Gypsy Rose Blanchard

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard (born July 27, 1991) is an American woman who was convicted of the murder of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard. She had conspired with her boyfriend to have him stab her mother, which occurred in June 2015 at the house where she lived with her mother in Springfield, Missouri. She was initially charged with first-degree murder, but she later pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to ten years in prison. After Dee Dee's death, allegations surfaced that Dee Dee abused Gypsy-Rose and misrepresented Gypsy-Rose's health, which drew national attention to the case.

She was released on parole on December 28, 2023, after serving about eight and a half years of her ten-year sentence. Given the sensational aspects of Blanchard's childhood, including allegations that her mother forced her to pretend to be disabled and terminally ill, she gained widespread media attention. Hulu produced a limited series, The Act (2019), released while she was still in prison, and she has been featured in interviews on a variety of TV shows, such as Dr. Phil; other programs have been based on her story. In 2024, her own reality show, Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up, premiered on Lifetime.

Early life Gypsy-Rose Blanchard was born on July 27, 1991, in Raceland, Louisiana, U.S., to Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard (née Pitre) and Rod Blanchard. They separated soon afterward, before Blanchard's birth, and later divorced, and Dee Dee was given custody of Blanchard. Rod remarried and had two more children. though none of these conditions were true. She was also using a wheelchair and had a feeding tube. 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 Dee Dee (who was now going by Clauddinnea Blancharde).

Dee Dee regularly shaved Blanchard'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; Blanchard 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; Blanchard was fed the children's liquid nutrition supplement PediaSure well into her 20s. Her former pediatrician, Dr. Rob Steel, confirmed in an interview that she had strabismus as an infant, which required surgery to correct and prevent blindness.

In 2024, April “Fancy” Macelli, a former associate of the Blanchard family who had been given access to Blanchard's private medical records and other case material, publicly expressed doubts that Dee Dee had Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Macelli claimed that the diagnosis had been promoted by Blanchard's stepmother, Kristy.

Growing independence Dee Dee likely, at least once, forged a copy of Blanchard's birth certificate, changing her birthdate to 1995 to bolster claims that she was still a teenager. Blanchard said in a later interview that for 14 years she was unsure of her real age. 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 named Dan that she had met online. Again, Dee Dee showed the paperwork giving Blanchard's false, younger birthdate and threatened to inform the police.

In June 2011, Blanchard 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, Blanchard, 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, Blanchard confided to 23-year-old neighbor Aleah Woodmansee (who, unaware that Blanchard 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, Blanchard maintained multiple Facebook accounts under different names. Despite Blanchard alleging Dee Dee would not allow her internet access, which went as far as allegedly destroying her daughter's phone and laptop, In 2015, Blanchard arranged and paid for Godejohn to travel to Springfield with money stolen from her mother. She planned to pretend to meet him for the first time at a movie theater with her mother,

Godejohn claims that Blanchard made it clear to him that as long as Dee Dee was alive, they couldn't be together and told him that getting rid of her was the only option.

Less than a month before the murder, Blanchard 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

On the day of the murder, Blanchard texted Godejohn, "The ***** gonna go down tonight…just the gloves and knife?'" Godejohn responded, "…duct tape too…to muffle her." Blanchard said she would "precut" the tape.

Godejohn returned to Springfield on June 10, 2015, arriving while Blanchard and Dee Dee were away at a doctor's appointment. That same day, after the two returned home from a Dollar General, they had an argument, reconciled, and spent the evening painting each other's nails. Blanchard stated that the last words her mother said to her were "I'm starting to feel more relaxed. Don't hurt me".

After Dee Dee had gone to sleep, Godejohn went to the Blanchard house. Blanchard 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 Blanchard'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. Blanchard said at that point she believed the two had gotten away with their crime. then took a bus there. Several witnesses who saw the pair on their way to the Greyhound station noted that Blanchard wore a blonde wig and walked unassisted.

Investigation and arrests After seeing concerning Facebook statuses posted from Dee Dee's account, the Blanchards' 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 Blanchard's wheelchairs were present.

The news that Blanchard 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 Blanchard 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.

Blanchard is in a relationship with Ken Urker, and the couple have a daughter.

Since her release from prison, Blanchard has become a public figure through multiple media projects, including interviews, documentaries, and a memoir. Her public profile has led to controversy, including accusations that she has profited from her crime.

In March 2024, Blanchard faced criticism for saying she did not "identify as a murderer," during an interview on the Viall Files podcast.

In March 2026, Blanchard sparked outrage when she created a TikTok video collaborating with influencer Natalie Reynolds, showing Blanchard making a joke about her involvement in the murder of her mother. In August, recordings of prison phone calls between Blanchard and Anderson were shared online. In the calls, Blanchard used racial slurs and made other racist comments, including derogatory remarks about her sister's interracial relationship.

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 + As herself Year Title Role 2017 Mommy Dead and Dearest Documentary; appears in both a prison interview and archive footage. Dr. Phil Guest; prison interview; 2 episodes 2018 ABC News Nightline Guest; prison interview The View Guest; 1 episode The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard Documentary series Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up Reality television series The Kardashians Guest; 1 episode This Morning Guest; 1 episode