Winning an organized competition for the title of "Ugliest Woman" provided the financial lifeline Mary Ann Bevan required to support her four children after the sudden 1914 death of her husband, Thomas Bevan. This decision shifted her career from clinical nursing in London to the American sideshow circuit, where she remained until her death in 1933.
Early Life and Onset of Acromegaly
Born Mary Ann Webster in Plaistow, East London, on 20 December 1874, she was the youngest of eight children. She trained as a nurse at age 22 and married Thomas Bevan in 1902. Roughly four years into her marriage, at age 32, she began experiencing physical manifestations of acromegaly. These symptoms included abnormal bodily growth, significant alterations to her facial structure, chronic headaches, and failing vision.
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Following her widowhood in 1914, Bevan found her nursing income insufficient to maintain her household. She entered a contest that publicly identified her as the "Ugliest Woman," securing a win that launched a new professional path. In 1920, the American showman Samuel W. Gumpertz recruited her for an exhibition at the Dreamland amusement park at Coney Island. She relocated to the United States to fulfill these performance duties for the remainder of her career.
Performance and Later Years
During her tenure in the United States, Bevan was a performer for the Ringling Brothers Circus, occasionally fulfilling nursing duties while on the circuit. Reports from the Leeds Mercury in 1926 described her as a conversational and pleasant individual who resented pity. By the early 1930s, she continued these appearances until her death on 26 December 1933, shortly after her 59th birthday. She was subsequently interred at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries.
Retrospective Controversy
In the early 2000s, Hallmark Cards utilized an image of Bevan for a birthday card referencing the television series Blind Date. Following a complaint from Dutch physician Wouter de Herder, who cited the disrespectful nature of exploiting a woman deformed by acromegaly, the manufacturer withdrew the product from distribution.
Fast facts
- Born: 20 December 1874, London
- Died: 26 December 1933, Coney Island
- Occupations: Nurse, circus performer
- Condition: Acromegaly
- Spouse: Thomas Bevan
- Number of children: 4
- Burial site: Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries
Questions readers ask
What medical condition did Mary Ann Bevan have?
She suffered from acromegaly, a hormonal disorder that results in abnormal physical growth and facial changes.
Why did she begin working as a sideshow performer?
After her husband died in 1914, she could no longer support her four children through nursing alone and sought income via a contest for the "Ugliest Woman."
Achievements
- Fields: sideshow performer
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