Bonnie Consolo

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Bonnie J. Consolo (1938–2005) was a Kentucky woman who inspired many as a motivational speaker and disability rights advocate. Born Bonnie Jean Pflug on October 12, 1938, she was the third of five children and the only one in her family born without hands or arms. She grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky and finished high school in Frenchburg. She tried artificial arms but never found them comfortable.

In 1966 she married Frank Consolo near Hayward, California. In the 1970s a documentary about her life, A Day in the Life of Bonnie Consolo, brought her story to a national audience. By then she was living in Columbus, Ohio, as a housewife with her husband and two sons, Mark and Matthew. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1976. After the film, Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes interviewed her; the segment showed her cooking with her feet, driving, and taking care of her family. The interview became very popular, and Wallace called her unforgettable.

Bonnie spoke publicly about her life and the rights of people with disabilities. She later divorced Frank and moved back to Kentucky, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Morehead State University. In 1986 she married Ronald M. Duncan. She self-published her autobiography, Bonnie, an Autobiography, in 1993.

She died in Lexington, Kentucky, on December 27, 2005, and her ashes were scattered in Red River Gorge.