That fame comes with a certain kind of microscope these days, the type internet detectives use to speculate on the plastic surgeries celebrities are purportedly getting done. Fox doesn’t seem to mind it; she’s in favor of putting all her various cosmetic procedures out there. “It’s super important when you become famous or a public figure to be transparent,” she says. She tells me she started getting filler and Botox around the age of 21 and has also discussed undergoing liposuction, a rhinoplasty, and veneers in past interviews. “Now, when I see someone and I can tell they’ve never done anything…I wish I could go back and be that person. I was so hung up on this idea that I needed to be attractive to men so that I could survive. ”
According to her, she hasn’t gotten anything done recently—apparently, not even the thing you’re thinking of. “I probably will [get more work done one day], but I’m just not as concerned with it right now.”
There’s “something to be said,” she says, about the beauty of an older woman with unaltered features—but that doesn’t mean she isn’t scared of looking or being older one day. “That’s what I think I’m the most scared of, feeling old, and there are times where I feel old…Tired, over it, disillusioned.” What soothes the rub is having developed a stronger sense of self, which got lost in Fox’s quest for protection and attention via conventional beauty. “When you’re young and hot, it’s like that’s your identity. Then you’re like, shit, I need to stay young and hot.”
But at 35, she’s approaching what she calls a crossroads. “Am I going to chase the way I used to look, or am I going to evolve and see what’s on the other side? It could be something totally different, and I’m choosing to go that way. I just want to see who’s there waiting for me,” she says. “It’ll definitely be uncomfortable, but I think I’m ready for it.”
The person on the other side might end up looking a little different from the one people love or hate or tolerate today, but it’s a safe bet she’ll still be the same Julia Fox at the core. Let it be understood, straight from the horse’s mouth, who that actually is: “I’m thorough as fuck, and I will go to bat for the people I love. I’m a mother, and that makes me inherently tough as hell but also compassionate and empathetic. I can be really vulnerable, and I think there’s strength in that. I’m a badass bitch through and through.”
Julia Fox was photographed at House of Yes in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a location renowned for producing nightlife experiences, dance parties, cabaret shows, and theatrical spectacles.
Photographer/Director: Mike Marasco
Stylist: Carolina Orrico
Hair: John Novotny
Makeup: Mitch Yoshida
Manicure: Lolly Koon
Production: Raw Media House
Location: House of Yes
Writer: Nicola Dall’Asen