| Mary Ann Bevan | |
| Birth Name: | Mary Ann Webster |
| Birth Date: | 20 December 1874 |
| Birth Place: | Plaistow, Newham, London, England |
| Children: | 4 |
| Occupation: | Sideshow performer ∙ nurse |
| Employer: | Employed by Samuel W. Gumpertz to perform at Coney Island Dreamland Ringling Brothers Circus and was employed as a nurse. |
Mary Ann Bevan (Webster; 20 December 187426 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 Webster was one of 8 children born into a working-class family in Plaistow, East London. She later became a nurse. In 1902, she married Thomas Bevan[2] with whom she had four children. Thomas Bevan died suddenly in 1914.[3]
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.
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]