Annie Jones Elliot (1865-1902) was an American bearded woman. She toured with showman P. T. Barnum as a circus attraction. The cause of her condition is unknown. Many photographers, including Mathew Brady, took her portraits during her lifetime, which were widely distributed. When Jones joined Barnum's exhibition as a child of only nine months, her parents received a $150/week salary. She was billed as a new infant Esau. By the age of five, she had a mustache and sideburns and became well known as the Bearded Girl. Photographer Mathew Brady took Jones' portrait as a child in 1865. As an adult, she became the country's top bearded lady and acted as a spokesperson for Barnum's Freaks, a word she tried to abolish from the business. Jones married Richard Elliot in 1881, but divorced him in 1895 for her childhood sweetheart William Donovan, who died, leaving Jones a widow. |