Celesta Geyer

Celesta Geyer (née Herrmann; July 18, 1901 – February 19, 1982) was an American circus performer best known as the fat lady Dolly Dimples, and also billed under the stage names Bonnie Sonora and Jolly Dolly Geyer. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Celesta Herrmann was born on July 18, 1901, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Geyer grew up in a German-American family. According to later biographical accounts, meals were a central part of family life, with frequent large meals and snacks throughout the day. She later recalled developing a large appetite at an early age and experiencing teasing from classmates about her size.^[1] By the time she left school, which she later attributed to a combination of bullying and the need to contribute financially to her household, she reportedly weighed nearly 300 pounds (140 kg). By her twenties, her weight had increased to approximately 400 pounds (180 kg).

Biographical sources describe her childhood as marked by both social difficulties outside the home and a supportive family environment. Despite her size, Geyer worked a variety of jobs before entering show business, including factory work, selling cosmetics, and working as a manicurist.

She married Frank Geyer, and the couple remained together for more than four decades, though they had no children. In the late 1920s, Frank Geyer lost his job at the Ford Motor Company, and the economic pressures of the Great Depression significantly reduced his employment prospects. Facing financial hardship, the couple joined a traveling circus following encouragement from an established sideshow performer. It was at this time that Celesta Geyer adopted the stage name “Dolly Dimples.”

Dolly Dimples was billed as "The World's Most Beautiful Fat Lady".^[2] Also an accomplished singer and impersonator of celebrities of the day, such as Kate Smith, Dolly's act became a big draw on the sideshow circuit. Her husband also worked with the sideshow as a road assistant and acted as Dolly's manager. By the late 1930s they were working for the Ringling Brothers. By this time, Dolly was consuming approximately 10,000 calories (42,000 kJ) daily, the rough equivalent of the reference daily intake of five average women. By the time she was in her 40s her weight peaked at 555 pounds (252 kg).^[3][4]

Her daily diet typically consisted of five pounds of meat, several pounds of potatoes, four loaves of bread, a gallon of milk, and almost two pounds of sugar primarily consumed in the form of baked goods and pastries.

Dolly and Frank toured for over 20 years, wintering in a home they eventually established into, in Florida.^[3] The home became a haven for Dolly, away from the crowds and fitted out with suitably sized furniture and bathroom fixtures. During the winter months, she earned money by doing psychic readings from her home. Her weight eventually caused her to slow down and she began to suffer physically by her late 40s, making traveling with the circus more difficult.

After surviving a near fatal heart attack in 1950^[5][6], Dolly followed a strict 800 calories (3,300 kJ) per day diet and in little more than a year she reduced her weightby 440 pounds down to 112 pounds, maintaining her weight for the rest of her life. In later life she became an avid advocate of dieting and exercise.

Her autobiography, Diet or Die; The Dolly Dimples Weight Reducing Plan, was published in 1968 by F. Fell.^[7] Her weight loss was honored by the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest amount lost in the shortest amount of time.^[6]