Marina Chapman

Marina Chapman[1] (born circa 1950) is a South American-born British woman known for her claim to have spent much of her early childhood in the jungle, alone except for a colony of capuchin monkeys.[2]

Marina Chapman
Borncirca 1950
CitizenshipBritish
Notable workThe Girl With No Name
Children2

Born sometime in the 1950s, Chapman states that as a child, she was taken from her village (whose name she was too young to have learned), and then released for a reason she did not understand; she spent the next several years following capuchin monkeys, until hunters rescued her—by which point she had no human language. According to Chapman, she later was sold to a brothel in Cúcuta, then lived on the streets, and then became a slave of a mafia family.[3]

A neighbour, Maruja, rescued her from her predicament. Maruja's daughter, Maria, adopted Chapman when Chapman was approximately 14, and Maruja sent Chapman to Bogotá to live with one of her daughters.[3] This family had connections to the city of Bradford, Yorkshire, England, through the textile industry. The family sent their children to Bradford in 1977 and sent Chapman to be a nanny.[2] She still lives in Bradford, England.

She subsequently wrote her autobiography, "The Girl With No Name" (published 2013 by Mainstream Publishing), with the help of her daughter Vanessa;[2] it was rejected by several publishers because they believed it was not authentic.[3] She currently lives in Bradford[3] and married a scientist from the Bradford area.[2] Chapman and her husband have two children.[2]

National Geographic created the documentary Woman Raised By Monkeys. It premiered on Thursday 12 December 2013.[4]

Analysis

Carlos Conde, a professor in Colombia, stated that he did a test using pictures of Chapman's adopted family and capuchin monkeys that strongly suggested that Chapman was telling the truth. A University of London psychology professor, Christopher French, argued that Chapman may be affected by false memories.[2]

References
  1. Strange life of the housewife who grew up with monkeys, by Philip Sherwell and Josie in the Daily Telegraph; published 28 October 2012; retrieved 7 February 2015
  2. Payne, Terry (12 December 2013), Monkeys: is this granny from Bradford telling the truth?, Radio Times, archived from the original on 31 December 2014
  3. Hattenstone, Simon. "Was Marina Chapman really brought up by monkeys?" The Guardian. Friday 12 April 2013. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.
  4. "Woman Raised By Monkeys". National Geographic Channel - UK. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
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