My Birthmarks Are Beautiful

Mary was born with a rare condition that affected her skin – but she’s embraced her body and is now a successful model

- Kim Abrahams

SHE’S still haunted by her classmates’ cruel taunts. They called her ugly and told her she looked like she’d been splattered with mud. One of her nicknames was Dalmatian – all because of the dark spots that covered her skin.

Marika Nagy was born with congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN), a rare genetic condition that resulted in about 60% of her skin being covered in birthmarks.

Her childhood in Bremen, Germany, was hellish. By the time she was a teenager the years of bullying had left her with such deep emotional scars, she needed six years of therapy to help her cope.

But now the 22-year-old is having the last laugh by using the once-embarrassing skin condition as the foundation of a successful modeling career.

The ginger-haired beauty recently landed a contract and has already done shoots for a number of clients, including German underwear brand Tizz & Tonic. Yet she insists she isn’t doing this for money or fame – rather, it’s about getting the chance to be a role model to girls who feel insecure about their flaws.

“When I was young, I had no one to look up to,” she says. “I didn’t feel represented. Fashion pages were filled with perfect people.”

She’s aiming to show the world there’s beauty in imperfection. Instead of being ashamed of being different, she’s treating her spots as a badge of honor, even going so far as to change her name to Mary Nevus to show how wholeheartedly she’s embraced her condition.

“My birthmarks make me special,” she says. “The world would be a very boring place if we all looked the same.”

AXEL Nagy admits the first time he saw his daughter he was shocked. CMN is usually the result of faulty pigment cell development in the embryo and affects about one in 500 000 babies.