A mother has revealed she’s spent$21,000 (£15,700) collecting over 20 Reborn Dolls.
Mary Lee Beatson, 42, from South Carolina, parents and takes care of the lifelike creations, that aim tomimic the look and feel of real human babies,alongside four children of her own.
Speaking to the Royale, the paramedic said she enjoys mothering the inventions without having to ‘raise’ them like she does her own offspring.
‘The dolls are there for you – when you have children, you’re there for them,’ explained Mary. ‘You have to cater to all of their needs. The dolls are there to fulfil the collectors needs.
‘I don’t even get around to handling them every day – it just depends. I’m not doing doll stuff all day.’
Unlike their human counterparts, Reborn Dolls – intricately hand-painted with details like freckles, specific facial expressions and even birthmarks – are devoid of stinky nappies and tantrums, though they are pricey, costing up to £20,000 per ‘baby’.
Mary has been in a year-long relationship with her partner, Darrik, a 49-year-old who works in quality control at a factory. She insisted he has no qualms with her 21-odd collection of dolls.
The paramedic also has two sons and two daughters,aged 25, 24, 21 and 19, from a previous marriage.She added that she also ‘helped to raise’ two other children, aged 16 and 13.
Mary Lee Beatson (pictured centre), from South Carolina, told of her joy at collecting over 20 Reborn Dolls
Some members of the Reborn Doll community use the time spent with the toys as essential preparation for parenthood, includingJess Ellis and her fiancé, Avery Raassen from Plaistow, East London, who in 2023 owned 13.
Theystarted collecting the dolls in May 2020 after feeling ‘lonely’ during the pandemic and coming across them online.
Jess said the pair would ‘love a baby in the future’ but both recognise it is a huge responsibility and one they are not ready for just yet.
But what first drew Mary to the lifelike babies was a ‘cute’ discounted ‘zombie baby’ she found in a Halloween store years ago.
The mother-of-four recalled: ‘She was the Ravenous Ruby – that particular baby has little cockroaches as part of the decoration and I think they’re made out of like latex… I thought that she was so cute so I bought her.
‘I got her at a discount because she was damaged and from there when I got her home I just used nail polish totouch her up. I thought she was so cute and I did not want to put her away because I loved having her out.
‘I put regular baby clothes on her and I just loved her! So I started thinking “I wonder if I can find something even more real looking”. I looked around and found another baby that had been repainted.’
From the chance meeting with ‘Ruby’ sprung a unique and intense bond with more Reborn Dolls, named as such because of creators often painting over a regular doll kit to make the lifelike toys.
Known as Reborn Dolls, the inventions look just like newborns, with the dolls intricately hand-painted with details like freckles, rosy cheeks, specific facial expressions, skin textures and even birthmarks; pictured: Mary’s Reborn toddler, two-year-old Daida
‘I loved this little doll so much’ added Mary. ‘I was taking her to work with me and just had a great time with her.’
The decision to grow her toy family was quick and instant – after all it requires less physical and emotional labour than real parenthood.
Today, Mary’s ‘babies’ are ‘diverse’ and derive from ‘different skin tones’.‘There’s white, there’s black and there’s different shades in between’ she said.
‘I [also] have a little albino baby and conjoined twins… they’re not even all human. I [have] an elf actually, a beautiful red werewolf and two green aliens.’
Though some may be curious about how Mary communicates with her doll children, she insisted she never talks to them.
So far, Mary admitted to having spent $21,000 (£15,700) of her salary on the lifesize babies.
‘So they are very expensive – but other than my dolls, I live a very simple life’ said Mary. ‘If I were to buy a new reborn, it would probably be $1,000 or more because of the ones that I tend to like.
‘Some people spend on clothes – I just shop at Walmart because I’m pretty simple. My dolls look pretty when I put them in Caden Lane or outfits that I find online.’
![Though Mary is a 'Reborn mother' to a 'preemie'[baby born prematurely] named Tuuli Mae (pictured), she said she doesn't have to legally 'raise' them like she does her own kids](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/22/10/103178775-15208741-Though_Mary_is_a_Reborn_mother_to_a_preemie_baby_born_prematurel-m-2_1761124608294.jpg)
Though Mary is a ‘Reborn mother’ to a ‘preemie'[baby born prematurely] named Tuuli Mae (pictured), she said she doesn’t have to legally ‘raise’ them like she does her own kids
According to rebornbaby.org, prices of Reborn Dolls can vary greatly, with lower end versions costing around £30.
Higher quality versions with extra featuressuch as battery-operated breathing machines, human hair, or baby powder and infant laundry detergent scents can fetch up to a whopping £20,000.
In fact, some dolls can look so realistic that one woman,from Malvern in Worcestershire, was forced to put up a sign in her window telling passerbys not to ‘panic’ after police broke in thinking one was a real baby.
In 2024, Ava Prior, who paints the ultra-realistic dolls as a hobby, says officers mistook one for an ‘abandoned’ child, smashing her door open to rescue it and causing more than £400 worth of damage.
But such a pass time has attracted unwanted looks in the street for Mary; the mother-of-four pointed to the time she took her conjoined twins Zadie and Zelda on a shopping trip.
‘One of them is painted like a real baby and the other one is painted like a clown so I took out the one that is painted like a real baby’ said Mary.
‘Iwas just going around and there were lots of people coming up. Lots of people were curious and I had a lot of really good reactions but then there was this one lady, she was a little bit older.
‘She looked, and I don’t know if it was because she was a doll or if it was because she was a conjoined twin, but the lady jumped back and was frowning up at me.
The mother-of-four, 42,has spent over £15,000 growing her large doll family (pictured), whom she parents and takes care of alongside four children of her own
‘She didn’t actually say anything to me but she had a really frowned face. She looked scared and angry.’
Mary said she’s ready to retire her growing collection at number 21 and expressed no desire to purchase any more.
‘I think I’ve got all the onesthat I want,’ she said. ‘I think if I were going to getanymore, I would sell some of the ones that I have in order to buy whichever one that it was that I wanted, but I’m pretty content with where I’m at.’
For anyone planning to join the Reborn Doll community, Mary said the pricier the better.
She said: ‘Take your time and make sure that you really, really like the baby that you’re going to buy.
‘Don’t buy something just because it’s cheaper because you’ll end up disappointed.You’re just going to wind up spending more money to buy what you really want.’
