Julie Chen of 'The Talk' had secret eye surgery to look less Chinese

When Julie Chen was 25-years-old and working as a local reporter in Dayton, Ohio, she was told by a news director that she would never be on the local network's news desk, "because you're Chinese."

"He said 'Let's face it Julie, how relatable are you to our community? How big of an Asian community do we have in Dayton? On top of that because of your Asian eyes, I've noticed that when you're on camera, you look disinterested and bored,'" the 43-year-old television personality and co-host of The Talk shared on the show Wednesday, Sept. 11.

The same situation arose when she looked for an agent.

"This one big-time agent basically told me the same thing. He had the biggest names in the business," she disclosed on the show. "He said, 'I cannot represent you unless you get plastic surgery to make your eyes look better.' He then whips out a list of plastic surgeons who have done this procedure."

The said procedure was supposed to transform the shape of Chen's eyes by trimming down the excess skin above the lids. Once she underwent the surgery, "the ball did roll for me," she shared. "And I wondered, did I give in to the man?"

"I don't like to live with regrets," she said. "I have to live with every decision that I've made...And it got me to where we are today. And I'm not going to look back," Chen added.

"No one is more proud to be Chinese than I am."