Jarrow beauty blogger who was born with severe facial disfigurement wows on This Morning

Katie Meehan has thanked her home town community for helping to transform her health as she appeared on This Morning.
Katie Meehan has set up her own beauty and photography blog.Katie Meehan has set up her own beauty and photography blog.
Katie Meehan has set up her own beauty and photography blog.

Sitting on the sofa with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford earlier today, Monday, July 29, Katie was interviewed live on the ITV show about how she has become a successful social media influencer, with more than 20,000 followers on Instagram.

The broadcasters took her through how she was born with the rare condition Cystic Hygroma, which caused cysts to form around her face and mouth, with surgery funded by her home community through an appeal backed by the Shields Gazette helping her thrive.

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In a feature about breaking down beauty stereotypes, she said she one day hopes to front up a company’s ad campaign.

She said: “I think a lot of people expected it to have a massive negative affect, but it really didn’t.

“I’ve had such a great quality of life and have grown up in an amazing community that surrounded me, I really felt so much love growing up.”

Katie, a digital ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and runs her own website, added the South Shields community had been “incredible” in its support for her, and while her condition continues to cause difficulties, she still has a positive attitude to life.

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Katie, who now lives in Jarrow, said: “Although I’ve been faced with this adversity, it’s actually been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me because I would never have had the opportunities that I have had and the outlook on life it’s given me the motivation and the love for what I do to just take it as far as I can.”

Katie Meehan pictured as a baby.Katie Meehan pictured as a baby.
Katie Meehan pictured as a baby.

In her final message to viewers, she said: “You’ve only got one life, you’ve really got to grab it and just do what you want because at the end of the day it’s your life and you get to dictate what you do with it.

“I think it’s important that you just seize the day and half of the time, if you have an insecurity, nobody else even notices it.

”You’ve just got to roll with that and have fun.”