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SKIN 
	

January 2020     Volume 4 Issue 1 
 

Copyright 2020 The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine 100 

COMPELLING COMMENTS 
 

Wes Anderson’s ‘Exceedingly Lovely’ Face 

Erin K. Bartholomew BA,1 Mackenzi R. McHugh BS,1 Megan C. O’Connor BA1 
 
1Eastern Virginia Medical School 
 

 
 
In Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest 
Hotel, Agatha is a baker with a defining 
feature of a facial birthmark. Protagonist 
Gustav describes Agatha, “I must say, I find 
that girl utterly delightful. Flat as a board, 
enormous birthmark the shape of Mexico 
over half her face, …Yet without question, 
without fail, always and invariably, she's 
exceedingly lovely.”1 
 
Agatha is depicted as sweet with her Mexico 
birthmark noted as her only “flaw.” Yet, 
Agatha’s appearance is a far cry from the 
protagonists and love-interests in classic 
cinematography. Heroes and heroines are 
portrayed with flawless skin, while villains are 
typically depicted with marred features.2 Most 
often, the villains are troubled with scars and 
vascular deformities that become a visual 
representation of their heinous acts and poor 
self-worth. The contrast of perfect and flawed 
skin often underscores the dichotomy 
between good and evil, with concerns of 
developing a prejudice against skin 
diseases.2  
 
While Agatha’s defining facial feature is not 
remarked upon more frequently in the film, 
the striking spot of beauty is likely a port-wine 
stain. The capillary malformation on her right 
cheek following the V2 branch of the 
trigeminal nerve. Over time, these cutaneous 
vascular malformations typically do not 
regress and instead, grow and darken into 

adulthood. Later in the movie, Agatha’s love, 
Zero Mustafa, notes that she succumbs to 
disease, dying in a few years. While not 
overtly stated, a potential cause of Agatha’s 
death could be related to complications of her 
Mexico birthmark, a cutaneous presentation 
of Sturge-Weber disease. This congenital 
vascular disease commonly includes 
vascular malformations in the brain and eyes; 
Agatha may have succumbed to a seizure 
with poor vascular perfusion to her cerebral 
cortex. Nevertheless, Agatha charms viewers 
and protagonist Zero with her shy kindness; 
her slight, albeit grandiose facial imperfection 
making her even more human. 
 
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None 
 
Funding: None 
 
Corresponding Author: 
Megan C. O’Connor BA 
M.D. Class of 2020 
Eastern Virginia Medical School 
Norfolk, VA 23507 
Tel: 651-357-0763 
Email: mco.oconnor@gmail.com 

References: 
1. Anderson W. The Grand Budapest Hotel. Faber & 

Faber; 2014. 
2. Croley JA, Reese V, Wagner RF, Jr. Dermatologic 

Features of Classic Movie Villains: The Face of 
Evil. JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(6):559-564.