How the Ugliest Woman in the World Exposed Humanity’s Cruelty and Saved Her Children
Poverty forced her to endure humiliation but she used it to her advantage
When Mary Ann Bevan was born in 1874, she was a beautiful, healthy baby. Nobody knew anything was amiss. Mary Ann grew up in Kent, England with her seven brothers and sisters. She later became a nurse and worked in London and dreamed of having a big family.
In her late 20s, the beautiful nurse married Thomas Bevan and had four children. It was an ordinary life but it was a happy life. Until tragedy struck.
Shortly after she got married, aged just 32, Mary Ann started developing symptoms of acromegaly. The disorder causes abnormal growth of the hands, feet, and face, due to the overproduction of the growth hormone in the pituitary gland.
We can only speculate as to the horror the beautiful young woman experienced when she realized what was happening to her. There was no cure for the disorder at the time.
Mary Ann’s sole comfort, her husband who stood by her side and supported her and their children, died after 11 years of marriage.
“The circus owner told a newspaper that while they wanted to find the ugliest woman…
