The character arc of Nick Vujicic
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 4 December 1982 in Melbourne to Serbian immigrants from Yugoslavia, with tetra-amelia syndrome, the absence of arms and legs. Between then and now sit a mother who could not look at him at first and parents who then raised him to look at the bright side, bullying at school, an attempt on his own life as a child, an operation to separate two fused toes on his one partial foot, that foot learned as a universal limb for walking, writing, swimming and surfing, a first talk at seventeen, a commerce degree at twenty one, a ministry, a film role and an acting award. 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 his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Nick Vujicic?
One foot with two toes. He surfs with it.
He was born in Melbourne to Serbian immigrants from Yugoslavia, with tetra-amelia syndrome, which means without arms and without legs. By his own account in his autobiography, his mother refused to see or hold him immediately after his birth, and she and his husband left the hospital. The same record says that although his parents initially struggled with grief and confusion, they raised him to look at the bright side of life. Both of those things are true and the second one is the one that lasted.
He was bullied at school for his condition. At one point, as a child, he attempted to take his own life, and was saved. He has spoken about that ever since, publicly and for decades, which is the reason it is on this page.
He is not entirely without limbs. He has one partial foot with two toes, which were originally fused, and an operation separated them so he can use them as fingers. He calls the foot his chicken drumstick, which tells you most of what you need to know about how he handles the subject. It became what the record calls his universal limb: he uses it to walk, jump, write, type, swim, surf and skateboard.
At seventeen he started giving inspirational talks at school and church events. At twenty one he graduated from Griffith University with a bachelor of commerce, a double major in accountancy and financial planning, which is a deliberately unglamorous qualification and worth noticing.
He travels and speaks about his faith, and his ministry is called Life Without Limbs, based in southern California. He appeared on American network news in 2008, starred in the 2009 short film The Butterfly Circus, and won best actor in a short film at a festival in 2010 for it.
The moments
Nick Vujicic's timeline.
The 1980s
Born without arms or legs
Setback, and it changed everything. Immigrant parents, a Melbourne hospital, and a condition almost nobody has.
His mother cannot look
Setback, and it changed everything. They could not look at him on the first day, and then they raised him.
The 1990s
Bullied at school
Setback, and it changed everything. A school playground, and a child who could not run away.
The lowest point
Setback, and it changed everything. He has told this himself, for thirty years, so that other children hear it.
Two toes, separated
Milestone, and it changed everything. One operation, two toes apart, and suddenly he could hold things.
The universal limb
Milestone, and it changed everything. Walk, jump, write, type, swim, surf, skateboard. With one foot.
Keep it private, or speak
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: stand up and tell it, taken, or take the degree and go quiet. He has spoken on every continent since, and leads a ministry built on it.
A first talk at seventeen
Milestone, and it changed everything. Seventeen, in front of a school hall, talking about his own life.
The 2000s
A commerce degree at twenty one
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Accountancy and financial planning, which nobody expects.
Life Without Limbs
Milestone, and it changed everything. A ministry of his own, and a name that is also a joke.
Network television
Milestone, and it changed his direction. American network news, and the audience got very large.
The Butterfly Circus
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A short film, a starring role, and an acting award for it.
The talks are still going out, to school halls and stadiums on every continent. What he set moving is a room full of teenagers who came expecting to feel sorry for a man with no arms and left having been told, by him, that he surfs.
Your turn
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His had a childhood low in it that he has spent his life describing to other people. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Nick Vujicic: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Nick Vujicic's character arc?
What condition does Nick Vujicic have?
What can Nick Vujicic do with his foot?
What did Nick Vujicic study?
What is Nick Vujicic's Life Without Limbs?
Has Nick Vujicic acted?
Where does this timeline of Nick Vujicic's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Nick Vujicic, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- His own autobiography, as that biography summarises it, for his birth and his childhood.
- Griffith University records for his 2003 degree, and festival records for the 2010 acting award.
- The method of the childhood attempt is in the record and is deliberately not stated here.