Google the phrase ugliest person on earth and you’ll find a mess of grainy photos, cruel memes, and clickbait. Most of it is garbage. It’s people gawking at medical conditions they don't understand or laughing at someone’s worst day. Honestly, the real history is much heavier—and a lot more inspiring—than any "top ten" list would have you believe.
We’ve all seen the "World’s Ugliest" competitions. They’ve been around for centuries. But behind the label, there are real people who lived through unimaginable cruelty.
The Woman Who Won for Her Children
Take Mary Ann Bevan. She is probably the most famous face associated with this tag. Born in London in 1874, she was actually quite an attractive young woman. She worked as a nurse. She got married. She had four kids.
Then things went sideways.
Mary Ann developed acromegaly. It’s a hormonal disorder where your pituitary gland goes haywire and pumps out too much growth hormone. Your hands swell. Your feet grow. Your jaw starts to protrude until your own face looks like a stranger's in the mirror. By the time her husband died in 1914, Mary Ann was broke and physically unrecognizable.
She didn't have a choice.
To feed her kids, she entered a "World's Ugliest Woman" contest. She won. She spent the rest of her life in sideshows, including the Ringling Brothers Circus, letting people laugh at her so her children wouldn't starve. She earned about $50,000 in her career—roughly **$800,000 today**. She was a hero in a cardigan.
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When the Internet Discovered Lizzie Velásquez
Fast forward to the 21st century. The bullying didn't stop; it just went digital.
Lizzie Velásquez was seventeen when she found a YouTube video of herself titled "The World's Ugliest Woman." It was only eight seconds long. It had four million views. The comments were a nightmare. People told her to put a gun to her head.
Lizzie has a rare genetic condition called Marfanoid–facial–lipodystrophy syndrome. Basically, she can't gain weight. No matter how much she eats, she stays at about 60 pounds. She’s also blind in one eye.
She could have vanished. She didn't.
Lizzie turned that trauma into a career as a motivational speaker. She did a TEDx talk that went massive. She lobbied Congress for anti-bullying legislation. She proved that the "ugliest" thing in that 2006 YouTube video wasn't her face—it was the people writing the comments.
The Modern "Ssebabi" of Uganda
Then there's Godfrey Baguma. In Uganda, he’s a celebrity known as "Ssebabi," which roughly translates to "the ugliest of them all."
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Godfrey has a condition called Fibrodysplasia. It causes his skull and facial features to grow in ways that are totally unique. His mother abandoned him when he was a kid because she thought he wasn't "normal." He grew up mending shoes to survive.
In 2002, he entered a contest to win prize money for his family. He won.
But Godfrey is a wild success story. He used the fame to launch a music career. His music videos get millions of views. He’s been married three times and has eight children. He’s not a victim of his looks; he’s a guy who realized that if the world is going to stare anyway, he might as well charge admission.
Why We Are Obsessed With "Ugliness"
Psychologists call this lookism. It’s a real bias. We’re wired to equate symmetry with health and "ugliness" with something wrong or scary.
- Social Isolation: People labeled this way often report feeling "invisible" until they are being mocked.
- The Halo Effect: We usually assume pretty people are smart and kind. The "Horn Effect" does the opposite for those we find unattractive.
- Medical Misunderstanding: Almost every person ever given this title was actually suffering from an undiagnosed or rare medical condition.
The Reality of "Ugly" Competitions
Are these contests still a thing? Kinda.
The Egremont Crab Fair in the UK has the "World Gurning Championship." It’s been running since 1267. But there's a huge difference here. Gurning is a skill. You put your head through a horse collar (a braffin) and distort your face on purpose.
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It’s about who can make the most ridiculous face, not who was born "ugly."
When we talk about the ugliest person on earth, we’re usually talking about someone who survived a world that didn't want to look at them. Mary Ann Bevan died in 1933, but her story still matters because it highlights a mother's sacrifice. Lizzie Velásquez is still out there fighting bullies. Godfrey Baguma is still making music.
What You Can Do Next
The next time you see a "weird" or "ugly" person trending, remember that there is likely a medical diagnosis behind the image. Instead of clicking the meme, look up the story.
If you want to support people who face this kind of lookism, you can:
- Check out the Lizzie Velásquez Foundation: They focus on anti-bullying and mental health support.
- Educate yourself on Acromegaly: Organizations like the Pituitary Network Association provide real facts on the condition that affected Mary Ann Bevan.
- Audit your own bias: Notice when you make a snap judgment about someone's character based on their facial symmetry.
Ugliness isn't a physical trait. It’s a behavior. Mocking someone for a condition they can't control is about as ugly as it gets.