Hailee Steinfeld, Before and After

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When you've covered red carpet beauty for as long as I have on this website, you've got a gold mine of Before & After material, just waiting to be rediscovered.

That's what I realized when I recently stumbled upon an old photo of Hailee Steinfeld. One that I published back in 2011!

Frankly, it hadn't crossed my mind that the actress and singer, now 21, had undergone such a transformation. I wasn't even looking for evidence—I was actually doing a visual search of my archives to reference a look I remembered on somebody else!

But as soon as I saw her picture, I KNEW I had to share it (er, re-share it) with you guys. 

Like most celebs, it appears that Hailee may have done some cosmetic tinkering over the years. And now that I've compared her “befores” to her “afters,” I don't quite know how we missed this! 

Take a look at her surprising beauty evolution:

Hailee in 2010

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2010 National Board of Review Gala.

To start things off, I went even further back, to 2010—the year when Hailee first started making appearances on the red carpet. She was only 13 here! You'll recognize her signature full brows and long, brown hair. What's different is her nose, along with her teeth and lips, and possibly even her eyes (!!). 

Hailee in 2011

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2011 Women in Film pre-Oscar cocktail party.

In this shot, Hailee looks even more baby-faced, even though it was taken the following year. Unlike most teens in the pre-Cara Delevingne era, she left her brows alone instead of tweezing them into oblivion—smart girl! As with the previous photo, we can see that she has a naturally thin upper lip, and her brows were low and straight, not arched.

Hailee Steinfeld at Paris Fashion Week in 2011.

So THIS was the shot I happened upon by accident; the one that made me go, “Wow, she looks so different now!” I mean, she was already more polished than your average 14-year-old. But I immediately noticed that her nose was wider and more prominent here (even though it wasn't a “big” nose by any means). Her teeth were also uneven and a bit yellow.

Hailee in 2012

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2012 Young Hollywood Awards.

I'm sure I would've had a similar reaction to this picture. I actually had to double check that it was, in fact, the same person! And it is Hailee—at age 15. She has a mixed heritage (Filipino, African-American, British, German and Jewish), so that might explain why her features seem to change, depending on the makeup and the angles (something Olivia Munn has talked about experiencing as well). It also looks like she darkened her hair to a near-black shade. 

Hailee Steinfeld at a 2012 Rag & Bone show.

Even though this shot is from farther away, I'm sure you'll agree with me that Hailee's face doesn't look like this anymore! The main obvious thing is that her nose was more dominant, compared to her eyes and lips. (We can also see hair on her upper lip from here, but hey, none of us were at our best at this age!)

Hailee in 2013

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards.

Clearly, Hailee's devotion to bold, sparkly shadow began in 2013, when she was 16. With such heavy makeup, it's hard to say whether her eyes were indeed less “open” back then. This was before the trend of over-lined lips, so we can easily see her natural lip shape.

Hailee Steinfeld at Teen Vogue's 2013 Young Hollywood Party.

Hailee got these long, lash-skimming bangs a few months before her 17th birthday. It's such a different look for her; I love it! By now, she had discovered lip liner… or could that already be filler in her upper lip? We also get a good look at her nose, without it being widened by a smile. 

Hailee in 2014

Hailee Steinfeld at a 2014 Tory Burch store opening.

Hailee continued to work the bangs in early 2014, wearing them with this adorable Bardot-inspired half-up style. She was so cute before she got into the more aggressively sexy looks she's been favouring as of late! Again, her lips look fuller, and I suspect her nose may have been altered by now. She was probably getting Invisalign, too, as she doesn't show her teeth until we get to 2023.

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2014 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards.

Here's another one where Hailee's eyes look narrower, probably also because of the waterline eyeliner. Her hair is darker again, which contributes to her different appearance. During these years, she was dealing with the typical teenage skin challenges, which we can see on her forehead. 

Hailee in 2015

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2015 premiere of 'Barely Lethal.'

In 2015, Hailee started stepping out with more grown-up hair and makeup, such as these smoky eyes with sleek, centre-parted hair. I don't know if that's why it seems like we can see more of her eyes from this point forward, or if she made use of a longer-lasting technique! She was still struggling with acne here.

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Here's the type of makeup I've come to identify with (and love on) Hailee. See what I mean about her eyes?! We can see more of her pupils, and she has a lot more lid space now, versus 2010. FYI, that kind of lift can be done with Botox. Normally, I wouldn't suspect 18-year-olds of undergoing procedures like that, but consider also that her lips are now equal in plumpness, too.

Hailee in 2016

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2016 premiere of 'The Edge of Seventeen.'

By 2016, Hailee was becoming a red carpet regular, with elevated styling to reflect her newfound fame as a pop star. She was 19 here, so the loss of some baby fat could account for her slimmer facial structure. She also started to play with highlighting and contouring, as you can see with her nose—although I still don't think that accounts for its new shape! Her skin has also cleared up beautifully.

Hailee Steinfeld at Billboard's 2016 Women in Music event.

Did you just do a double take? Same here—I never in a million years would have identified this as Hailee! Despite following her red carpet appearances since 2011, I really had no idea she could look this different, depending on the makeup. That is, unless there's something else at play related to injectables. 

Hailee in 2023

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2023 Oscars.

I recall feeling a little disappointed in Hailee when I saw this photo, because of her lips. She both over-lined them AND amped up their size with fillers. I just didn't peg her as the type! Now it's more apparent that she's been doing it for years—and maybe not just in that area. Her one eyebrow is “Spocking,” which is often a telltale sign of Botox.

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2023 American Music Awards.

And just like that, Hailee morphed into a baby J.Lo! They now share a makeup artist, so that explains the aggressive lip gloss, over-lining and facial sculpting. To be clear, I don't dislike this—it's just that the lips are goopy, and obviously faux (they're lumpy!).

Hailee in 2023

Hailee Steinfeld at Lip Sync Battle Live in 2023.

Alyssa Milano, is that you? That's who Hailee reminds me of here! I think it's the curly updo, the '90s-inspired styling… and the way her features have been altered and/or over-drawn! Allow me to draw your attention again to her nose. Her face was at this same angle in our first 2011 shot, and you can see how it's changed in both the bridge and the tip. We also get a glimpse of her new, super-white, super-straight teeth.

Hailee Steinfeld at the 2023 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala.

That brings us to our most recent Hailee photo, where she's looking more glam than ever. It's hard to believe she's still only 21! The red lipstick is a welcome change from all the nudes, and her skin finish keeps getting better, while using subtle contouring to sculpt her face. Honestly? If I only saw this photo, I'd never dream that she'd undergone cosmetic procedures!

Conclusion

Hailee Steinfeld in 2013 (left) and in 2023 (right).

Hailee Steinfeld in 2010 (left) and in 2016 (right).

Hailee Steinfeld in 2011 (left) and in 2023 (right).

I'm giving you three angles here because this is one Before & After where you really need to see the “befores” beside the “afters” to believe it! Hailee just isn't on the radar when you think of celebrities who've had “work” done. 

That's why I haven't found any cosmetic surgeons talking about this (yet), unlike more obvious cases such as Ashley Tisdale, Khloé Kardashian and Iggy Azalea. 

Still, there's not much doubt in my mind that she had a procedure on her nose to make it narrower, with a more prominent bridge and pointier tip. Contouring can only do so much! 

The same goes for lip liner. As we know from Kylie Jenner, that doesn't explain how an upper lip can suddenly double in size. It has to be filler. 

She also got her teeth realigned and whitened—they're blindingly white now! And most likely, she worked with a dermatologist to clear her skin using medication and/or lasers. 

The one thing I'm not sure about, but suspect, is Botox injections to lift her lids and make her eyes more open. 

All in all, it's good work. It's just a lot of work, for someone her age. I can't help but notice how these procedures are quickly becoming a rite of passage for certain young people—NOT done to address the changes that happen with aging, which was the original intent!

How do you feel about Hailee's beauty evolution?
Which of these looks is your favourite?
What “beauty work” do you think she's had done?