She was the World's Ugliest Woman. Have you ever heard the name Mary Ann Bevan? At one stage in her life, Mary was officially the Ugliest Woman in the World, and it wasn't just having a bad hair day or feeling sorry-for-myself self-talk. Mary was born Mary Ann Webster, one of 8 children brought into a working-class family in Plaistow, East London, on 20 December 1874.
Mary wasn't born the ugliest baby in the world. One look at the framed image over her shoulder shows Mary, in her smart, crisp nursing uniform, as an attractive young woman with normal dreams and desires. She wanted nothing more than to be desired and loved, get married, start a family, and care for others.
1902, Mary's dream began to take shape when she married Thomas Bevan. The couple had four healthy children, but in 1914, Thomas died unexpectedly, leaving Mary widowed. Maybe she considered remarrying, even if only to support her children. But at age 32, Mary was stricken by acromegaly — a disorder that results in excess growth of certain parts of the human body. For Mary, that growth manifested as abnormal facial distortions, fading eyesight, and severe headaches. Mary's misfortune and her deteriorating looks made her un-hireable, even as a nurse who wanted nothing more than to care for those less fortunate.
With four small mouths to feed, Mary had very few options in a world that values looks in a woman over her ambition. Still, she remained a loving mother hell-bent on making the most of her misfortunes in support of her children. So Mary buried her ego, swallowed her pride, and leveraged her condition by entering an "Ugliest Woman" competition. Out of 250 other contestants, Mary won the ugliest woman title.
In 1920, Mary's dark notoriety caught the attention of an American freak show operator who offered her a paid position with the Coney Island Dreamland sideshow. Mary even did a stint with the biggest freak show on earth, the world-famous Ringling Brothers Circus. She wore the title of the World's Ugliest Woman as her primary identity for over a decade until her death in December 1933 at age 59.
Like every woman born into our civilized world, Mary lived surrounded by narrow standards of who is beautiful and even a narrower tolerance for women called out as ugly. Mary could never hope to live up to any of society's beauty standards that judge women from one to ten or as hot or not. Especially not when she was officially the Ugliest Woman in the World.
Beyond Mary's tragic physical ailments, which robbed her of her youth and fair features, she continued to be a loving woman willing to swallow her pride and allow her image to be tainted, all to earn a living in support of the people she loved. So, I wonder, what do you think the four children she sacrificed her own image and pride to feed, shelter, and nurture would have to say if you asked them — was your mother ugly, or was she the most beautiful person in the world?
VBB: ck
