Inside The Life Of The World's Shortest Woman
For years, we've marveled — and sometimes derided — those whose appearance differs from the norm. Even if those people just happen to be tall or short. But curiosity is natural and sometimes we're granted access to the lives of those whose appearance may be unique and such is the case with Jyoti Kisanji Amge.
Usually, there are health conditions that can cause one to be very big or very small, and that's the case with Amge. She has dwarfism, a congenital condition causing short stature. The native of India stands at just two-feet tall, and according to Guinness World Records, and she is in the books as the shortest woman in the world.
She was born on December 16, 1993, in the city of Nagpur. From the time that she was a baby entering the late stage of her toddler years, Amge was seemingly developing normally. That is until she hit five years old. Suddenly, she stopped growing and her parents realized something was inhibiting her development. It was later discovered that Amge had achondroplasia — a type of dwarfism that stunts the growth of bones in the body (via Rare Diseases).
Since then, her mother knew that she would never grow any taller. As she got older and stood out, Amge started to gain attention and in 2009 she found herself on TV, claiming the title of the shortest teen. That has been her life since she was young. Now at 27 years old, Amge's life has changed a lot since entering record books.
The life of Jyoti Amge
For starters, Amge was even able to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress. When she turned 18, she traveled to New York City to officially be measured by Guinness World Records. Prior to that, she made several appearances on reality television shows in India, according to IMDb. But her big break would come in 2014 when she was cast in "American Horror Story: Freak Show." She played the role of Ma Petite.
But since American Horror Story, Amge has not been in any other scripted series. That is probably because of a condition she has in her leg that caused her discomfort — a situation she discussed on a TLC network documentary short (posted on YouTube). In the short film, cameras follow Amge around and viewers are given a glimpse into what her day-to-day life is like.
Along with her leg condition, Amge is two feet tall and only 12 pounds. It means that she is often carried around by averaged sized people she is with, particularly one of her older sisters. Due to her fame (and size) people often are taken at seeing her and Amge is often met with requests for photographs from people who recognize her.
It's unclear when she will return to acting on screen but Amge maintains a very active life, which she shares on her social media (via Instagram).