If you type "who is the ugliest person on earth" into a search bar, you’re usually looking for a name. A face. A Guinness World Record, maybe. But the internet is a weird place, and the answers it spits back at you are often heartbreaking, outdated, or just plain wrong.
Actually, the "title" of world's ugliest person doesn't really exist in an official capacity anymore—not in the way you'd think. There isn't a trophy sitting on someone's mantel for it in 2026. Instead, what you find are stories of people who were labeled that way by others, usually through viral cruelty.
The Viral Cruelty of the "Ugliest" Label
The most famous case of this involves a woman named Lizzie Velásquez. Back in 2006, when YouTube was still pretty new, a video surfaced of her. It was only eight seconds long, had no sound, and was titled "The World's Ugliest Woman."
At the time, Lizzie was just 17. She has a rare genetic condition called Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome. Basically, it means her body can't gain weight or store fat. No matter how much she eats—and she has to eat thousands of calories a day just to stay alive—she remains at a very low weight and has a distinct facial structure.
She found that video herself. She read the comments. People were saying things like "kill it with fire" or "why didn't her parents keep her?" It’s the kind of stuff that would break most people.
But here is the thing: Lizzie didn't disappear. She became one of the most successful motivational speakers on the planet. Her 2013 TEDx talk, "How Do YOU Define Yourself?", has tens of millions of views. If you search for the ugliest person on earth today, her name still pops up, but it's usually attached to articles about her incredible resilience.
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The Man They Call "Ssebabi"
Over in Uganda, there’s another name that often fills this search result: Godfrey Baguma, better known by his stage name "Ssebabi" (which roughly translates to "the ugliest of them all").
Godfrey’s story is a bit different because he actually entered a contest. In 2002, he was a struggling shoemaker. He needed money for his family, so he entered a local "ugliest man" competition. He won.
He suffers from a rare condition called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), which causes abnormal bone growth in the face and body. Instead of letting the "ugly" label be a badge of shame, he turned it into a career. He became a comedian, a singer, and a local celebrity. He’s been married three times and has eight children.
While the Western world often views these contests as exploitative—and they kinda are—Godfrey used the platform to pull himself out of poverty. To him, the title was a tool, not a definition.
The Tragic History of Mary Ann Bevan
We can't talk about this without looking at Mary Ann Bevan. If you’ve seen "historical" memes about the ugliest woman in the world, they’re almost always using her photo.
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Mary Ann was a nurse in London in the early 1900s. She was, by all accounts, a conventionally attractive woman until she developed acromegaly. It's a hormonal disorder where the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone, causing the face, hands, and feet to enlarge and distort.
After her husband died, she had four children to feed and no way to support them. So, she did the unthinkable: she entered a "Homeliest Woman" contest and won. She then spent the rest of her life touring with the Dreamland circus on Coney Island as a "freak show" act.
It’s a heavy story. She chose to be laughed at so her kids could eat. In the early 2000s, Hallmark even used her face on a birthday card, but they had to pull it after a doctor pointed out that she wasn't "ugly"—she was sick.
Why We Are Still Searching for This
Why do we even want to know who is the ugliest person on earth? Honestly, it’s usually a mix of curiosity and a weird human urge to categorize things.
The psychological term for our obsession with "ugly" is often linked to the "Uncanny Valley" or simply a primitive survival instinct to identify things that look "different." But in 2026, our definition of beauty is shifting.
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What Science Says About "Ugliness"
- Symmetry: Historically, humans find symmetrical faces more "attractive" because they supposedly signal good health.
- The Halo Effect: This is a cognitive bias where we assume good-looking people are also smart, kind, and successful.
- Cultural Shifts: What was considered "ugly" in 1920 (like being too thin or having "irregular" features) is often what high-fashion models look like today.
Moving Beyond the Search
If you’re looking for a definitive answer to who is the ugliest person on earth, you’re not going to find one that feels right. The people who have been given that title usually turn out to be some of the most beautiful in terms of character.
Robert Hoge, an Australian writer born with a massive tumor on his face and deformed legs, wrote a memoir literally titled Ugly. He argues that "ugly" is just a word, and we should stop trying to pretend everyone is "beautiful" in the traditional sense. Some people are just different-looking, and that’s okay.
Instead of searching for a "winner" of this title, look into the work of the Face Equality International movement. They’re working to end the "disfigurement" stigma.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check your bias: Next time you see a "viral" video mocking someone's appearance, remember Lizzie Velásquez. Most of these "ugliest" tags are just digital bullying.
- Support representation: Follow creators and speakers with facial differences who are reclaiming their narratives.
- Read the stories: Pick up Robert Hoge’s Ugly or watch the documentary A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velásquez Story. It’ll change how you see the word forever.
The "ugliest" person on earth isn't a person at all—it's usually the person doing the pointing and laughing.