Mary Ann — ugliest woman who did everything she could to keep her children from starving

Surely you have heard the name of Mary Ann Webster, who became the ugliest  woman in history. But her appearance was the result of a disease that radically changed her fate. Though she was considered a laughing stock for most of her life, she was in fact a very strong and brave woman.

Mary Ann was from London (b. 1874) and grew up in a poor but large family. From a very early age she was already working as a nurse. At the age of 29, the girl met Thomas Bevan (at that time she was very beautiful) and was soon married.

The couple had four children. But at the age of 32, the woman began to have health problems. Her joints began to hurt, she was plagued by headaches and sometimes it was even difficult for her to get out of bed. The doctors were at a loss and nobody knew what was wrong with her and she didn’t have much time to rest since she had to work.

Over time her features greatly distorted and lengthened, her limbs grew larger. The once pretty and sweet girl Mary Ann no longer resembled a woman. Unfortunately, no one knew about such a disease as acromegaly, a rare condition that disrupts the growth hormone secretion.

At that difficult time for Mary, her husband was very supportive and loving. But fate had prepared another terrible ordeal for her: Thomas was gone, and the woman had to raise four children on her own. And at that time she looked very bad, people paid attention to her, and every step out of the door was a real test for Ann.

The woman was happy to work, as long as they paid money, but they still do not have enough. By chance she came across an advertisement for the ugliest woman, the prize for which was a good amount. For the children’s sake, Mary Ann decided to take part in this competition and become a laughing stock for everyone around her. She won, and life became even harder.

In 1920, she was offered to perform at the Dreamland Circus, which was on Coney Island. In order to feed her children she agrees and goes across the ocean. At the circus, she performed in front of people who were eager to see the ugliest woman. She was specially dressed in women’s outfits to emphasize her flaws, at that time she was the real star of the circus.

Unfortunately, with such a disease as acromegaly you don’t live long, and at the age of 59, Mary was gone…

Mary Ann Webster went down in history as the ugliest woman, even though she was only a mother who did her best to keep her children from starving.