VIDEO: Living doll from Ashfield whose '˜human Barbie' looks are ruining her love life
Meet Ashfield’s “living doll” – who says her Human Barbie looks are ruining her love life.
Hannah Gregory, aged 22, boasts the same impossible body proportions and facial features as a Barbie.
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Hide AdShe has a tiny 22-inch waist and wears contact lenses that mimic the wide-eyed doll stare.
Hannah’s walking-talking doll looks have amassed her thousands of online followers – but she says her striking appearance and Barbie-inspired outfits have divided the British public.
She says she is often criticised by passers-by in the street and cannot find a boyfriend who is interested in her personality.
The 22-year-old university student, from Skegby, says: “When I leave the house, people laugh and shout rude comments at me.
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Hide Ad“My family don’t like to go out with me because they hate seeing people being mean to me in public. It’s hard to find a boyfriend too.
“Often, guys will become infatuated with my appearance and tell me how much they like me, but they’re not interested in getting to know my personality – they just see me as a doll.
“But the abuse doesn’t bother me, I feel happy and cute as a doll. And when people yell ‘Barbie’ at me on the street, I take it as a compliment. I’m proud to be called a human Barbie.”
As a child, Hannah was very shy. She felt unattractive and did not have the confidence to experiment with fashion.
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Hide AdHannah, who has two sisters, says: “Growing up, I was painfully shy and self-conscious about my appearance. I thought I was ugly and lanky.”
However, when Hannah started university in Sheffield in 2013, fellow students began commenting on her resemblance to a human doll.
Hannah says: “On my first day at university, no one spoke to me and I was upset nobody seemed to like me.
“But afterward, my classmates told me they had been intimidated by me and were scared to approach me because I looked so much like a doll.
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Hide Ad“Over time, other students would keep coming up to me and ask me how long I had looked like a living doll, but I had never realised I had looked like one. It made me so happy.
“I had always admired the doll aesthetic, but now I finally had the freedom to explore that look.”
Hannah embraced her human Barbie appearance and began dressing up in a doll fashion.
She can spend up to three hours per day getting ready and also wears enormous contact lenses to imitate the blank gaze of a doll.
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Hide AdShe says: “I love wearing short pink skirts and dresses – anything that looks cute and things a Barbie princess would favour. I wear heels all the time.
“I’m always in character and refuse to do ‘casual’ – casual clothes make me feel anxious.
“Being dressed up as doll gives me the confidence to be myself.
“I want the doll lifestyle, but as a student it can be hard – I have to sell a lot of my clothes so I can afford to buy new ones.
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Hide Ad“And I have to wake up super early so I can pick my outfit and get dressed for the day.
“It takes me about 90 minutes to get ready but I don’t actually wear much make-up.
“I do try to eat healthily to maintain my figure, but I love food – my family always ask me how I’m able to eat so much and not put on weight.”
Hannah’s living, breathing Barbie looks mean she gets attention everywhere she goes.
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Hide AdShe says: “Wherever I go, strangers stare at me because of the way I look.
“In Sheffield, people are always asking for selfies with me and complimenting me on how I look like a princess. It’s very sweet.
“When I went to Korea in my second year of university, people were lining up to take pictures with me and I got lots of attention for being a foreign Barbie.
“However, at the same time, I get a lot of abuse hurled at me too. People sneer at me and shout horrible things about my appearance.
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Hide Ad“When I go back home to Skegby, my family don’t like to be seen with me because of the negative attention I attract.”
In spite of the unwanted hassle she receives, Hannah was eager to show off her Human Barbie looks to the world and last year, she started to upload pictures online of her posing in cute outfits.
Her doll-like beauty quickly won her more than 18,000 Instagram followers, who worship her as the embodiment of perfection.
Hannah, who receives fan mail on a daily basis, says: “I always respond. I’ve heard some of the other living dolls don’t reply back to their followers but I always make an effort, no matter how busy I am.
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Hide Ad“I’m happy to be called the British human Barbie and see my photo on fan pages. I think human Barbies are great – they look amazing and they don’t care if people think they look weird.”
Although Hannah boasts thousands of adoring admirers, she says her doll-like beauty is ruining her love life.
She says: “I find a lot of guys become obsessed with me because of my appearance.
“Boys who I’ve never really spoken to before will suddenly approach me and tell me how much they like me and want to be with me, but they don’t even know who I am inside – they just like the way I look.
“Guys see me as a doll and immediately sexualise me.
“Boys are not interested in getting to know my personality and past, so, right now, I’m fine being single.”