12 Celebrities Who Refuse to Change Their Unique Smiles

“I'm happy with my teeth -- they're healthy and white and very crooked, and they're part of me."

A smile is just one of the many things that makes a person unique -- but in Hollywood, tons of celebrities have faced the pressure to be perfect with a flawless set of pearly whites. While stars often go to great lengths to achieve the ideal smile, including dental tweaks and veneer transformations, it’s not the right choice for everyone. A handful of celebrities have refused to change their teeth, even though they might not fit the mold in the entertainment industry. These stars have stood their ground and chosen to keep their unique smiles, no matter what other people have said.

Find out why these celebs won’t change their smiles…

Aimee Lou Wood

Throughout her career, Aimee Lou Wood’s teeth have been a major topic of conversation, especially after her role in White Lotus was parodied on Saturday Night Live, a move she called “mean and unfunny.” But after so much attention on her teeth and her choice not to change them, she shared that she was done talking about them. 

“It’s, like, cool, and now I want to stop f--king talking about it,” she said in a Sunday Times profile. “Can I talk about my character? Why am I talking about my gnashers? It’s like now I’m just a pair of front teeth.”

She continued, “I understand what it represents. People feel more confident about their imperfections. It does feel a bit weird that the thing I got bullied for is now the thing that everyone’s, like, ‘Woo!’”

Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Erivo has never had the desire to change the gap in her teeth and has no plans to ever alter her smile. She says that she feels that her teeth are perfect the way they are -- and hopes other people feel the same about their own unique smiles. 

“I think a smile that has a gap in it already is perfect,” she said in a Vogue Beauty Secrets video. “I wouldn’t change it. I have never wanted to change it. I never will change it. And I don’t shy away from people looking at my mouth. So if you have a gap out there, enjoy it.”

Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley says she’s never felt the need to change her appearance throughout her career in Hollywood, even though her teeth may be different from other people. Looking back, Keira says she’s thankful that no one ever pressured her to change her teeth -- and she has no plans to ever do it herself.

“I’ve never felt that I was, in any way, exploited in any of the kind of film experiences that I’ve had,” she told CBS News. “Which is quite amazing, because I’ve got wonky teeth. And I keep hearing about everybody going to Hollywood and, you know, their agents going, ‘Straighten your teeth,’ or ‘Whiten your teeth,’ but nobody’s ever said anything about my teeth.”

Kirsten Dunst

When she was just a teenager working on Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst says a producer on the film drove her to a dentist’s office to get her teeth straightened. Kirsten admits she had no idea that’s where they were going and when she figured it out, she refused to get out of the car, telling the executive that she liked her teeth how they were. She credited director Sofia Coppola with being the one to give her confidence to stand up for herself.

“I had Sofia at 16, who I thought was so cool and pretty when I didn’t. She was like, ‘I love your teeth!’” Kristen shared in a Netflix interview. “I didn’t realize at the time. I realized it [later] in the decisions I had made -- not to change teeth, not to blow up my lips, or whatever it is that everyone wants to look like.”

Ayo Edebiri

Ayo Edebiri has decided to never change her teeth and admits that she said no when her dentist tried to insist that she get Invisalign. The actress explained that she wouldn’t allow herself to do it because she wants to ensure that she always looks like her family. 

“I’m not allowed to. I won’t allow myself to. I don’t want to, I want to look like myself. I want to look like my parents, I want to look like my family. I want to look like Black people who are from Boston,” she shared with Bustle.

Jewel

Jewel penned an entire essay about why she’s never chosen to fix her teeth throughout her decades-long career. Although she once wore prosthetic dentures to take on her role as June Carter in Ring of Fire, she says it’s the only time fans will see her with perfect teeth. 

“Despite having written 500 songs, having hits in nearly every genre, getting Grammy nominations, singing for a pope and a president -- [I’m] best known for having crooked teeth,” Jewel wrote for Redbook. “I’ve had Hollywood agents tell me I had to fix my teeth if I ever wanted to act. In ad campaigns, my teeth have been Photoshopped to perfection without my knowledge.”

She continued, “Of course I considered having my teeth fixed. But I knew that if I started down that path, it would be a slippery slope ... I could fix my snaggle or not, and it wouldn't matter – either way, there would be some who think I’m prettier and some who hate it. There is no way to win but to make yourself happy ... I’ve fought hard through many years of ridicule to feel pretty despite my flaws. I’m happy with my teeth -- they’re healthy and white and very crooked, and they’re part of me.”

Kate Moss

As a model, Kate Moss says she quickly learned to accept her flaws and not allow them to make her self-conscious. She explained that as a teenager, she realized that her teeth are what make her stand out -- so there’s no reason to change. And on top of that, she says she completely hates going to the dentist so she actively avoids any extra time in the chair. 

“You’re not self-conscious anymore. You’re not conscious about your flaws. Bowlegs. Crooked teeth. That is what makes you different from everyone else,” she told Interview magazine about becoming comfortable in front of the camera.

She later added, “I lost a tooth, and I went to a dentist in New York, and I had to have a cap made. I came around, and he’d done all these temporary caps for my fangs. He thought this straight line of big white teeth looked good. Actually, [Interview’s editorial director] Fabien was one of the people who said, ‘No! Don’t do it!’”

Uzo Aduba

As a Colgate spokesperson, Uzo Aduba says she’s learned to embrace her smile, even if the gap between her teeth makes her different. Although it bothered her when she was a little girl, she now sees her unique smile as her “superpower.”

“I haven’t always had the best relationship with my smile. When I was younger, I would stand in the mirror, fixating over the gap in my teeth. It wasn’t until I learned my smile is representative of my family’s heritage that it actually became a source of pride for me. This is when I realized that my smile is my superpower,” she wrote on Instagram.

Vanessa Paradis

The gap in Vanessa Paradis’ teeth hasn’t ever bothered her -- in fact, in French culture, her teeth are referred to as “les dents du bonheur,” or lucky teeth. Vanessa says she has no plans on ever changing her smile and jokes that they’re actually pretty useful.  

“Why would I fix them? I was born with them. I can spit water through them. They’re useful!” she told Harper’s Bazaar.

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe has had a gap between his two front teeth for years and it’s never been something he wanted to change. In his short film, Mind the Gap, Willem spoke openly about his unique smile, joking that he even once asked his dentist to make the gap wider.

“People have suggested I fix them but I like my gaps. As my father used to say, ‘Son, your teeth are air-cooled,’” Willem said.

Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi has always refused to change his teeth, even when people told him it would help him advance his career. Looking back, Steve says he believes he actually would have lost work if he had decided to alter his smile. 

“I’ve had dentists who have wanted to help me out, but I say, ‘You know, I won’t work again if you fix my teeth,'” he told The Hollywood Reporter. 

Georgia May Jagger

Georgia May Jagger has taken a firm stance on her unique smile from the time she was a little girl. Looking back, Georgia says she never had any desire to fix her teeth, even refusing braces when she was just a kid. 

“I wouldn’t even have braces on my teeth,” she told The Daily Mail. “I think they are horrible, and this idea that everyone should conform and be perfect is ridiculous. I like the fact I have good old-fashioned British teeth with a big gap. Who wants those gleaming white cosmetically-enhanced American teeth?”