Zara Hartshorn – 13 Year Old Girl Looks 30 Years Older

Zara Hartshorn – 13 Year Old Girl Looks 30 Years Older:
Zara Hartshorn from the UK is 13 years old But she looks much older than her age. She suffers from a genetic disease called lipodystrophy that makes her look like an adult. She has the face of a grown woman, gaunt and wrinkled. But she’s a frightened teen inside.

Zara Hartshorn lives at home with her mom, sisters and a brother. There is, of course, the usual rough-and-tumble and sibling bickering one would expect in a large family. But, Zara said, she feels safe and loved. No one makes fun of her, unlike every time she steps outside her front door, where she’s scared.

”It feels like people are looking down their noses at me and staring,” she said at her home in northern England. “You know when you get that feeling you’re being watched? I feel that everywhere I go.” When asked what she feels when she sees her own face in the mirror, Zara said, “I don’t like it. Sometimes I’ll sit in my room and start pulling my skin back, stuff like that. Most teenagers worry about getting spots. I’m worried about surgery and stuff like that and when’s bullying going to stop.”