Painful love and choice by Jean Carroll (8 photos)

Love is a complicated thing. But in the overwhelming majority of cases, loud words and bold statements in the name of this feeling remain just words. But this character fulfilled his aspirations and dreams in practice.





At one time, Jean Carroll was a popular bearded lady. Jean was born in 1910 in Schenectady, New York, and at the age of ten, when she joined the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, she proudly showed off a real silky beard. With age, she grew even more and soon provided Caroll with a stable career in freak shows.



In her youth, Carroll met a charming young man from Ohio and quickly fell in love. The object of her affection was John Carson. Carson was a charming and handsome man, an acrobat and performer. And he really liked the charming bearded girl. He was, of course, attracted to Carroll, but the beard... The vegetation, which was contrary to nature, turned out to be too serious an obstacle for him. Although he continued to be friends with Caroll, he abandoned all romantic aspirations and concentrated solely on friendship.



For fifteen years the two saw each other almost every day. Recognizing Caroll for who she was behind the screen of her beard, Carson sincerely fell in love with the girl. Caroll saw this love in him, and it caused her unbearable pain. She knew that the guy would never be able to come to terms with a beard, and she, in turn, could not give up her source of livelihood. One night, as she cried, fellow sword-swallower Alec Linton offered her a painful solution: “Shave your beard and become a tattooed woman.”



Soon the beard disappeared, and in its place appeared more than 700 intricate designs made by famous tattoo artist Charlie Wagner. The pain this process caused was likely excruciating, but it was worth it. John Carson was floored. The numerous drawings with which the chosen one’s skin was covered did not bother him at all. And soon after shaving, the couple got married.



They stayed to work on the show. John continued to work at his old job, and Jean Carroll showed off her new tattoos as a burlesque dancer, stimulating public interest with a pamphlet entitled "The Story of How I Became a Tattooed Lady."



Jean's case was used in several films, including The Story of How I Became the Tattooed Lady, directed by Tom Palazzolo, and Susan Milano's The Tattooed Lady (1972).



The two remained inseparable until John's death in 1951.