She was told she was ugly and was referred to as a ‘Devil Child’ but now Michaela DePrince is one of the best ballerinas in the world.
Michaela was born and bred in Sierra Leone and lost both her biological parents at an early age, thus becoming an orphan and living at a local shelter in Sierra Leone. Michaela was consistently told that she was way too ugly to be adopted because of her vitiligo, which caused her skin to appear spotty, however despite the ‘Nay Sayers’ Michaela was eventually adopted and moved to New Jersey to live with her new family.
Michaela’s interest in dance started whilst she was at the shelter, after finding a magazine, with a beautiful ballerina on the cover. She kept the magazine and showed it to her adopted mother who then enrolled her into a ballerina class.
Dance became Michaela’s passion, and her talent continued to grow, despite the fact that she didn’t fit the typical ballerina profile. Michaela went on to win a prestigious scholarship for the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, at the American Ballet Theatre in NY, and is a member of the Dutch National Ballet, in Amsterdam!
Michaela now helps other young people to achieve their goals and hopes to eventually open a school in Sierra Leone.

Tracey Rosmond