The Real-Life Beauty and the Beast
The inspiration behind the classic fairytale
Beauty and the Beast (1991) is one of Disney’s most beloved stories. Those who are particularly fond of this animated classic may know the movie is based on La Belle et la Bête, a French fairytale from the eighteenth century.
Yet, few are aware of Petrus Gonsalvus and his wife Catherine, the real-life Beauty and the Beast who were the inspiration for the original fairytale.
Raised by Royalty
Petrus was born in 1537, he had a condition called hypertrichosis, also known as ‘Werewolf Syndrome’. Those who suffer from this condition are incredibly hairy with an animal-like appearance.
The details of Petrus’s childhood are sketchy. Historians know he was born and raised in the Canary Islands (an archipelago to the west of Morocco), but there’s no concrete information about either of his parents.
When Petrus was just ten years old, he was discovered by European travellers and given as a gift to King Henry II of France. This may seem like a bizarre thing to do, but at the time, human oddities were rather fashionable. Dwarves, for instance, were a sign of wealth and status in royal circles.
