Ella Abomah Williams was born in South Carolina in 1865 to enslaved parents, arriving just as the nation abolished slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment, which also freed newborns like her. Gifted with extraordinary height and a commanding presence, she rose from those difficult beginnings to become one of the most celebrated performers of her era.
Ella, born Ella Grigsby, spent her early years working on farms and in domestic labor, first as a child in South Carolina and later in the household of a family named Williams, from whom she eventually took her surname. Her growth was normal until her teenage years, when a severe bout of malaria changed her life forever. After recovering, she began to grow rapidly and continuously, towering over nearly everyone around her.
Promoters later claimed she stood 7 feet 6 inches, a number inflated for spectacle, but even reliable estimates place her near 6 feet 10 inches, an extraordinary height for any era. Her imposing stature, paired with her calm, confident presence, would become her ticket to worldwide fame.
In the late 19th century, opportunities for African American women were painfully limited, shaped by segregation, discrimination, and economic exclusion. The circus, however, offered a rare opening. It was a world built on spectacle, a place where difference could be turned into livelihood.
Ella entered this world initially as a sideshow attraction, but her career quickly distinguished itself from those around her. Managed by Frank C. Bostock, she was introduced to the public as “Madame Abomah, the African Giantess,” a name crafted to evoke the power and mystery of the Kingdom of Dahomey (in today’s Benin).
Promoters leaned heavily on exotic imagery, presenting her as if she were a towering warrior from West Africa. It was a marketing fantasy, Ella was African American and born in the American South, but it reflected how circuses often packaged Black performers for white audiences.
Still, she made the most of the role. Ella didn’t rely solely on her height; she cultivated a stage presence that was splendid and composed. Many accounts describe her as graceful, charismatic, and surprisingly gentle, a contrast to the exaggerated posters that depicted her as a fierce Amazon.
Ella Abomah Williams was not just a national phenomenon, she was an international sensation. Throughout her 30 year career, she toured across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and the Caribbean. She performed with major companies including Barnum & Bailey, Ringling Brothers, and several of Bostock’s own exhibitions.
Under the bright lights of the circus tents, she sang, danced, posed in glamorous gowns, and held the attention of thousands. Unlike many sideshow acts that relied on shock, Ella’s performances often leaned into poise and elegance. Posters described her as “the tallest, most beautiful woman on earth,” combining spectacle with admiration.
Ella’s career existed in a delicate balance between control and exploitation. On one hand, the circus world exoticized her, reduced her to a spectacle, and stretched the truth of her origins to fit a profitable narrative. On the other hand, it provided financial independence and visibility unmatched by the options available to most African American women of her era.
When Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, Mme Abomah canceled her European commitments and returned to the United States. She continued performing with Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, and at Coney Island into the 1920s.
Her later years are not well documented, though reports indicate she remained connected to circus and performance life into her sixties.
According to the Tampa Morning Tribune on August 23, 1928, Ella Abomah Williams died in Hawaii and was financially comfortable at the time of her death.
Sources:
https://www.unclejrproject.com/ella-williams
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/267670435/ella_abomah-williams
