Results: Madame Abomah ("The African Giantess"), Part 1 of 7
Published on 08/06/2025
In the late 1800's through the early 1900's, Madame Abomah had a 30-year career appearing in theatres, music halls, and sideshows around the world as a singer and 7 ft 6 inch "giantess." (The average American female was 5' 2" at that time.) She was billed as a fearsome Amazon fighter from West Africa, but was actually born in the USA.
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Born in South Carolina in 1865, Ella Grigsby narrowly missed being a slave, as the 13th Amendment was ratified just 10 months before her birth. Ella cast off the name Grigsby (which was that of her parents' slaveowner) and used the name Williams, after the prominent family for whom she cooked. Although none of her siblings were unusually large, Ella's 7 ft 6 inch height caught the attention of promoters. Showman Frank Bostock signed Ella to a contract and billed the native South Carolinian as Madame Abomah ("The African Giantess"). Have you ever heard of Madame Abomah?
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