Miss Rose Nanez: The 343 kg Mexican Girl

Miss Rose Nanez was a 23-year-old Mexican woman who weighed over 343 kilograms (756 pounds), making her one of the heaviest women of her era. She lived on Flinders Street in Sydney, Australia, and her condition was linked to an overactive pituitary gland rather than overeating. In 1938, PIX magazine visited her and photographed her daily life, documenting the unique challenges she faced. She was banned from riding public transport and staying in hotels, and she hoped to move to America.

When a girl is 23 and still gaining on 54 stone she has to keep her strength up.

[Factually Corrected] In show costume of Mexico where she was born, a normal baby.

Wash-day Revelation. Fifty-four stone is six times the weight of the average woman, needs six times the accommodation.

One-third of a Ton comes down stairs. And the stairway's barely wide enough for Rose. — One-third of a Ton comes down stairs. And the stairway’s barely wide enough for Rose.

Climbing stairs is very difficult for her; she has to have ground-floor rooms and outside cabins on ships.

Rose Nanez has broken many beds, the latest at a Maitland (N.S.W.) hotel. A specially enlarged bed was required on the ship from America. Fattest of all the Fattest Ladies on Earth, Rose is 8 feet “around the equator.” Rose Nanez is keen-witted and by temperament jolly, doesn’t worry about her size, laughs and grows fatter. Her hobby is amateur photography.