A number of celebrities have been falsely rumoured to have had ribs removed as a form of body modification.
Twentieth-century rumors hold that some women had their lower ribs removed to facilitate tighter lacing of the waist.
In 1931, corset-maker Rosa Binner alleged that French actress Polaire had had her lowest rib removed in the 1890s.
[4] Valerie Steele's history of the corset finds no evidence of such a procedure, and with Lynne Kutsche argues the mortal danger of surgery of the era makes it extremely implausible.
[5] Barbara Mikkelson of Snopes.com suggests that Florenz Ziegfeld might have started such a rumor about his protégée Anna Held to publicize her career.
[9] In October 2015, internet model and self-proclaimed "living doll" Pixee Fox documented the procedure to remove her six lower ribs on her Tumblr account.