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“I'm just a real person and I tell it like it is. I don't have a lot of secrets, which has been a fault of mine.” Born in New York City but raised by her aunt in Athens, Georgia, Linnethia Monique “NeNe” Leakes embraced life in The Peach State especially as an adult when The Real Housewives of Atlanta came calling in 2008. After years of making minor appearances on shows like The Parkers and even an uncredited film role in The Fighting Temptations starring Beyoncé Knowles and Cuba Gooding, Jr., the reality circuit seemed like the logical next step for Leakes who found instant fame.

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Building name recognition on the series from 2008 to 2016, Leakes slowly transitioned back into acting where she appeared as Roz Washington on Glee from 2012 to 2015 and as Rocky Rhoades in The New Normal from 2012 to 2013. Ultimately finding her niche and even extending her reach by launching her own production company, fashion line and one-woman comedy tour, Leakes is now a household name in Hollywood who has popped up everywhere from Dancing with the Stars and The Celebrity Apprentice to Lip Sync Battle, Cupcake Wars and Fashion Police.

Known for speaking her mind on The Real Housewives and even now as a regular panelist on To Tell The Truth alongside Betty White, Leakes is one of the few celebrities who has been forthcoming about her history of plastic surgery. In fact, in 2010, she decided that it was time to freshen up her look saying, “I’m very comfortable and confident in myself. I just wanted a tune up.” That tune-up included a rhinoplasty, breast implants, a breast lift and liposuction to shrink her waistline.

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Although many of her fans argued that she was already beautiful and didn’t need surgery, Leakes embraced her decision and prepared herself for even the harshest criticism which, thankfully, never came. “I still wanted to look like NeNe, the black woman that I am, but a better version,” she said. The surgeries changed her body so much that she dropped to a size 8 but the boost to her career was even more noticeable as her time under the knife placed her in high demand on daytime talk shows and late night television as well as in tabloid headlines around the country.

In 2016, Leakes came forward once again and admitted that she had another procedure in the weeks beforehand saying, “Yes, I had my nose done again.” Admitting that this rhinoplasty was not for cosmetic reasons but to help her physically, she claimed, “My cartilage was growing in my nose and my tip was touching the top of my lip. But I didn’t get a full rhinoplasty the first time. When I did the first time, I only had my nostrils taken in on the side and then, this time, I had more cartilage removed around my nose.”

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Leakes reported that the rhinoplasty from six years ago was only because of her insecurities about her nose. “I didn’t love my nose and I wanted to do [it] to make it more beautiful for myself,” she said. “I would never just do my nose for the purpose of doing my nose.” Although Leakes understood her own reasoning, many of her fans didn’t and took to Twitter to criticize the former Glee star. “People are constantly judging and picking people apart. It’s absolutely horrible,” Leakes said when asked about the criticism. “I got my nose done, first of all, because I can and I will and I will get it done again if I want to, OK?”

With her nose transformation being exceptionally noticeable especially when comparing before and after pictures, many experts argue that the New York native hasn’t stopped there. Over the last year, she’s been the focus of a whirlwind of rumors that she’s bleaching her skin for a lighter look in addition to having extensive work done on her chin. As for these rumors, Leakes argues that they are entirely false but that she isn’t the least bit intimidated or afraid to go back to the plastic surgeon when she sees something that needs fixing. To prove her point, she took to Instagram where she joked, “Looks like I see a roll coming on my side! Calling the plastic surgeon now!”

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Obviously able to handle the criticism in stride, Leakes has proven she won’t let anything stop her from looking her best even if it means going under the knife time and time again. In the meantime, it certainly hasn’t harmed her career as she’s enjoying great success on To Tell The Truth, with her clothing line and on her one-woman comedy tour titled So Nasty, So Rude. Then again, it’s hard to tell whether her success is rooted in her talent or is the result of having her cosmetic surgeon on speed dial. We may never know!