Celesta Geyer

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Celesta Geyer (née Herrmann), who achieved immortality of sorts as the circus fat lady known as "Dolly Dimples" (also Bonnie Sonora and Jolly Dolly Geyer) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on 18 July 1901. She grew up in a German-American family in which over-eating was normal. Six times a day, the family sat down for meals and substantial snacks. The young Celesta had developed a big appetite by the time she was six and preferred playing with candy rather than toys.

She joined a travelling circus when she was 15 years old when a professional fat lady told her that people were laughing at her, but she could make them pay good money for that privilege. Celesta took the stage name "Dolly Dimples" partly as a homage to the inch-deep dimples she had in each elbow. The name was used by the illustrator Grace Drayton for a comic strip she debuted in 1915, and evoked the image of a happy young girl. The name even was used by the doll manufacturer Gebruder Heubach for bisque dolls in the early 20th century.

Dolly Dimples was displayed in circus side-shows billed as "The Fat Beauty". Dolly would wow the crowds by eating six to eight pizzas in one sitting, an idea she herself came up with as she was constantly hungry and constantly eating. Dolly lived to eat, and eat she did, consuming approximately 10,000 calories daily, enough for five average women.

"I ate", she said, "from the time I got up until I went to bed." Her daily diet typically consisted of five pounds of meat, several pounds of potatoes, four loaves of bread, a gallon of milk, and almost two pounds of sugar primarily consumed in the form of baked goods and pastries.

Dolly travelled the world with the circus, then later with rich lovers after retiring when she was nearly 60. At the height of her career, she weighed 555 lbs (252 kg) [1], and sported measurements of 74 1/2-68-84 — inches, not centimeters. These ample proportions were packed onto a 4ft-11in (150 centimeters) frame.

After suffering a near fatal heart attack in 1950, she followed a strict diet of baby food, after 14 months reducing her weight to 112 pounds. Her weight loss was recognized as a world record by the Guinness Book of World Records. [2]

Her autobiography, titled tongue-in-cheek "Diet or Die; The Dolly Dimples Weight Reducing Plan", was published in 1968 by F. Fell.

She died in 1982.