In this article, you will learn about purple eye color and which celebrities had such eyes.
There is an assumption that the first people on Earth had only dark eyes and had dark skin because they lived in a warm climate. And now most people have brown eyes. But in northern countries there are often men and women with fair skin and gray, blue, and very rarely violet eyes.
Some scientists believe that light eye color appeared from the mixing of different peoples and genetic mutation. And if blue and gray eyes with shades are quite common, then violet eyes are rare. In this article we will talk about purple eyes.
Do people have purple eyes?
Eye color depends on 2 factors:
- The presence of melanin in the body and iris - the more, the darker the eyes
- Density of the iris - the denser, the lighter the eyes
Attention. Newborn babies have a small amount of melanin, so almost all babies are born with blue or light gray eyes. Gradually, over about six months, most children's eye color changes, but some children's eyes remain the same. With age, the amount of melanin decreases, and in old age people's eyes become lighter.
Naturally violet eyes are very, very rare. There are several dozen such eyes all over the planet. Violet eye color is formed if there is approximately the same amount of melanin in the iris as in blue eyes, and the refraction of light.
There are several theories about how purple eye color is formed:
- Alexandria theory
- Marchesani syndrome
- Albinos
Purple eye color
Famous people with purple eyes
Actress Elizabeth Taylor had an unusual eye shade. She was born in 1932 and left this world in 2011, having lived 79 years. Eyewitnesses claim that she stopped aging at the age of 50 and retained her appearance into old age.
Today she is considered the only owner of this mutation, although many people believe that her iris was blue-gray rather than purple. There is an opinion that due to the double row of eyelashes and correctly selected lighting on the set, the actress had a lilac tint to her eyes.
It is difficult to say today how plausible their color was. One thing is clear, since at the time of filming films with Elizabeth, contact lenses and computer technologies that allowed color correction had not yet been invented, this could not have caused the change in the color of her eyes.
An interesting fact worth noting is that at some point after age 50, Elizabeth Taylor's eye color lost its violet tint and became gray. Many people at the time wondered if this had an impact on her health in the long run.
Modern movie stars and models often resort to using contact lenses, which give their eyes a purple tint. Optics help to emphasize the image being created, make the look more expressive, or completely change the image.
In literature, violet eyes are quite common. Their owners are special individuals or representatives of an entire race.
The following are the most popular heroes with unusual eye colors:
- V. Kamsha, “Chronicles of Artia” - representatives of the Villo-Grisier clan;
- N. Popova, “The Congregation” (book series) – the heroine Margaret von Schönborn;
- N. Ignatova, “Bastard von Narbe” - Lucas von Narbe, the hero is marked by an angel and given a special eye color;
- M. Peake, “Gormenghast” - the heir of Titus;
- J. Martin, “A Song of Ice and Fire” - representatives of the Valerian race who considered themselves superior;
- A. Sapkowski, “The Witcher” – Geralt’s beloved named Yennefer.
Today we can say with confidence that purple eyes are a very rare phenomenon. Scientists are still studying the mechanism of mutations in nature that cause this feature and the reasons for its appearance.
If a newborn child under the age of one year experiences the appearance of a purple tint in the iris of the eye, then it is quite possible that by adulthood he may become the owner of an unusual eye color. But in any case, it is believed that pure violet eye color does not exist; its shades can only appear.
Do albinos have purple eyes?
Albinos are people who have no melanin in their iris at all. They have very white skin, hair, and their eyes sometimes appear red due to the translucency of the blood vessels, and if you consider that the iris is blue, and in cases where it is reflected more strongly, a purple tint is obtained.
Albinos should not sunbathe or appear in the sun. This is an autoimmune disease.
Albinos have purple eyes
Eye color and mutations
The main and common eye colors in people today are:
- Brown - available to most inhabitants of the Earth.
- Gray is both rare and popular at the same time. Deep gray color can change shades depending on a person's mood.
- Blue is not a natural shade. The blue color of the eyes comes from the scattering of light rays. The inner area of the iris in such people has a black-brown color.
- Blue is also a gene mutation; this shade is characteristic of the inhabitants of Europe.
- Green is the rarest color.
There are also yellow or amber eyes. This color is rare, but causes less surprise than, for example, a purple tint.
In a child's body before birth, under the influence of various factors, gene mutations can occur. Eye color was no exception. For example:
- Aniridia is a complete or partial absence of the iris. Caused by a congenital pathology, it leads to problems such as cataracts, photophobia, etc.
- Heterochromia is a different eye color in one person (for example, one eye is brown and the other is gray).
According to research, green is considered a rare eye color. Only 2% of the world's population have it. The green tint of the iris is also associated with red hair color. Previously, girls with such eyes and hair were endowed with mystical powers and burned at the stake. Considering that eye color is inherited, the disappearance of people with green eyes becomes understandable.
People with green eyes produce little melanin. This shade appears more often in women than in men. Most green-eyed people live in Holland and Iceland. A small number of them can be found in Turkey.
How many people in the world have the rarest purple eye color?
Apart from Elizabeth Taylor, no other celebrities have had purple eyes. And in general, you have to be very lucky to meet such eyes on the street.
Probably because purple eyes are rare, and to make their novel unique, some authors give their characters purple eyes. These are the books:
- Author Vera Kashma, fantastic series of novels “Chronicles of Arcia”, where the entire Villiot-Grisier family has purple eyes.
- The author of the fantastic series of novels “The Congregation” Nadezhda Popova describes the amazing violet eyes of Margaret von Schönborn.
- The famous writer Anatoly Rybakov also gave purple eyes to Nikolai Yezhov, the head of the NKVD, in the novels “Fear” and “Children of the Arbat”.
Elizabeth Taylor's purple eye color
The famous American actress Elizabeth Taylor had 2 types of genetic mutations:
- She had purple eyes like the mythical Alexandria
- Distichiasis – 2 rows of eyelashes
Thanks to her thick eyelashes and violet eyes, many envied Elizabeth Taylor, but such mutations are associated with heart disease, which is why the actress died at 79 years old.
So, in this article, we learned a little more about purple eye color.
The most famous owner of purple eyes is American actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Purple eyes - myth or reality
People can have different eye colors: some have black eyes, some have brown, some have been blessed by nature with blue eyes, others have green. But have you ever seen someone with naturally purple eyes? Most likely no. Although this eye color does exist. The reasons for its appearance include two components: one of them is associated with myth, the other with reality.
The possibility of having purple eyes is associated with a disorder called
"The Origin of Alexandria". Although the presence of such a disease is unknown today, it is quite possible that it existed in the past. According to legend, several centuries ago in a small Egyptian village there was a mysterious flash of light in the sky, to which all the inhabitants were exposed. After this, they began to have children with pale skin and violet eyes. The first such child was a girl named Alexandria, born in England in 1329. Her eyes were gray or blue at birth and then turned purple within six months. Subsequently, the inheritance of eye color was passed on to her four daughters. However, they were healthy and lived to be a hundred years old. As you know, people with violet eyes have perfect vision. Although it may be a natural condition and not the result of a genetic defect or mutation.
Purple eye color can be explained from a medical point of view. It's connected with
Albinism is a genetic disorder caused by an altered gene that prevents the development of melanin. This condition results in a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. Along with these symptoms, a person with albinism may have purple eyes. Essentially, the lack of melanin gives rise to red eyes, as all the blood vessels become visible through the iris. Sometimes blue collagen is reflected more strongly in the eyes. However, in very rare cases, red and blue hues can combine to form the color purple. But there is another explanation. Albino people suffer from hypersensitivity to sunlight. The iris allows light to enter the eye, and this is what can contribute to the appearance of the color violet.
Speaking about such a genetic mutation, one cannot fail to mention the famous actress Elizabeth Taylor. Her violet eyes, white skin and dark hair captivated millions of people around the world and brought her immense popularity. Although there is currently a lot of debate about whether Taylor's eyes were naturally purple. The naturalness of the color is supported by the fact that contact lenses did not yet exist at that time. Production of the lenses began in 1983, and Elizabeth Taylor, with purple eyes, appeared on screen as Cleopatra as early as 1963. Many, however, believe that her eyes were not violet, but grey-blue. After all, as you know, purple is one of the intermediate shades between blue and gray.
So, the basis for the presence of violet eyes is a genetic defect. The conditions of its origin are associated both with a legend, which, unfortunately, cannot be verified, and with albinism, which most of us have a clear idea of. Be that as it may, the possibility of having natural violet eyes is not excluded, although this is a very rare condition.
Video: The rarest eye color. Top 5
We recommend reading more about eyes:
- Characteristics of people with brown and black eyes
- Characteristics of people with blue and blue eyes
- Characteristics of people with green eyes
- Characteristics of people with gray, gray-blue, gray-green eyes
- What are eye patches and how to use them correctly?
