Hannah Perkins, The Fat Lady
Born in Maine in 1836, Hannah Perkins was a professional ‘fat lady’, and one of the stars of Barnum’s shows. According to most reports, she was the heaviest woman of her time, weighing as much as 714lbs. Notably, Hannah was also tall too – at over six feet. What’s more, she had wide shoulders, meaning she was naturally large rather than simply having been ‘fattened up’, as was undoubtedly the case for many of her contemporaries.
Hannah was already a star performer of Barnum’s in her 20s and was a celebrity in her own right when she met John Battersby. But her partnership with the circus thin man really made her a superstar. Barnum put them together as a unique double act. However, before long, the publicity stunt turned into something much more serious. The pair fell in love and married. Hannah became Hannah Battersby, and the happy couple had a daughter together.
John was naturally a weak man, and this was emphasized in the show. Hannah would cradle her much-smaller husband like a child. She was even alleged to have carried him to safety when a fire broke out at Barnum’s New York theatre. In 1873, John injured his back and was forced to retire from show business. But Hannah kept on performing, her fat lady act supporting the family and building a comfortable future for her daughter.
Tragically, the love story came to a premature end. Hannah fell off the stage while performing one night. She caught an infection and died in 1889. Her husband and daughter moved to Kansas where they settled into a quiet life away from the public glare.