Summary
Mary Ann Bevan (née Webster; 20 December 1874 – 26 December 1933) was an English nurse, who, after developing acromegaly, toured the circus sideshow circuit as "the ugliest woman in the world".[1]
Mary Ann Bevan | |
|---|---|
 Bevan, c. early 20th century | |
| Born | Mary Ann Webster 20 December 1874 Plaistow, Newham, London, England |
| Died | 26 December 1933 (aged 59) |
| Occupation | Sideshow performer ∙ nurse |
| Employer(s) | Employed by Samuel W. Gumpertz to perform at Coney Island Dreamland Ringling Brothers Circus and was employed as a nurse. |
| Spouse |
Thomas Bevan
(m. 1902; died 1914) |
| Children | 4 |
Early years edit
Mary Ann Webster was one of 8 children born into a working-class family in Plaistow, East London. She later became a nurse[when?]. In 1902, she married Thomas Bevan[2] with whom she had four children. Thomas Bevan died suddenly in 1914.[3]
Sideshow career edit
Bevan started exhibiting the symptoms of acromegaly soon after she was married, around the age of 32.[4] She began to suffer from abnormal growth and facial distortion, along with severe headaches and fading eyesight. After the death of her husband in 1914, she no longer had the income to support herself and her four children. Bevan decided to capitalize on her appearance and entered an "Ugliest Woman" contest which she won.[3]
In 1920, she was hired by American showman Samuel W. Gumpertz to appear in Coney Island's Dreamland sideshow, a form of freak show, where she spent most of the remainder of her life. She also made appearances for the Ringling Brothers Circus until her death. She was interred at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries.[citation needed]
Legacy edit
In the early 2000s, Bevan's image was used by Hallmark Cards on a birthday card in the United Kingdom.
The card made reference to the television dating show Blind Date. Subsequently a complaint was made by a Dutch physician that it was disrespectful to a woman who had become deformed as the result of a disease. Hallmark agreed that it was inappropriate and stopped distribution of the card.[5]
References edit
- ^ "National Fairground Archive – Extracts from World's Fair, 1931–1940". The University of Sheffield. 2007. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- ^ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:263B-WFY : 13 December 2014), Mary Ann Webster, 1902; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1902, quarter 2, vol. 2A, p. 839, Bromley, Kent, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
- ^ a b Hartzman, Marc (2006). American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers. Penguin. p. 121. ISBN 1-585-42530-3.
- ^ American Philosophical Society. 6 August 1924. "Mary Bevan and her children". Accessed 22 August 2007.
- ^ Danzig, Jon. British Medical Journal. 4 November 2006. "Doctor protests at greeting card manufacturer making fun of woman with acromegaly".
External links edit
- "Mary Ann Bevan, the world's ugliest woman", acromegaly at the Eugenics Archive
- Mary Ann Bevans [sic] – The Homeliest Woman in the World