Katie Piper

Who is Katie Piper?

Kate Elizabeth "Katie" Piper is an English philanthropist, television presenter and former model from Andover, Hampshire. Piper had hoped to have a full-time career in the media, but in March 2008 sulphuric acid was thrown in her face. The attack, which blinded Piper in one eye, was arranged by Piper's ex-boyfriend and carried out by an accomplice; both men were arrested and are serving life sentences in prison for their crimes.

The attack took place in North London and Piper was treated in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where the surgeons removed all the skin from her face before rebuilding it with a skin substitute and then a skin graft. The procedure was the first of its kind to be completed in a single operation. Katie also underwent Ex-vivo limbal stem cell allograft transplantation at the Centre for Sight to restore her vision.

In 2009, Piper chose to give up her anonymity in order to increase awareness about burn victims. The Channel 4 documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face was first aired on 29 October 2009 as part of the Cutting Edge series; it has subsequently been repeated on several occasions, made available for online on-demand access and sold internationally.