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 name | "The Minnesota Woolly Girl" |
Alice Elizabeth Doherty (March 14, 1887 – June 13, 1933) was an American woman born with the condition hypertrichosis lanuginosa.
Alice Elizabeth Doherty was born on March 14, 1887, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her parents were not affected by the condition for which she later became known, and she had a brother and a sister who likewise did not exhibit similar characteristics.
At birth, Doherty was covered with approximately 2 inches (5.1 cm) of silky blond hair over her body, a characteristic of the rare condition hypertrichosis lanuginosa.
Contemporary newspaper accounts described Doherty as an intelligent and energetic child with blue eyes and a playful disposition. One report published when she was two years old characterized her as "as bright as a silver dollar" and "as frolicsome as a kitten". The same account noted that she had not yet developed teeth and speculated that she might never do so.
Doherty 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.
Doherty retired from the entertainment business in 1915 and died of bronchial pneumonia in Dallas, Texas, on June 13, 1933, aged 46.
