Alice Elizabeth Doherty
Sideshow performer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alice Elizabeth Doherty (March 14, 1887 – June 13, 1933) was an American woman born with the condition hypertrichosis lanuginosa.[1][2][3][4]
March 14, 1887
Alice Doherty | |
|---|---|
Doherty as a child | |
| Born | Alice Elizabeth Doherty March 14, 1887 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | June 13, 1933 (aged 46) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | "The Minnesota Woolly Girl" |
Biography
Doherty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a condition known as hypertrichosis lanuginosa.[2] Although this condition is very rare, other individuals were known for their similar appearances: Fedor Jeftichew ("Jo-Jo the Dog-faced Man"), Stephan Bibrowski ("Lionel the Lion-faced Man"), Jesús "Chuy" Aceves ("Wolfman"), and Annie Jones ("the bearded woman"). Hypertrichosis has many different variations, including differences in causation.
She was exhibited by her parents as a sideshow attraction from as early as the age of two. Later she was presented commercially by her mother and Professor Weller's One-Man Band throughout the Midwestern United States. She was consistently shown as a standalone exhibit in store front exhibitions. By the time she was five years old, her hair grew to about 5 inches (130 mm), eventually increasing to about 9 inches (230 mm) by the time she was a teenager. Doherty was never interested in entertainment, but continued to perform to support her family, anxiously awaiting retirement.
She retired from the entertainment business in 1915 and died of bronchial pneumonia in Dallas, Texas, on June 13, 1933, aged 46.[5]
