When Brianna Worthy of Ridgeland, South Carolina, first held her newborn daughter MilliAnna, she was overjoyed to see a familiar feature: a pure white streak of hair at the front of the baby’s head.

MilliAnna, now 18 months old, is the fourth generation in her family to inherit the distinctive trait. The same white patch appears in the hair of her mother Brianna (23), grandmother Jennifer (41), and great-grandmother Jaonne (59). The condition is known as poliosis — a localized lack of pigment (melanin) in the hair and sometimes the surrounding skin, resulting in a stark white or gray streak.

Poliosis can be hereditary and is often present from birth. In this family it has been passed down through the maternal line for at least four generations. Brianna’s grandmother was adopted, so the family does not know how much further back the trait may go.

Brianna has said she hoped her daughter would inherit the streak. Her own younger sister did not, so she was uncertain until MilliAnna was placed on her chest after birth. “Once I had her and they laid her on my chest and I saw she had it, I was so happy,” she recalled.

As a child, Brianna sometimes faced teasing — including being called names like “skunk” — but she grew to embrace the white streak as her personal signature. She now plans to raise MilliAnna with the same confidence. “I plan to raise my daughter knowing she is beautiful and special and to not listen to people’s mean comments,” she has said.

The matching white streaks often draw attention when the family is out in public. Brianna generally welcomes polite questions but notes that constant comments can occasionally feel overwhelming.

For this family, the white streak is more than a genetic curiosity. It is a visible link connecting four generations of women — a unique inheritance that Brianna hopes her daughter will wear with pride.

Sources

• Daily Mail, The Mirror, Telegraph, and Kidspot reports