Lil’ Kim Makeover: Fab Or Fail?

Kimberly Denise Jones was a curvy girl with a button nose, a big voice, and big dreams when rapper Notorious B.I.G. snapped her up from Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood and put her on stage with Junior M.A.F.I.A. But Lil’ Kim always sought approval from men, and her abusive relationships led her to making plastic surgery a habit. Her first nose job was reportedly more functional than cosmetic, after a violent boyfriend busted her nose. She told The Source, “I’ve had the black eye, bloody lips, busted nose. I came out of the hospital from getting my nose done and he broke my [bleep] again.” Puffy, before he underwent his makeover and became Diddy, discouraged Kim from getting a breast lift, but later praised the results of her surgery. “Damn, you look good,” he told her.

Many plastic surgeries and more than a few revealing outfits later (remember those tassles?), Kim stepped out from under the shadow of B.I.G. and Puffy and went on to a solo career — headlining the colorful “Lady Marmalade” video with Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Pink. This year, after a stint in the slammer, she competed on Dancing With the Stars. Has her makeover been fab or fail?