Jeanie Tomaini
American sideshow performer
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Bernice Evelyn "Jeanie" Smith Tomaini (Blufton, Indiana, August 23, 1916 – August 10, 1999, Gibsonton, Florida)[1] was an American sideshow performer billed as "The World's Only Living Half-Girl" or "The Acrobatic Half-Girl". She was born without legs, due to sacral agenesis or phocomelia, and stood 2 ft 5 in tall (0.74 meters).[2] Her family started putting her on exhibit when she was as young as three years old.[1]
August 23, 1916
Jeanie Tomaini | |
|---|---|
Jeanie Tomaini and her husband Al. | |
| Born | Berniece Evelyn Smith August 23, 1916 Blufton, Indiana, US |
| Died | August 10, 1999 (age 83) |
| Known for | Performing as "The World's Only Living Half-Girl" or "The Half-Girl" |
| Height | 0.74 m (2 ft 5 in) |
| Spouse | Al Tomaini (m. 1936–1962) |
| Children | 2 adopted daughters |
Career
Jeanie and her husband Al Tomaini ("Al the Giant", once the world's tallest person at 7 ft 4 in, or 2.24 meters) performed together as a "World's Strangest Married Couple" duo, like many other married couples of the traveling sideshow.[3]
On television, she was featured in a 1992 episode of the British show The Secret Cabaret[4] and an E! True Hollywood Story episode titled "The Murder of Lobster Boy".[5]
She was interviewed for the 1999 documentary film Sideshow: Alive on the Inside.[6]