Mayim Bialik Says She ‘Probably’ Would’ve Asked for Plastic Surgery if She Had Social Media Growing Up
Mayim Bialik recently shared that she’s glad she didn’t grow up in an era of social media.
“I probably would have asked for plastic surgery,” she said. “I definitely wished I had a different face.”
After becoming a teen star on the ’90s sitcom Blossom, the actress received a lot of public scrutiny in and outside of school.
The new normal of Zoom-heavy workdays and TikTok-scrolling nights are forcing us to look at ourselves, a lot—not just in the mirror, but on-screen. And it’s fueling a cosmetic procedure boom, according to recent research from the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. That’s why Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik is glad her formidable years were spent social media-free. If they weren’t, she fears she would’ve underwent plastic surgery, she recently said on Justin Long’s Life is Short podcast.
The actress experienced public scrutiny at a young age after starring on the ’90s sitcom Blossom. “I’m so glad there wasn’t social media, because I already knew all the things I wasn’t invited to, so imagine looking at pictures of it,” she said, calling her high school years a time she wanted to “disappear” because she “felt very unworthy of attention or praise.”
She continued: “I probably would have asked for plastic surgery. A lot of girls would get a nose job at 16 in a lot of circles. I definitely wished I had a different face, which I think is also, a lot of kids go through that, boys and girls. I do think, if social media had existed, I don’t know if that pressure would not have gotten to me in a way where I would have said, ‘I can do it different.’”
The Big Bang Theory star couldn’t help but point out that the self-awareness social media seems to be placing on people of all ages would’ve certainly made her more self-conscious as a teen. “I think I would have gotten into more, I don’t want to say materialistic things, but a lot more body consciousness,” she said. “I mean, it was hard being flat-chested until I was 17, 16, but, like, the depths to which I would have been miserable about it, I think would have been a lot.”
Bialik added that her young fame didn’t go over well with her peers at school, which only exacerbated her insecurities. “Boys didn’t like me in the first place because I was strange and I didn’t have breasts,” she explained. “Girls were not really a fan of me either because I was pulling attention. I had a lot of rough girl experiences in junior high of like, well, ‘We don’t want people to think we’re hanging out with you because you’re famous so we’re just not gonna hang out with you.’”
Thankfully, the now 46-year-old has some healthy relationships (and herself) to thank for the confidence she has built over the years. “I think that’s one of the really beautiful things about adulthood,” she said. “I don’t have a fantastic dating history but I’m grateful that I’ve had partners that have really really found me beautiful. And absolutely you have to ‘find yourself beautiful’ and you need to ‘love yourself’ but I also don’t think there’s anything wrong, especially from a feminist, to say that when someone who sees you emotionally and intellectually also sees beauty in you, it’s very powerful.”
She’s currently dating Jonathan Cohen, who is also the co-host of her podcast, Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.
You Might Also Like
