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Julia PastranaBearded woman performing in a freak show
Country:
 Mexico |
Content:
Biography of Julia Pastrana
Julia Pastrana, also known as the bearded lady or the ape woman, was a famous bearded woman who was exhibited in numerous shows and fairs. She suffered from a congenital condition called hypertrichosis, which resulted in excessive hair growth all over her body. Despite her unusual appearance, Julia had a kind nature and gentle personality.
Early Life and Career
Julia Pastrana was born in approximately 1834 in Sinaloa, Mexico, to indigenous parents. As a child, she developed hypertrichosis, which gave her a body covered in thick black hair. In addition, her ears, nose, and teeth were unusually large, giving her a resemblance to a monkey. It is known that Charles Darwin later took an interest in Pastrana and described her appearance in his works.
The details of Julia's childhood remain a mystery, with only a vague account of her being found as a small girl by an Indian woman who claimed to have found her in the forest. The girl was later named Julia Pastrana and grew up working as a servant in the governor's house. The locals were accustomed to her hairiness, but she rarely encountered strangers.
At some point, she met an American man who saw the potential for profit in her unique appearance. He convinced Julia to accompany him to the United States, where she began working in various shows and exhibitions. She later moved to England, where her exceptional dancing skills and distinctive appearance attracted a large number of admirers. It remains unclear whether these men were genuinely in love with Julia or simply interested in exploiting her appearance for financial gain.
Eventually, Theodore Lent, one of her admirers, became Julia's husband. She learned to read and write in English and Spanish and excelled in sewing and cooking.
Later Years and Legacy
During the mid-19th century, Julia Pastrana could be seen in European shows, and she later traveled to Russia. In 1860, she gave birth to her child in Moscow, but unfortunately, the baby, like its mother, was covered in hair and lived only a few days. Julia herself did not survive the difficult childbirth and passed away five days later, either in Moscow or Germany, according to different sources.
The unexpected death of Julia, who was the highlight of the touring program, did not fit into her husband Theo Lent's plans. He found a way to continue profiting from her by contacting Professor Sukolov from Moscow University, who mummified Julia and her child's bodies. Lent placed them in a special glass cabinet and continued to exhibit the bearded woman.
Later, Lent remarried another woman with hypertrichosis symptoms named Zenora Pastrana and continued their show together. Lent died in 1884, and eventually, both mummies – Julia and her child – went missing. They resurfaced later in Norway, in a private collection. Until the 1970s, the mummies were exhibited, but public protests led to their withdrawal from display. In 1976, the baby's body was vandalized.
Julia Pastrana's body, never officially buried, remained in Norway for many years. It was stored at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Oslo. In 2012, Norway agreed to hand over her remains to Mexico. In February 2013, Julia Pastrana's mummy was finally laid to rest in Sinaloa de Leyva, near her birthplace, more than 150 years after her death.
