Gypsy-Rose Blanchard

Blanchard was born on July 27, 1991, to 24-year-old Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard and 18-year-old Rod Blanchard. The 2003 report is the last contemporaneous Louisiana-based account of the family before their move out of the state. == Move to Missouri ==

After Hurricane Katrina destroyed their Louisiana home, Dee Dee and Gypsy-Rose lived in a rented home in Aurora in southwestern Missouri. During their time there, Gypsy-Rose was honored by the Oley Foundation, which advocates for the rights of feeding-tube recipients, as its 2007 Child of the Year. In 2008, Habitat for Humanity built them a small home with a wheelchair ramp and hot tub as part of a larger project on the north side of Springfield, to the east, and the two moved there. The story of a single mother with a severely disabled daughter forced to flee Katrina's devastation received considerable local media attention, and the community often pitched in to help the woman who now went by Clauddinnea Blancharde, and whom they knew as Dee Dee. Dee Dee regularly shaved Gypsy-Rose's head, allegedly telling her that since her medication would eventually cause her hair to fall out, it was best to shave it in advance; Gypsy-Rose often wore wigs or hats to cover her baldness. When they left the house, Dee Dee often took an oxygen tank and feeding tube with them; Gypsy-Rose was fed the children's liquid nutrition supplement PediaSure well into her 20s. == Growing independence ==

Dee Dee has likely, at least once, forged a copy of Gypsy-Rose's birth certificate, changing her birthdate to 1995 to bolster claims that she was still a teenager. Gypsy-Rose said in a later interview that for 14 years she was unsure of her real age. Gypsy-Rose had attended science fiction and fantasy conventions since 2001, sometimes in costume, since she could blend into their diverse and inclusive communities in her wheelchair. At a 2011 event, she made what may have been an escape attempt that ended when her mother found her in a hotel room with a man she had met online. Again, Dee Dee showed the paperwork giving Gypsy-Rose's false, younger birthdate and threatened to inform the police. Additionally, Gypsy's former pediatrician, Dr. Rob Steel, confirmed in an interview that Gypsy had strabismus as an infant, which required surgery to correct and prevent blindness. In June 2011, Gypsy attempted another escape by shooting her mother ten times with a BB gun, which she initially believed was a real firearm. Dee Dee told others that the injuries resulted from a robbery attempt at a nearby Walmart. Sometime around 2012, Gypsy-Rose, who continued to use the Internet and phone freely, made contact online with Nicholas Godejohn, a man around her age from Big Bend, Wisconsin, whom she said she had met on a Christian singles website. In 2014, Gypsy-Rose confided to 23-year-old neighbor Aleah Woodmansee (who, unaware that Gypsy-Rose was closer to her own age, considered herself a "big sister"), that she and Godejohn had discussed eloping and had even chosen names for potential children. According to law-enforcement reports and media coverage, Gypsy maintained multiple Facebook accounts under different names. Despite Gypsy alleging Dee Dee would not allow her internet access, which went as far as allegedly destroying her daughter's phone and laptop, Less than a month before the murder, Gypsy sent Godejohn a video of her walking into her mother’s room, pointing at Dee Dee's pillow and making a stabbing motion. == Murder of Dee Dee Blanchard ==

Godejohn returned to Springfield on June 10, 2015, arriving while Gypsy-Rose and her mother were away at a doctor's appointment. After they had returned home and Dee Dee had gone to sleep, he went to the Blanchard house. Gypsy-Rose let him in and gave him duct tape, gloves, and a knife with the understanding that he would use it to murder Dee Dee. Afterward, the two had sex in Gypsy-Rose's room, and stole more than $4,400 in cash that Dee Dee had been keeping in the house, They called a taxi cab and fled to a motel outside Springfield Missouri, where they stayed a few days while planning their next move. During their time at the motel, they were seen on security cameras at several stores. Gypsy-Rose said at that point she believed the two had gotten away with their crime. They mailed the murder weapon back to Godejohn's home in Wisconsin to avoid being caught with it, then took a bus there. Several witnesses who saw the pair on their way to the Greyhound station noted that Gypsy wore a blonde wig and walked unassisted. Investigation and arrests After seeing concerning Facebook statuses posted from Dee Dee's account, the Blanchard's friends suspected something was amiss. When phone calls went unanswered, several friends and neighbors went to the house. While the friends and neighbors knew that the two often left on medical trips unannounced, they saw Dee Dee's modified car still in the driveway, making an unannounced trip unlikely. Protective film on the windows made it hard to see inside in the low light. No one answered the door, so the gathered friends called 9-1-1. When the police arrived, they had to wait for a search warrant to be issued before they could enter, but they allowed one of the neighbors to climb through a window. He reported that the inside of the house was largely undisturbed and that Gypsy-Rose's wheelchairs were present. The news that Gypsy-Rose was safe was greeted with relief in Springfield, where she and Godejohn were soon extradited to and held on $1 million bond. But, in announcing the news, Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott warned, "things are not always what they appear". The media in Springfield soon reported the truth of the Blanchards' lives: that Gypsy-Rose had never been sick and had always been able to walk, but her mother had made her pretend otherwise, allegedly using physical abuse to control her. Arnott urged people not to donate money to the family until investigators learned the extent of the fraud. Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole and an additional 25 years for armed criminal action. == Personal life ==

Blanchard was released on parole on December 28, 2023, after serving eight years of her ten-year sentence. Following her release, she gave several television interviews, including appearances on Good Morning America, CNN, and The View. In 2024, she and her then-husband Ryan Anderson were featured in the Lifetime docuseries Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up. In March 2026, Blanchard sparked outrage when she created a TikTok video showing her making a joke about her involvement in the murder of her mother. == Fictionalizations in popular culture ==

• In 2019 Hulu released an eight part mini-series, The Act. Joey King portrayed Gypsy-Rose and Patricia Arquette portrayed Dee Dee. • In 2019 a crime drama film inspired by Gypsy-Rose's case, Love You to Death aired on Lifetime, starring Marcia Gay Harden and Emily Skeggs with the characters' names changed. ==Documentaries and interviews==