A 23-year-old woman, who is the height of an eight-year-old, has shared insights about managing her rare condition. Shauna Rae, the star of the reality TV series I Am Shauna Rae, offers viewers a look into her everyday life. Standing at 3 feet 10 inches and weighing 50 pounds, Shauna is often labeled as a “woman stuck in an eight-year-old’s body.”
However, Shauna recently expressed her dislike for this description on TikTok, explaining, “I know the phrase ‘woman stuck in the body of an eight-year-old’ is often associated with me, but it doesn’t feel accurate. I’m not ‘stuck’ in an eight-year-old’s body. I am a 23-year-old woman, and my body is that of a 23-year-old.”
She continued, “My body has gone through puberty and matured in ways that don’t happen to eight-year-olds. So, I’m not in an eight-year-old’s body; I’m simply a shorter statured woman. My body functions like any other 23-year-old’s.”
Shauna’s growth was affected by treatment she received for brain cancer as an infant, which damaged her pituitary gland and led to pituitary dwarfism. Speaking with TLC, Shauna recalled, “At six months, my mom noticed a lump on my head. Doctors identified it as an aggressive tumor. I had surgery and chemotherapy for two to three years, and was eventually cancer-free. By the time I was five, I realized other kids were much taller, and that’s when doctors found my pituitary gland was nearly inactive, producing growth and other hormones at a very slow rate.”
Since her show’s debut, Shauna has used her platform to educate fans about her condition and debunk misconceptions about pituitary dwarfism. She also openly discusses her dating life, emphasizing how she identifies people who may have the wrong intentions. “I’ve learned to spot people with poor intentions as they reveal themselves,” she shared with The New York Post. “They often fixate on my appearance, treating me like a curiosity.”
Shauna has also talked about daily challenges, like people questioning her age. “Recently, at a lab, they wouldn’t let me leave, thinking I was a child without a parent. They refused to believe I was an adult, so I had to sneak out when they weren’t looking,” she said, describing the experience as “extreme.”