After Developing A Rare Disorder That Caused Her Appearance To Drastically Change, She Became Known As The Ugliest Woman In The World And Made Ends Meet As A Sideshow Performer On Coney Island
Can you imagine being called “The Ugliest Woman In The World?” Mary Ann Bevan was an Englishwoman who once held that title, and instead of hiding from the world, she learned to embrace it in order to make a living.
Mary was born into a large family in London in 1874, and while growing up, she was a typical girl with a normal appearance. She got a job as a nurse and married a farmer from Kent named Thomas Bevan in 1903.
Mary and Thomas had four children and lived happily together until Thomas sadly died in 1914, leaving Mary as a struggling single mother.
Not long after Thomas passed away, things became even more chaotic for Mary because her body started showing signs of a disorder known as acromegaly.
Acromegaly causes an overproduction of growth hormones in the body, which can lead to drastic changes in appearance.
Today, medical professionals have formulated various treatment plans to help those suffering from acromegaly.
But when Mary developed the rare disorder, she was practically helpless and had to deal with her changing body on her own.
Mary’s body became disproportionate, and her face became much larger and more masculine-looking.
She was quickly judged by a harsh society that began seeing her as ugly, and her shifting appearance made it harder for her to find jobs to support herself and her children.
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Then, she decided to see if she could make money off her looks by entering what was essentially a local “ugliest woman contest” against over 200 other contestants.
When she won, Mary was rapidly approached by sideshow owners, and she realized that since there was nothing she could do about her new looks, she might as well earn a living from them.
In 1920, Mary answered an advertisement published in a London newspaper by an agent for Barnum and Bailey’s circus looking for the “ugliest woman.”
She had a photographer take professional photographs of her to send to Barnum and Bailey and headed out with pictures that would excel her sideshow career.
Mary was invited to join one of the most famous sideshows at Coney Island in New York. She had postcards with her photograph labeled “The World’s Ugliest Woman” sold at fairgrounds.
She was paraded around with some of the most iconic sideshow performers, and despite being put on display for her disorder, she stayed in the business to feed her family.
After performing in New York for two years, Mary made £20,000, which would be over $1 million today.
She was able to give her kids a proper life and an education. Additionally, Mary performed with some of the biggest names in circus and sideshow entertainment, the Ringling Bros. and the Barnum & Bailey show.
Mary continued to work in Coney Island during her later years and eventually passed away in 1933 at 59. Her body was returned to London and was buried in Ladywell Cemetery.
While Mary’s story may be quite sad, it’s also a tale of great perseverance and inspires us to be kinder to one another.
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