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A girl and her wheelchair became the ‘Notorious RBG’ for Halloween

Posted at 4:47 PM, Oct 31, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-31 16:47:21-04

Julia’s nickname is “Sweet Bird,” so there’s always a bird element to the costumes. This year, the bird is playing the role of RBG’s very important paper weight.

This little girl from New Jersey just won Halloween.

Julia Talbot, 9, has always enjoyed dressing up, and each Halloween her mom picks a female role model for her to embrace. This year is no different.

2018 has been declared the year of women in politics, so it comes to no surprise that Julia dressed up as none other than US Supreme Court JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg.

Being the“Notorious RBG”for Halloween is a statement on its own, but it’s not why Julia has won the hearts of thousands with her costume.

Her spot-on RBG ensemble includes a base — her wheelchair — decorated to look like the judge’s bench.

To represent a strong female fictional character, Julia dressed up as Daenerys Targaryen from “Game of Thrones.” The wheelchair was made into a throne.

Julia was born withMicrocephaly, a rare condition that affects the size of a child’s head, which prevents the brain from reaching its normal size and causes mild to severe learning disabilities.

She is “substantially and profoundly disabled. She can’t walk, talk or eat — she is completely tube fed,” Julia’s mom, Lisa Talbot, told CNN.

But this disability is not stopping Julia from living her best life. She loves the fact that her wheelchair can make her costumes that much more epic, and people just go gaga over her, her mom says.

“She loves attention. She loves life! She giggles all the time.” Talbot said. “She loves that people on Halloween actually come up to her and engage with her, talk to her, pay attention to her.”

Because female DJs are rare, Julia dressed up as a DJ, and the wheelchair was her booth.

And attention is what Julia got when her mom shared the photo on Twitterof the little but mighty RBG impersonator.

With a simple caption — “My daughter’s wheelchair made the PERFECT foundation for her Halloween costume” — Julia’s photo gained over 26,000 likes and nearly 6,000 retweets.

Her parents always want to create costumes that send a positive message, whether it’s subtle or not. They begin brainstorming ideas months in advance, and it takes them about 3-4 weeks to actually build the costumes.

“Anything that makes her excited is something we feel a responsibility and a mission to deliver for her. Because she has a hard life,” Talbot said. “She is the joy of our life. You can’t help but see the world through her eyes. She shows you what matters.”

For more of Julia’s story, watch “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” on Facebook Watch tonight at 6:25 p.m. ET.