Believe it or not, the beast from a tale as old as time was based on a real story. The beast was indeed covered in hair and regarded by many to be a monster, but just like in the fairy tale, he was eventually able to find love.
Pedro Gonzalez was born in the Canary Islands. Though the origins of his birth remain a mystery, he was eventually taken to King Henri II of France in a cage.
Unsure of what to make of the small and feral looking boy, Henri II decided to try and educate what was a “demi-human” in many people’s eyes. Locked in a barren room, he was given raw meat and animal feed for sustenance.
The furry boy soon became versed in not just the basics of literature, but in the etiquette of nobility. He quickly became a court asset, attracting ambassadors and foreign dignitaries into his company. He took to wearing lavish robes with high collars to compliment his furry face. No more did he dine on the butcher’s trimmings, but instead the fine dining his royal stewards had to offer.
At 17 years old, he was married to a girl named Catherine, who was reported to have been rather upset with her arranged suitor. Much like Belle, however, she was slowly won over by the charms of the furry nobleman. She eventually bore seven children. Two would exhibit the same hairy visages as their father and become token members of other courts.
It was this 16th-century story that is thought to have inspired the 17th-century fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast .
Gonzalez was, of course, not a beast. Rather, he suffered from a condition known as hypertrichosis. An exceedingly rare condition, hypertrichosis is marked by rampant hair growth all over the body.
Pedro Gonzalez is thought to be the first recorded case of hypertrichosis. Since his life in the 1500s, only about 50 cases have been observed. Many have made their way to the world stage through sideshows and circuses.
