Clémentine Delait (1865–1934), the most famous bearded lady on the continent in the 20th century

Abstract

Clémentine Delait Clattaux (1865–1934), the Bearded Woman from Thaon-les-Vosges, France, did not suffer from her extreme hirsutism, but used it to her advantage. Her beard started to grow when she turned 18 and at the age of 25 she decided to stop shaving her beard and let it grow. She had regular menstrual cycles between ages 12 and 35. She was diagnosed with signs and symptoms of hyperandrogenism like hirsutism, impressive strength and muscularity and a deep voice, but also with morbid obesity. She never gave birth to a child. At the age of 39, she was officially allowed by the French Government to wear man’s clothes. She suffered from rheumatism and died because of a stroke. The most probable cause of her hirsutism was polycystic ovary syndrome. Alternatively, an incomplete block in the adrenal steroid synthesis, like nonclassical 21-hydroxylase deficiency can be considered.

摘要

克莱曼蒂奴·丢勒·克拉托（Clémentine Delait Clattaux）(1865–1934), 这位来自法国唐莱沃斯热的留着胡须的妇不仅没有因为她极端的胡须而苦恼, 反而利用胡须作为她的优势。在她18岁时她的胡须开始生长, 到25岁她决定不再刮掉胡须而是让它继续生长。在她12-35岁时有正常规律的月经周期。由于她的症状和体征例如多毛、给人印象深刻的有力量、发达的肌肉、声音低沉以及病态的肥胖, 她被诊断为高雄激素血症。她从未生育。法国政府在她39随时允许她穿着男人的服装。她患有风湿病, 并且死于中风。她多毛的原因很有可能是因为多囊卵巢综合征。或者, 肾上腺类固醇激素合成的不完全阻滞, 例如不典型的21-羟化酶缺乏症也可能是她多毛症的原因。

The Chinese abstracts are translated by Prof. Dr. Xiangyan Ruan and her team: Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China.

Keywords:

• Hirsutism
• Delait
• France
• polycystic ovary syndrome
• adrenal

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.