra skin that hung from below my chin,” she explained. “It was never going to tighten up on its own. Not at 55.”

Lake never lost her confidence, though, saying she “still felt extra cute and loved myself” because she fought to get in “the best shape of my life,” but the procedure was “the icing on the cake.”

The Hairspray actress called the cosmetic procedure a “brave choice” and considers it “one of the best decisions I ever made for myself.”

Ricki Lake attends an event in 2021.

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

She also said she was “thankful” her good friend had a facelift before her, which gave her the assurance to proceed.

The Mayo Clinic says a facelift, also called a rhytidectomy, is a clinical procedure to reduce saggy skin and smooth the folds of the skin on the cheeks and jawline.

News-anchor-turned-TV-personality Julie Chen Moonves, 55, chatted with AARP in 2023 about the reaction she received from others when she decided to get a facelift.

“The most important reactions to monitor are from your mom, your husband and your makeup artist. In that order. Actually, maybe makeup artist first,” she joked.

“And it was all amazing and positive — a lot of support before and after, no regrets. And the good news is the public reaction wasn’t, like, ‘What happened, you look different!’ Because I did learn early on, you don’t want to look different. You want to look rested. So I think we achieved that.”

Chen Mooves said she was “so glad” to have had the procedure.

“Not once did I ever think of backing out or regretting it,” she said. “I was happier than I even expected to be. The results were better than I could have imagined.” 

AARP has tips on how to look younger over 50 and nine cosmetic procedures to smooth and tighten skin.