Lucia Zarate

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Lucia Zarate (1864 in Mexico - 1890) was the shortest woman ever recorded at 1'8" (50.8 cm).^[1] Zarate likely suffered from primordial dwarfism and weighed less than 2.5 kg.^[2]

At the time of her birth, Lucia Zarate weighed only eight ounces, and had a height of only seven inches. She spent her early years in Mexico, and developed what would later be described as a "bright and animated" personality. At the age of twelve, she came to the United States and began working with P.T. Barnum's circus. During her stint with the circus, she became one of the highest-paid little person of all time, earning 20 dollars an hour (in the 1870's).

There is little information of her later years, but it is known that Zarate died from cold temperatures, when the train she was on became stalled on the Rocky Mountains during a snowstorm. At the time of her death, she was 26 years old.