Julia Pastrana (August 1834 – 25 March 1860) was a performer and singer during the 19th century who had hypertrichosis. Pastrana, an indigenous woman from Mexico, was born in 1834, somewhere in the state of Sinaloa. She was born with a genetic condition, hypertrichosis terminalis (or generalized hypertrichosis lanuginosa); her face and body were covered with straight black hair. Her ears and nose were unusually large, and her teeth were irregular. The latter condition was caused by a rare disease, undiagnosed in her lifetime, gingival hyperplasia, which thickened her lips and gums. Life and career Multiple versions of Pastrana's early life exist. Literature produced by those who managed the freak shows she appeared in described her as belonging to a Native American tribe called "Root Diggers" whose members were similar to apes and lived in caves. In this version, it is said that a woman identified only as Mrs. Espinosa was kidnapped by the tribe and held in a cave and took Pastrana with her when she was able to escape. In another version, which is based on the words of indigenous villagers in Ocoroni, Mexico, Pastrana was a local girl whom they referred to as "wolf woman." In this version, Pastrana lived with her mother until her mother passed away, after which, her uncle sold her to the circus. Both accounts claim that, at some point, she lived in the home of Pedro Sanchez, the then-governor of Sinaloa, and left the home in 1854. According to Ireneo Paz, Francisco Sepúlveda, a customs official in Mazatlán, purchased Pastrana and brought her to the United States. At first, Pastrana performed under the management of J.W. Beach, but in 1854, she eloped with Theodore Lent, marrying him in Baltimore, Maryland. Lent took over her management, and they toured throughout the US and Europe. Pastrana was advertised as a hybrid between an animal and a human and worked in sideshows and freak shows under the stage names the "Baboon Lady", the "Dog-faced Woman", the "Hairy Woman", the "Ape-faced Woman", the "Ape Woman", the "Bear Woman", and "The Nondescript". However, during her performances, she demonstrated her intelligence and talent: singing, dancing, and interacting with the audience. During a tour in Moscow, Pastrana gave birth to a son, with features similar to her own. The child survived only three days, and Pastrana died of postpartum complications five days later. Medical examinations During her life, Pastrana's