"The most ugly in the world": the true story of a woman who laughed at the whole world
of this woman is not in the world for over 80 years, but over her pictures still continue to laugh all over the world. Her story is a sad example of the fact that people continue to judge others by their appearance, without thinking that this fate may hide the fate and character of an extraordinary person.
Mary Ann Bevan was born December 20, 1874 in London.
She worked as a nurse and at the age of 29 she married a florist named Thomas.
But soon after the wedding, the woman's body began to change.
Doctors discovered that Mary Ann suffered from a disease known as acromegaly — it is characterized by the production of an excessive amount of growth hormone. At the age of 32, she began to experience severe headaches and muscle aches, some parts of her body suddenly began to grow in size. But even worse, in 1914 her husband died, and Mary Ann was left alone with four children in her arms ...
So Mary Ann looked before the disease began to manifest.
For a long time, the woman tried to ignore her own health and worked for wear and tear to feed children.
People on the street often looked at her with disgust, laughing behind her back. And then the woman decided that if she was destined to be a "freak", then her family should benefit from it. She took part in the strange "The Most Courageous Woman" competition and won. The press immediately dubbed her the ugliest woman in the world. Mary Ann suffered from humiliation. The only consolation was that the main prize was a solid amount of money.
After winning a humiliating competition, the woman was offered to “work” in a circus - to stand as a fan to the public. Mary Ann agreed - people were willing to pay well, just to stare at her.
Her “career” was so successful that the woman moved to the United States and began working in Dreamland Park in Coney Island, New York. She continued to work there until her death in 1933.
We can say that Mary Ann managed to turn her misfortune, if not in luck, then at least in a stable source of income.
I would like, of course, to believe that since then people have changed and learned to respect and accept each other, despite their appearance.
But, unfortunately, it is not.
Just a couple of years ago, the American company Hallmark released a series of postcards with photographs of Mary Ann Bevan as participants in a dating show and a mocking signature ... Postcards were sold all over the world.
One of them caught the eye of a German doctor who recognized a woman — he had to work with people suffering from acromegaly.
The doctor was so outraged that he sent a protest to Hallmark and published an open letter, demanding to stop bullying a woman who worked as a nurse for many years and, despite her illness and ill-treatment of others, was able to ensure a decent life for her family.
Soon the company brought an official apology and stopped producing postcards.
It is a pity that people constantly forget that dignity and humanity are much more important than a pretty face ...
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