Suffering from a rare disease that caused her feet to become giant, "bigfoot lady" Fanny Mills used her appearance to make a living in the 1880s.
From the waist up, Fanny Mills looked like a normal woman. But her fame came from her feet. Mills, who used the stage name "Ohio Bigfoot Lady," suffered from a disease that caused her feet to grow enormously.
Fanny Mills was born in England around 1860 and immigrated with her family to Sandusky, Ohio, when she was a child. From the beginning, her parents realized that there was something different about their daughter.
Fanny Mills, the woman nicknamed "The Ohio Bigfoot Lady". Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Mills's two sisters grew up completely normally. But Fanny Mills soon began to show symptoms of Milroy's disease, a hereditary condition that causes lymphedema, usually in the legs and mainly affects women. This was not the elephantiasis caused by filarial worms that is common in warm, humid countries.
In a very short time, Mills’ feet had swollen to an incredible size. Mills weighed 52kg but her feet were nearly 50cm long and nearly 18cm wide. Mills was said to have had to wear shoes made from three goatskins and socks made from pillowcases.
"Her toes were uneven, her little toe was like two little knobs. She had no toenails," a reporter who visited Mills' home described in the newspaper.
Fanny Mills. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In 1885, Fanny Mills decided to turn herself into a "money-making machine." She and a friend named Mary Brown traveled to freak shows all over the East Coast. Brown helped her walk, changed her shoes, and assisted her in daily activities.
These shows were quite popular in America in the 19th century. For a small fee, audiences could see people with strange appearances and special abilities from all over the world. Most of the performers suffered from strange diseases that science at that time could not name.
Mills’s giant feet made her a star of the show. Soon, her image was prominently featured on the show’s flyers, with the rumor that she was willing to pay $5,000 to any man who would marry her.
"Don't let big feet stand between you and a lucky marriage," read a poster promoting Mills.
This was just a publicity stunt, Mills had married in 1886 to William Brown, Mary Brown's brother.
The “Ohio Bigfoot Lady” became a mainstay of the freak show circuit, with Mills earning $150 a week at one point, the equivalent of about $4,000 today.
A flyer advertising a show featuring Fanny Mills. Photo: ATI
Mills made money, but she had no time to enjoy it. In 1887, she gave birth to her first child, but the baby was stillborn. Her health then suffered severely and Mills stopped performing in 1892.
She and her husband returned to Ohio, where Mills died shortly thereafter at the age of 39.
For decades, freak shows continued without her. But their time was short-lived. As the world entered the 20th century, audiences began to grow indifferent and they slowly faded away.
The first reason is that performers like Fanny Mills are no longer considered “freaks.” Instead, society has begun to understand the medical conditions behind people like the “Ohio Bigfoot Lady.”
On the other hand, the masses have more entertainment options. The rapid development of television and movies means that people can watch interesting shows at home or in the cinema.
In some ways, Fanny Mills was a true star of her time. With a misunderstood illness, she used it to her advantage, willingly accepting stares from strangers for pay, and was successful at it. The Follett House Museum in Ohio now displays the last that was used to make Mills' shoes.
Vu Hoang (According to ATI )
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