This Quadriplegic Woman Has Spent $15,000 to Look Like Barbie
Twenty-six-year-old Jasmin Britney (born Katarina Koskiranta) has been paralyzed from the neck down ever since she was hit by a car when she was 9 years old. The Finnish quadriplegic, now a student at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, has round-the-clock professional care from an assistant who bathes her, helps her go to the bathroom, and does her hair and makeup for the day. Britney says she has spent tens of thousands of dollars on makeup, clothing, and Christian Louboutin shoes in order to resemble her idols, Barbie and Britney Spears - and to show other women who are paralyzed that their disabilities shouldn't prevent them from living out their glamorous dreams.
"It is a symbol that one day a breakthrough could happen and my life could change and I want others to never give up hope," Britney told the Daily Mail. "I have been unable to move since my accident but it hasn't stopped me living life to the full and for me that means posing as the world's only quadriplegic Barbie and Britney look alike."
Britney can't move her arms or legs and relies on a respiratory machine to keep her alive, but that doesn't stop her from always looking her absolute best from head to toe. "I don't do natural look make-up. I never leave the house without the perfect Barbie look and always in heels despite the fact I can't walk," she said. "People may think it's crazy that a quadriplegic wear high heels but why not, I want to look amazing."
"Being able to look like Barbie [and Disney princesses] has helped me come to terms with my accident," she said. "Barbie can do anything and Princess Jasmine, for example, inspires me because in her fairy tale she doesn't accept the future she is given and so goes and makes her own and that is what I plan to do."
