Jessica Alves (formerly Rodrigo Alves; born 30 July 1983)[3] is a Brazilian-British television personality noted for having undergone dozens of plastic surgeries to alter her appearance. Prior to her transition, she was often referred to as a human Ken doll.
Jessica Alves | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rodrigo Alves 30 July 1983 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Nationality |
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| Other names |
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| Citizenship | British |
| Alma mater | London College of Communication |
| Occupation(s) | TV celebrity, air steward[1] |
| Known for | Extensive plastic surgeries[2] |
Early life and education
Alves was born Rodrigo Alves on 30 July 1983 in São Paulo, Brazil, to a Brazilian mother and a British father.[4] Her father, Roserval Alves, hailed from a Portuguese family who arrived in Brazil in the 1940s.[5] Initially the family was in the farming trade but expanded their business involvement to include supermarkets, shopping centres and real estate.[5] When she was young, her grandfather bought her Barbie dolls. Although Alves was assigned male at birth, from “the age of three, four, five, six” she considered herself to be female, played with dolls and cross-dressed.[6][7] She believes people should not be defined by gender.[8] She was shy, and bullied throughout childhood.[9] As a teen, Alves had a hormone difference, with atypical estrogen amounts for her assigned sex, causing breast tissue to grow; her other features were also picked on by the bullies.[9][7] Her family has a string of grocery stores in Brazil which has made them wealthy, but as of 2018, Alves has not made any profit relating to the stores.[10]
Alves moved to London at age 18, where she studied public relations at London College of Communication.[3][4] She has money from an inheritance from her maternal grandparents.[5]
Biography
Alves has had several episodes of surgery, including nose jobs which resulted in the loss of her sense of smell.[9] Soon after that experience she underwent surgery in Brazil to inject a gel into her arms to make them look more muscular.[9] She lost use of both arms for a while, and the experience led her to seek psychotherapy.[9] In 2013, Alves was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder; a “mental health condition where a person spends an obsessive amount of time worrying about flaws in their appearance”.[9]
Alves appeared on the American reality series Botched in 2017 (season 4, episode 4), where cosmetic surgeons attempt to improve unsuccessful cosmetic surgeries. Paul Nassif refused to undertake additional rhinoplasty on Alves, noting the nasal passages were blocked with scarring, nasal tissue had not recovered from previous surgeries, and Alves was at risk of substantial necrosis.[11]
As of 2018, Alves had homes in London and Marbella, Spain, and was a regular presenter on television.[5][10] She has a sizeable monthly pension from inheritance from her grandparents, and rents properties in Puerto Banús in Spain to tourists.[5] Her net worth in 2018 was estimated at over £30 million.[5] In 2018, Alves travelled between London and Brazil for work and found that being widely recognised, and being asked for selfies, had its downside, and felt a new freedom when cross-dressing as Jessica.[10] The idea of transitioning gender identity, outwardly, to permanently being female was put on hold, in part because of objections from her father.[10]
As of January 2018, Alves has spent just over £500,000 undergoing 103 cosmetic procedures, including injections, 51 of which were plastic surgeries.[12][3] Alves has undergone liposuction, had gel filler injected into shoulders, biceps, and triceps, applies minoxidil topically, has had hair implants and a number of facelifts, wears tinted contact lenses, and has had twelve rhinoplasties.[4] Her first plastic surgery was at the age of 17 to remove gynecomastia.[4] Her first nose job was when she was 19, As of March 2020[update], she has spent an estimated £650,000 on 60 operations to emulate a Barbie doll.[13] Alves recounted that pre-transition she tried to compensate for her lack of masculine tendencies by trying to look more so through the surgeries, "I'd always felt feminine and when I struggled to be manly with my personality, I decided to make my appearance as masculine as possible instead, ... But no matter how much I looked like Ken nothing eased the pain of being Barbie inside."[13]
In August 2018, Alves appeared on the UK television show Celebrity Big Brother as a celebrity housemate. After using the n-word in a conversation about the type of sexual partner she preferred, Alves was given a final warning by producers that if she repeated the offensive language she would be evicted from the house. The incident garnered over 1,000 complaints to regulator Ofcom.[14] After an unspecified "incident", Alves was expelled from the show in the early hours of the morning on the tenth day.[15][16]
In March 2019, Alves released a song with Italian plastic surgeon Giacomo Urtis called "Plastic World".[17]
In January 2020, Alves came out as transgender after three months of living in privacy.[18] She shared that she had always been depressed and felt that, as risky as more surgeries were, she needed to transition or she would die.[6][19] She underwent both breast augmentation and vaginoplasty.[20] During the early COVID-19 pandemic, she was separated from her family but reunited with them in June.[6] In July 2020, Alves announced that she had changed her name to Jessica.[21] In August 2020, her father died. He had long been worried about Jessica dying from a surgery; they remained close nevertheless.[6]
In 2024, Jessica expressed that she desires a sapiosexual relationship.[22]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Celebrity Big Brother | Participant | Season 22 | [23] |
References
- ^ Allcock, Beth (20 August 2018). "Who is Celebrity Big Brother 2018's the Human Ken Doll Rodrigo Alves?". OK!. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ Tutton, Charlotte (23 August 2018). "Celebrity Big Brother star Rodrigo Alves was 'unhappy' before 'extreme' plastic surgery". OK!. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b c Suren Prasad (22 July 2018). "Roddy Alves net worth". Spear's magazine. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d Marianne Mychaskiw (9 March 2017). "Welcome to the Dollhouse: A Conversation with Human Ken Rodrigo Alves". InStyle. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Mallinson, Harriet (26 August 2018). "Rodrigo Alves net worth: Human Ken Doll and ex Celebrity Big Brother star's wealth". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Jessica Alves announces her beloved father Roserval has died". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ a b Frishberg, Hannah (6 January 2020). "'Human Ken Doll' Rodrigo Alves comes out as transgender, now identifies with Barbie". New York Post. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ Janoušková, Kristýna (14 October 2018). "Tak to tu ještě nebylo! Živý Ken Rodrigo Alves si vyšel do společnosti jako Jessica". Super.CZ (in Czech). Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "The harrowing life of the 'Human Ken doll'". NewsComAu. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d "'Human Ken Doll' Rodrigo Alves parades in upside-down bra as father threatens to". Metro. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ Gabi Duncan (JUL 07, 2017). Botched Patient Rodrigo Alves Learns His Nose Could "Die" and "Fall Off" After Extreme Plastic Surgery. E Online, accessed 23 May 2021
- ^ Madeleine Marr (26 April 2018). "He spent half a million dollars on plastic surgery. Miami, meet the Human Ken Doll". Miami.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b Hurst, Brogan-Leigh (10 March 2020). "Roddy Alves is 'born to be a mum' and wants kids after transitioning into Barbie". mirror. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "1,000 complaints over N-word on CBB". BBC News. 21 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Rodrigo Alves removed from Big Brother house". BBC News. 25 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ Donaldson, Laura (17 August 2018). "Celebrity Big Brother fans call for Rodrigo Alves to be kicked off the show". OK!. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Former 'Human Ken Doll' Jessica Alves kissed on boobs by friend outside restaurant but says she's not dating". meaww.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Rodrigo Alves' surgeries in full as she comes out as trans and unveils new identity". Daily Mirror. 5 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Human Ken Doll Rodrigo Alves Considered Suicide Before Transition". RadarOnline. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ Scanlan, Rebekah (27 May 2022). "'Human Ken doll' now unrecognisable after more surgery". News.com.au. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ Gillibrand, Abigail (13 July 2020). "Former Human Ken Doll announces new name as she speaks out on being trans woman". Metro. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Jéssica Alves, a 'Barbie Humana', busca por relação sapiossexual pelo menos uma vez por semana; entenda". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 June 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ Binding, Lucia (26 August 2018). "'Human Ken Doll' Rodrigo Alves removed from Celebrity Big Brother over behaviour". Sky News. Retrieved 8 September 2021.