Plastic surgeons weigh in on controversial new film ‘The Apprentice’ that claims former president Donald Trump had liposuction and hair transplants

Former President Donald Trump has undergone several cosmetic procedures, including hair transplants and liposuction.

At least that’s what a controversial new film about Trump’s life in the 1970s and 1980s claims – and experts told DailyMail.com they agree.

The biopic, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, features shocking scenes in which the real estate mogul goes under the knife to shed pounds and restore his thinning hair, according to critics who screened the film at the festival.

Although Trump has denied these allegations, that has not stopped his actions from becoming the focus of intense speculation since his rise to power.

A cosmetic surgeon told DailyMail.com he believes the former president has undergone three to five separate hair transplant procedures and a plastic surgeon said it was possible he had liposuction around his chin and neck.

Dr. Linkov also said that in 1978, at age 32 (right), the “architecture of Donald Trump’s hairline has changed significantly compared to his at age 18 (right). The hairline is much straighter, lower and looks less natural’

‘The Apprentice’, made without input from the 77-year-old Trump, shows the ex-president undergoing liposuction on various parts of his body, a slimming procedure and a hair transplant, in which hair follicles are removed from one part of the body to prevent possible balding spots on the head, in the seventies and eighties.

Dr. Ross Kopelman, a hair transplant surgeon at Kopelman Hair Restorationagreed with the speculation and pointed to several aspects of Trump’s hair as evidence that he has undergone hair restoration procedures.

He told DailyMail.com: ‘One of the most striking aspects of Donald Trump’s hair is its consistent density and coverage over many years. Of course, maintaining this level of hair density can be challenging… Achieving and maintaining this level of hair density often requires multiple hair restoration interventions.”

Dr. Kopelman added, “Observing Trump’s hairline through the decades reveals significant changes. In previous photographs, his hairline showed more recession, especially around the frontal temporal angles.

“Over time, his hairline has become lower and more youthful, suggesting surgical intervention.”

And plastic surgeon Dr. Gary Linkov claimed on YouTube video he also believed that Trump had plug grafts, a type of hair transplant in which surgeons take hair from the back of the head and transplant it into bald areas, which echoed many of Dr. Kopelman reflects.

Dr. Linkov also believes Trump has undergone plug grafts, a type of hair transplant in which surgeons take hair from the back of the head and transplant it into bald spots.

He said in 1978, at age 32, that the “architecture of Donald Trump’s hairline has changed significantly compared to his at age 18.” The hairline is much straighter, lower and appears less natural.

‘And if you look closely, you can see what appear to be little islands of hair. I think he may have undergone a procedure that requires plug transplants.”

Dr. Linkov also points out the change in Trump’s hairline, both in angle and depth, saying that his hairline became straighter in the late 1970s and 1980s and that his hair grew further along his forehead compared to photos from the 1960s.

Trump’s first wife Ivana Trump, who died in 2022, had previously said he had undergone scalp reduction surgery, which involves removing bald skin from the scalp and stretching areas of hair over bald spots to restore hair.

Additionally, the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump reportedly told friends that her father had undergone a scalp reduction procedure, according to Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

In an excerpt published in New York MagazineWolff wrote: [Ivanka] often described the mechanisms behind it [his hair] to friends: an absolutely clean pate – an enclosed island after scalp reduction surgery – surrounded by a hairy circle of hair around the sides and front, from which all the ends are pulled up to meet in the middle and then back are swept and secured by a stiffening spray.’

But in Harry Hurt III’s 1993 book, the Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump, Trump denied having any plastic surgery, although he is no stranger to cosmetics, including fake tan and hair dye.

The film has not yet been released to the public and it is unclear what year the filmmakers claim Trump had liposuction, but photos from the 1970s and 1980s show little difference in the former president’s chin and waist.

The film also claims that the 77-year-old has undergone liposuction, which involves sucking out fat from specific areas of the body, and Ivana has also made these claims, saying that he has had liposuction of his chin and waist.

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Rukmini Rednam told DailyMail.com that it was difficult to speculate whether Trump had undergone liposuction on his waist because he is famous for wearing ill-fitting suits that conceal his figure, but it could be possible could be that he had it around his chin.

She said: ‘It’s difficult to comment on his waist as he rarely wears tight-fitting clothes, but if he had liposuction it appears he hasn’t done the maintenance to maintain his results.

‘It also seems likely that he had submental or chin liposuction and that his neckline appeared clearer, while his weight and the rest of his face appeared largely unchanged.’

The film has not yet been released to the public and it is unclear exactly what year the filmmakers claim Trump underwent the procedure, but photos from the 1970s and 1980s show little difference in the former president’s chin and waist.

In addition to the claims made in the film, Dr. Paul Tulley, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Kensington Medical Facial Specialists, said Subway last month that Trump has likely undergone upper and lower eyelid surgery, also known as an eyelid surgery, as well as a facelift.

Plastic surgeons have also previously speculated to DailyMail.com that the former president could now be taking weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic or Wegovy, after recent photos showed him looking slimmer than when he was in office.

Dr. Shauna Levy, an obesity expert at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, told DailyMail.com: “It is realistic to consider the possibility that he is taking anti-obesity medications.”

The Trump campaign released a statement after the film’s premiere threatening a lawsuit.

Whether or not Trump had any procedures in the 1970s and 1980s, plastic surgeon Dr. Jay Calvert told DailyMail.com: ‘If Donald Trump has had plastic surgery, he clearly needs more. The neck needs attention. He needs an upper eyelid correction [and] it needs a really good facelift.”