Yep, 33-year-old Richard Lorenc of Kansas was given up for adoption as a baby. He's married now with a wife and two young daughters, and never knew his biological parents. He was curious, but never tried to track them down.
--Then, earlier this year, he started having health problems and needed to find out about his family medical history. So he filed a request with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and got the name of his biological mother.
--It turns out she's 62-year-old Vivian Wheeler. And when Richard researched her, he found out she's a legend. A carnival sideshow legend. Vivian is one of the most famous BEARDED LADIES of all time!
--In fact, her beard reached 11 inches, which landed her in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" and the "Guinness Book Of World Records" for the longest beard ever grown by a female.
--Vivian was born with hypertrichosis, which is also known as werewolf syndrome. At birth she had an inch-and-a-half of light hair on her cheeks and chin. So her father put her into carnival sideshows at a young age.
--She's legally female, but was also born a hermaphrodite. At birth, her male genitalia was removed, and it was an incredible long shot that she'd ever conceive a child.
--In 1977, Vivian got-it-on with a carnival ride operator . . . and somehow got pregnant. Richard was born nine months later . . . but the father quickly gave him up for adoption.
--After Richard got Vivian's name, he set out on a quest to find her. He contacted the writer of the book "American Sideshow" who put him in touch with some of her friends and, a few weeks later, he tracked her down in Bakersfield, California.
--Since then, they've been in communication, talking every few weeks. They say their next plan is to meet on the "Maury Povich Show", where they can get a DNA test to prove they are, in fact, mother and son
Spezzano & Sandy
