Ella Harper (January 5, 1870 – December 19, 1921),[1] known professionally as The Camel Girl,[2] was born with an extremely rare orthopedic condition that caused her knees to bend backwards, called congenital genu recurvatum.

Her preference to walk on all fours resulted in her nickname "Camel Girl".

The back of her pitch card reads: I am called the camel girl because my knees turn backward.

[3][4]Harper received a $200 per week salary for her appearances (equivalent to $6,800 in 2023).

[2] Harper married a schoolteacher named Robert Savely in 1905; she died in 1921 at the age of fifty-one.