- In Hollywood, there's plenty of pressure to be "perfect," and that includes having a blindingly white, exceedingly straight smile.
- But not everyone has chosen to go that route — these 11 celebrities have all kept one of their "imperfections:" their tooth gap.
- Michael Strahan considered closing his once, but has since decided against it.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Can you imagine Madonna without the signature gap between her two front teeth? What about Eddie Murphy? Most likely, no.
While some celebrities choose to close their gaps, like Demi Lovato and Zac Efron, and others have had theirs close accidentally (looking at you, Dakota Johnson), the following 11 have chosen to keep their gaps for a number of reasons. Uzo Aduba says hers is an inherited trait passed down in her family, while Rachel Lindsay said it simply adds character.
Here are 11 celebrities who are known for their tooth gaps.
Madonna's slight gap adds character to the Material Girl's smile.
We can't imagine this '80s icon with any other smile, though she's made some bold dental choices in the past, like when she chose to wear grills.
Michael Strahan has never gotten rid of his gap because he doesn't "want to be perfect."
The "Good Morning America" host told Elle in 2012 that he's come close to closing his gap in the past, but decided against it.
"There's so much pressure to be perfect. You can fix everything now. For me, I made the conscious effort to say 'This is who I am.' I'm not perfect. I don't want to try to be perfect. At this point, I don't think my kids would recognize me without it," the former footballer said.
Anna Paquin has said she doesn't "really care" about changing her teeth.
Paquin told Zooey in 2012 that while there are certain things she's insecure about, her gap isn't one of them.
"Interestingly enough, I don't really care about my teeth, but I think any woman on this planet could say, 'I wish my a-- was smaller, my arms were thinner, and I had green eyes not brown,'" the "True Blood" star said.
She added that maybe closing the gap could affect her acting career: "If you have a whole bunch of work done with your teeth and your face and your boobs then you're only going to play modern people," she said.
Eddie Murphy proudly shows off his gap teeth when he smiles.
Ever since he appeared on screen as the newest teenager to join "Saturday Night Live," Murphy has had a pretty sizable gap.
Read more: WHERE ARE THEY NOW: All 152 cast members in 'Saturday Night Live' history
Elijah Wood has a boyish smile, complete with a little gap between his two front teeth.
Wood became famous as Frodo Baggins in the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy in 2001, and has seemingly never felt compelled to change his unique smile.
Uzo Aduba admitted that she didn't smile much as a kid, but has learned to love her teeth.
The "Orange is the New Black" actress opened up to Cosmopolitan in 2014 about learning to appreciate her teeth, though it was a long process. When she begged for braces as a kid, her mother explained that the gap was passed down in her family for generations, and that she wished she had inherited it.
"In Nigeria, my mom explained, a gap is a sign of beauty and intelligence (Take that, Chiclets!). People want it. My mother desperately wished she had the gap, but wasn't born with one. She continued to lay on the guilt, explaining that my gap was 'history in my mouth,'" Aduba wrote.
Rachel Lindsay bonded with one of her suitors on "The Bachelorette" about their respective gaps.
Both Lindsay and her runner-up, Peter Kraus, had gap-toothed smiles. They even bonded over it on their very first one-on-one date. According to the former "Bachelorette," her dentist offered to fix it, but said it added character, so she decided to keep it.
Willem Defoe starred in a short film about his teeth called "Mind the Gap."
Defoe has been a star for decades, and has become associated with his distinct smile. So much so, that in 2016 he starred in a short called "Mind the Gap."
"People have suggested I fix them but I like my gaps," he says in the film. The film was sold for over $100,000 at annual charity auction that raises money for various causes.
Seal's gap is just one of his distinctive features, in addition to his facial scars from a form of lupus.
Seal has a very distincyive look. His scars come from his discoid lupus erythematosus, a type of chronic skin condition that can cause "sores, inflammation and the potential to leave large scars," according to Metro UK.
Georgia Jagger is a professional model, but even she gets insecure about her teeth.
The Cut reported in 2014 that the model told The Edit, "I still worry I'm going to look weird as I get older. I'll be a weird old woman with scary teeth." We disagree, and think her gap adds character.
Slick Woods' smile has made her one of the most recognizable models today.
Woods is also known for walking the runway at the Savage x Fenty show in September 2018 while nine months pregnant — in fact, she went into labor that same night.
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