Mickey Rourke: The many surgeries and highs and lows Hollywood actor has had as he joins Celeb Big Brother

The 72-year-old Oscar-nominated actor and former professional boxer is best-known for his roles in Sin City, The Wrestler, Iron Man 2 and Angel Heart.

He’s just one of the famous faces who will be moving in to the Big Brother house next week, when this year’s Celebrity Big Brother launches, according to a leaked confirmed line-up list.

Outspoken Mickey is a coup for producers, with a source telling The Sun: “The tales that man has to tell will no doubt be legendary and bosses hope it could replicate the success of Sharon [Osbourne] last year, who was very loose-lipped when it came to dishing the dirt on famous faces.”

Mickey Rourke was celebrated as a Hollywood heartthrob. His handsome looks made him a leading man in the 1980s and 1990s in particular, and he is still acting today. The star is known for his many memorable film roles, but his personal life has also been a great source of interest to his fans. There’s no denying that his face has changed throughout his career, and he has even admitted to having surgery.

He’s also had some high profile relationships, as well as some very public feuds with fellow actors. So, just how many surgeries has Mickey had, who has he dated, who has he fallen out with, what’s his net worth, and how much is he going to be paid for entering CBB. Keep reading for all you need to know.

Who is Mickey Rourke?

Mickey is a famed Hollywood actor and also a former professional boxer. Mixing the two careers hasn’t always worked out well for him. He became an amateur fighter in his teens, but also decided to pursue an acting career.

From age 14 to 25, Mickey had a record of 27 wins and three defeats, but he suffered numerous concussions. Aa a result, doctors advised him to take a year off and rest, Rourke eventually quit boxing temporarily.

This is when he focused more on acting, and throughout the 1980s he had many starring roles and gained status as an accomplished actor but also a sex symbol. His career took a downturn in the early 1990s, however, due to reports of difficult behaviour on set. He then left acting to return to his professional boxing career.

This is when his appearance started to change as his boxing injuries caused damage to his face. Mickey made an acting comeback with his Oscar-nominated performance in The Wrestler in 2008 - however, he later admitted his regrets over taking steroids and consuming large meals six times a day to gain weight for his role in the film.

How many surgeries has Mickey Rourke had?

Mickey has spoken openly in the past about the impact of his boxing career on his appearance, but he has not revealed exactly how many surgeries he has undergone in his lifetime.

Speaking to DailyMail.com in 2009, he said: “Most of it was to mend the mess of my face after the boxing. I went to the wrong guy to put my face back together.” He added: “I had my nose broken twice. I had five operations on my nose and one on a smashed cheekbone.

“I had to have cartilage taken from my ear to rebuild my nose and a couple of operations to scrape out the cartilage because the scar tissue wasn't healing properly.” He described it as one of the most “painful operations” he had undergone.

Mickey began having cosmetic interventions as a corrective measure, but he later made more visible aesthetic changes. He has reportedly also had facelifts, botox injections and cheek implants.

In 2017, he posted a photo of himself, in which it was obvious that he’d just had a cosmetic procedure, and captioned it: “Now I am pretty again”. In the image, he posed topless alongside his plastic surgeon. His chest was red-raw and his nose was wrapped in bandages. “One more to go,” he added, making it clear that he was going to have a follow-up surgery.

Who is Mickey Rourke in a relationship with?

The star has had several high-profile relationships, which includes two marriages. His previous girlfriends include Terry Farrell and Sasha Volkova.

In 1981, he married Debra Feuer, who he met on the set of TV movie Hardcase and who co-starred with him in the 1988 film Homeboy as his love interest. The marriage ended a year later, but the two have remained good friends, according to an interview Feuer gave in 2009.

Mickey married his Wild Orchid co-star Carré Otis in 1992. In 1994, however, he was arrested on suspicion of spousal abuse. The charges were later dropped and the couple reconciled before starring together in Exit in Red. Their marriage ultimately ended in December 1998.

From 2009 to 2015, he had a relationship with Ukrainian-born German model Anastassija Makarenko, but it’s thought he has been single since that romance came to an end. He stated during an interview with Piers Morgan in 2022 that he has been single for the past 7 years.

Who has has Mickey Rourke fallen out with?

Mickey has had public feuds with figures in both of his careers. His seemingly one-sided feud with actor Robert De Niro has been long-standing. Mickey claimed Robert acted poorly on the set of Angel Heart in 1987 and also allegedly blocked him from a role in The Irishman.

In early 2009, Mickey developed a small feud with WWE wrestler Chris Jericho, as part of a storyline. The storyline climaxed at WrestleMania XXV, when he knocked Chris out.

What is Mickey Rourke’s net worth?

Mickey has a net worth of $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

How much is Mickey Rourke being paid for Celebrity Big Brother?

The actor has reportedly signed a seven-figure sum to join this year’s CBB house. If true, this would make him the highest paid housemate in the history of the show.

Last year, Sharon Osbourne reportedly earned a substantial £100,000 per day for her brief stint as a "lodger" in the house. The late David Gest appeared on series 17 of CBB in 2016 and was reportedly paid £600,000. Katie Price was reportedly paid £500,000 to appear in series 15 of the show in 2015.

* Celebrity Big Brother 2025 will begin on Monday (April 7) on ITV 1 and ITV X.