Aimee Mullins

Aimee Mullins was born without fibulae, the bones that support the calf part of a person's legs. After her first birthday her legs were amputated in the hope that she could learn to use prosthetic legs, and she did--better than most people can use their biological legs. Aimee became a world-famous sprinter in college, breaking paralympic records for the hundred meter dash and the long jump.

After her athletic career, Aimee became a model and actress, appearing in the likes of Sports Illustrated. She is notable for her frank and open style (for her 1999 spread in People Magazine's Most Beautiful People, she said, "[I] don't want to be seen as a gimmicky disabled athlete...You don't hear people saying, 'Gwyneth Paltrow won an Oscar—and she's blonde!'"). She recently gave a talk on the definition of beauty, the future of prosthetics, and how readily children accept differences when free of the overbearing 'sensitivity' of adults; you can watch it here on TED.