Father’s Ingenious Solution to Keep Children Fed
Mary Ann Bevan: The Woman Who Won the Title of “The Ugliest Woman in the World”
Mary Ann Webster was born into a poor family in London in 1874. Her childhood dream was to have a large and happy family, and she soon married the love of her life, Thomas Bevan, and had four children. However, when she was in her 30s, Mary Ann started feeling severe pain in her body, especially in the head area. She went from hospital to hospital, but at the time, there was no cure for her disease, acromegaly, a rare hormone disorder that causes bone, internal organ, and soft tissue growth in the body.
After her husband’s death, Mary Ann’s condition worsened, and she started to develop facial, hand, and foot growths. She lost her job due to her appearance, but her determination to take care of her children led her to participate in a competition to choose the “ugliest woman in the world.” Mary Ann left behind nearly 250 nominees and won the competition.
Mary Ann’s victory in the competition brought her a job offer to work in a freak show at the Coney Island Entertainment Center in the USA. She took this opportunity to earn money and take care of her children. Mary Ann performed in the freak show for many years and never complained about her condition. She was a strong woman who raised her children and allowed those who tried to make a mockery of her appearance.
Mary Ann’s disease, acromegaly, was too rare to be diagnosed during her lifetime. It wasn’t until after her death at the age of 59 that doctors were able to identify her disease. Mary Ann may have been known as “the ugliest woman in the world,” but she wrote her name in gold letters on the list of “The most powerful women in history.”
