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World's 'ugliest woman' buried in Mexico 150 years after her death

By Gabriel Stargardter MEXICO CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The "ugliest woman in the world" was buried in her native northern Mexico on Tuesday, more than 150 years after her death and a tragic life spent exhibited as a freak of nature at circuses around the world. Born in Mexico in 1834, Julia Pastrana suffered from hypertrichosis and gingival hyperplasia, diseases that gave her copious facial hair and a thick-set jaw. These features led to her being called a "bear woman" or "ape woman".

Remains of Mexican 'ape woman' return home from Europe

The remains of Julia Pastrana, a Mexican who was paraded in fairs and circuses as the "ape woman" in 19th century Europe, have returned home from Norway 153 years after her death. Pastrana suffered from a rare disease -- congenital generalized hypertrichosis terminalis, or CGHT -- that covered her face and body with thick hair and gave her fat lips and gums. Born in 1834, the woman, who measured 1.34 meters (four feet, five inches) and had a gift for dancing and singing, was brought to Europe by an American businessman to be shown in circuses and fairs.
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