Biography
Born in Plaistow, London, England as one of eight children, Bevan worked as a nurse for much of her younger life. In 1903 she married Thomas Bevan with whom she would have four children.
Bevan started exhibiting the symptoms of acromegaly soon after she was married, around the age of 32. She began to suffer from abnormal growth and facial distortion, which led to her "homely" appearance, along with severe headaches and fading eyesight. When her husband died in 1914 she no longer had the income to support her family and had to find work herself. In 1920 she was hired by Sam Gumpertz to appear in Coney Island's Dreamland sideshow, a form of freak show, where she would spend most of the remainder of her life. She also made appearances at the World's Fair for the Ringling Brothers Circus until she died in 1933. When she died she weighed 12 stone (168 lbs or 76 kg) and measured 5 feet 7 inches (170 centimeters)–not excessive for someone with acromegaly.
Read more about this topic: Mary Ann Bevan
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