The character arc of Aimee Mullins

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born in 1976 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to an Irish father and his wife, with fibular hemimelia, missing the fibula bones in both legs. Between then and now sit the amputation of both legs below the knee at one year old, a prognosis that she would likely use a wheelchair for the rest of her life and never walk, walking on prosthetic legs by two, sport and acting taken up early, a full scholarship to Georgetown, the first amputee to compete against non-disabled athletes at collegiate level, the 1996 Paralympics, modelling from 1999 and acting from 2002. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Aimee Mullins?

A wheelchair for life, they said. She walked at two.

She was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to an Irish father from County Clare and his wife, with fibular hemimelia, which means missing the fibula bones. Both her legs were amputated below the knee when she was one year old. Her parents were told she would likely use a wheelchair for the rest of her life and never walk.

By the age of two she had learned to walk with prosthetic legs. She took up sport and acting early, which is the other important thing: nobody in that house treated either as unavailable to her.

She graduated from high school in 1993 and went to the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University on a full scholarship, where she competed against non-disabled athletes in Division I track and field. She is the first amputee to have done that in collegiate competition, which meant lining up in an open race, on prosthetics, against runners with their own legs.

She competed at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.

Then she did something else again. She began modelling in 1999 and acting in 2002, and has spoken at conferences including major talks events. The prosthetic legs became part of the work rather than a thing to be hidden under a long skirt, which changed what a great many people thought a prosthetic limb was for.

The moments

Aimee Mullins's timeline.

The 1970s

Jun 1977

Both legs, at one year old

Setback, and it changed everything. Twelve months old, and both legs gone below the knee.

Jul 1977

A wheelchair for life

Setback, and it changed everything. That was the prognosis they were given, in plain words.

Jun 1978

She walks at two

Milestone, and it changed everything. A year after they said never, she was walking.

The 1980s

~1984

Sport, and acting

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Both of the things nobody had told her she could not do.

The 1990s

Jun 1993

A full scholarship

Milestone, and it changed everything. Georgetown, on a full scholarship, to study foreign service.

1 Sep 1993

Which races to enter

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: run in the open races, taken, or compete in her own class. She became the first amputee to compete against non-disabled athletes at that level, and went to the Paralympics in 1996.

Apr 1994

The first to line up

Milestone, and it changed everything. An open race, at the top collegiate level, on prosthetic legs.

15 Aug 1996

Atlanta

Milestone, and it changed everything. The Paralympics, in her own country.

~1999

She starts modelling

Milestone, and it changed everything. She put the prosthetics in front of a fashion camera on purpose.

The 2000s

~2002

And then acting

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A third career, after the athletics and the modelling.

~2009

On the big stages

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Talks about what a prosthetic limb is actually for.

She is still on stages and still in front of cameras, and the legs are still visible. What she set moving is a change in what a prosthetic limb is allowed to look like, made by a woman who was told at one year old that she would never walk and was running for a university by twenty.

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Aimee Mullins: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Aimee Mullins's character arc?

A girl whose legs were both amputated below the knee at one year old, whose parents were told she would never walk, who walked at two, went to Georgetown on a full scholarship, and became the first amputee to race able-bodied athletes at collegiate level.

Why were Aimee Mullins's legs amputated?

She was born with fibular hemimelia, missing the fibula bones in both legs, and both were amputated below the knee when she was one year old. Her parents were told she would likely use a wheelchair for life.

Did Aimee Mullins compete against non-disabled athletes?

Yes, and she is recorded as the first amputee to do so. At Georgetown University she competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I track and field events, in open races, on prosthetic legs.

Did Aimee Mullins go to the Paralympics?

Yes, she competed at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, in the same years she was also racing against non-disabled athletes in collegiate competition, while studying at Georgetown on a full scholarship.

What else has Aimee Mullins done?

She began modelling in 1999 and acting in 2002, and speaks at conferences including major talks events. Putting her prosthetic legs in front of fashion cameras changed what a great many people thought a prosthetic limb was for.

When did Aimee Mullins learn to walk?

By the age of two, with prosthetic legs, about a year after her parents were told she would likely never walk at all. She took up both sport and acting at an early age.

Where does this timeline of Aimee Mullins's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Aimee Mullins isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Aimee Mullins, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
National Collegiate Athletic Association records for her Division I competition.
Paralympic records for Atlanta 1996, and Georgetown University records for her scholarship.