Usually a thick beard is a feature of mature and serious men. But sometimes facial hair grows in women, too, a phenomenon called hirsutism. This term is also commonly used to describe too much hair on any other part of the body. The first known woman with a beard is considered to be Elena Antonia, who lived in the second half of the 1500s and worked as a court jester for Empress Maria of Spain. Historical documents contain information about dozens of other bearded women, and now we will talk about the most famous of them. Some of them considered their hairiness a curse, while others found in this feature a way to earn big money.
Some women weren't embarrassed by their beards, but rather took great advantage of them. Source: thevintagenews.com
Contents
- 1 Why Women Grow Beards
- 2 The most famous girls with hirsutism
- 2.1 Woman with a beard Magdalena Ventura
- 2.2 Bearded woman Josephine Clofullia
- 2.3 Circus actress Jane Barnell
- 2.4 Woman with a beard Jones Annie
Why do women grow beards
Usually the bodies of women and children grow very soft and short vellus hair. And in people with hirsutism, coarse and long terminal hair predominates on the face and body, which usually grow in large numbers in men. Based on all this, it turns out that hirsutism can only be diagnosed in women and children.
If hair on the chin, chest, back and stomach grows since childhood, hirsutism is considered hereditary. Scientists believe that changes in the SRD5A1, SRD5A2 genes are to blame for increased hairiness in women and children. Hereditary hirsutism cannot be completely cured, so people with this diagnosis can only shave regularly and smoothly.
Hirsutism can cause complexes, but there are many ways to cope with this problem. Source: ihc-russia.ru
Sometimes hirsutism is a consequence of taking hormonal drugs. If a woman's concentration of male hormones androgens increases significantly, she begins to grow noticeable hair. Sometimes acquired hirsutism is a consequence of certain diseases.
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The most famous girls with hirsutism
Hirsutism can occur in any girl, there are many people in the world with this problem. Today, the disease is treated with hormonal drugs, or women simply use electrolysis and other methods to make the skin smooth.
Today, there are many ways to get rid of excess body hair – for example, epilation. Source: lavanguardia.com
In ancient times, girls with hirsutism treated their problem differently. For some, body hair became a cause for complexes, and for others, a way to get rich.
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Woman with a beard Magdalena Ventura
One of the most famous women with a beard is Magdalena Ventura. Her image was painted by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera in 1631.
The woman herself was unknown. But, apparently, the sensational news about the existence of a bearded mother of several children spread very quickly and reached the Duke of Alcala. He ordered a painting of her from the artist and he, of course, fulfilled the order.
Painting “Magdalena Ventura with her husband and son”. Source: wikipedia.org
Many art lovers have seen the painting of Magdalena Ventura. But very little is known about her. There is information that she began to suffer from excessive hairiness at about 37 years old. And the portrait was made when she was already 52 years old.
Bearded woman Josephine Clofullia
Many women with beards remained unknown, or at most were depicted in paintings. Few managed to gain great fame, and one of them was Josephine Clofullia.
She was born in 1829, in the Swiss city of Versoix. According to old documents, her beard began to grow at the age of 8. At 14, she was already traveling around Europe with her father. And then, after marriage, she and her family toured with Barnum's American Museum, which exhibited people with physical disabilities.
Josephine Clofullia. Source: wikipedia.org
Josephine Clofullia was famous for imitating the French Emperor Napoleon III with her beard. For this, he later gave her a diamond.
Some people did not believe that she was a girl – it was believed that she was a man in a dress. But then an examination was conducted with the participation of doctors, which proved that she was a woman.
Read also: Why there are no people with colored hair
Circus actress Jane Barnell
Another famous woman with a beard is the American street circus actress Jane Barnell. She was born in the USA in 1871 and performed under the stage name “Lady Olga Roderick”.
Jane Barnell had a hard life. She had facial hair since she was a child, and her mother sold her to a circus when she was only 4 years old. Then her father took her and gave her to her grandmother to raise. As an adult, she still returned to the circus and performed with different groups.
Jane Barnell. Source: yablyk.com
Jane Barnell's personal life did not work out at first. Her life with a circus musician ended with the death of her husband and children. Her second husband was killed a few months after the wedding. Her third husband turned out to be an alcoholic and she had to divorce him. She found happiness only with her fourth husband, who later became her manager.
The Woman with the Beard Jones Annie
Bearded Jones Annie lived in the second half of the 1800s and traveled around the world with the P. T. Barnum Circus. She performed from an early age because her mother gave her to the circus in exchange for money. Throughout her career, Jones Annie was kidnapped many times to perform for a small group of people. To everyone's surprise, she had excellent musical abilities.
Jones Annie. Source: picworld.ru
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