"Maddy is gorgeous. She has white blonde hair. She is active and chatty and intelligent, not shy. She is four next week and starts school this year.”
Jill Renwick, Evening Standard 4/5/07

Concerning Madeleine, she is Caucasian, white, aged four years (12/05/2003) about 90cm tall. Very slim, dark blond hair; shoulder-length. Left eye blue-green same as the right, which has a brown spot. She has a small brown spot on the skin of her left leg as well as sunburn on her right forearm. She has no scars. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing pyjamas with white bottoms with a floral pattern. The short-sleeved top, mainly pink with a blue-grey pattern bearing the inscription, "EEYORE," an inscription which is also on one of the trouser legs. The pyjamas are "Marks and Spencer" brand.
Concerning the child's personality, she is extrovert, very active, talkative, smart and relates to other children with great ease. But she would never go with a stranger.
Kate McCann in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

Concerning Madeleine, she is described as being Caucasian, white, aged 4 (12/05/07) and around 90cm tall. Slender, with shoulder length, straight, dark blond hair. Left eye and right greeny-blue and the right having a spot of brown. She also has a distinctive brown mark on her left leg. She has no scars. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing pyjamas with white floral-patterned trousers and a short-sleeved top, which was mainly pink in colour, with a blue and charcoal design with the inscription, "EEYORE."
Concerning the child's personality, she is extrovert, hyper-active, good talker, smart and relates to other children with great ease. She would never go with a stranger.
Gerry McCann in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

Knowing Madeleine well, the interviewee describes her as very intelligent, and totally incapable of going with a stranger without screaming or protesting strongly unless she was very tired or asleep.
Fiona Payne in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

He describes Madeleine as being a communicative girl, happy, obedient and very well behaved.
David Payne in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

That Madeleine is very lively, obedient, communicative and extrovert.
Matthew Oldfield in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

Concerning Madeleine, she is a happy child, good natured and full of energy. She considers it impossible that a stranger could take her without her shouting or crying. She is a smart child who knows right from wrong.
Rachael Mampilly in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

Madeleine Beth McCann was a sensible child, very loving, very active and fun. She liked to play. She was intelligent and the interviewee does not believe that if a stranger approached her that she would not shout.
Jane Tanner in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

The informant does not know Madeleine well, because she lives a long way from the McCanns, and she cannot say very much about Madeleine's personality. Nevertheless, she reports that Madeleine was calm but active and energetic and well brought up. She is an attractive and a good child.
Diane Webster in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 4/5/07

"She is an absolutely beautiful wee blonde girl with blue green eyes," said Mrs Cameron. "Her one distinguishing features is that one of her pupils runs down into the iris of her eye, her right eye."
Trish Cameron, the Guardian, 5/5/07

"Please continue to pray for Madeleine. She is lovely."
Kate McCann, Daily Express 7/5/07

Witness states that as she was an intelligent child, timid at first contact, and who later felt more comfortable, was a child who conversed normally for her age, and was of a calm demeanour. She adds that it was usual for Madeleine to be called “Maddy”, as this is how she [Madeleine] presented herself to the witness.
OC nanny Charlotte Pennington in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 7/5/07

When questioned, she replies that the little girl was discreet and shy. She says that she was a very pretty girl, however she did not stand out because of this.
OC nanny Lynne Fretter in a statement to the Policia Judiciaria 7/5/07

“I love all my grandchildren, but Madeleine is extra special, bright, funny and has a personality all of her own – a great little girl.”
Sue Healy, Liverpool Daily Post 10/5/07

"Today we should be celebrating the fourth birthday of our daughter Madeleine. Instead we have had to remember what a normal, beautiful, vivacious, funny, courageous and loving little girl that we are missing today.”
Gerry McCann, Daily Express 12/5/07

Susan, 61, said: "Please God she will be back to blow her birthday candles out. She loved to blow out candles.”
Sue Healy, The People, 13/5/07

“She might look like Kate, but in terms of personality she is more of a McCann. She is very funny and often a little ringleader in nursery and with her friends,"
Gerry McCann, BBC news, 25/5/07

Madeleine McCann was born 4 years ago. She has one brother Sean and a sister Amelie. She lives with her family in Rothley, Leicestershire.Her father comes from Glasgow and has 3 sisters, Patricia, Jacqueline and Phil, and a brother John. Madeleine’s Grandmother, Eileen lives in Glasgow. Her other grandparents, Sue and Brian live in Liverpool.Both sides of the family are very close and all are working in different ways to try and help in the search for Madeleine.
Phil, who resides in Ullapool and is a teacher, has asked that the heartfelt thanks of the whole family be passed to everyone who has helped in the search so far. She said “There have been so many messages of support and prayers from people all over the world. We (the family) are overwhelmed with your assistance. The media people have been wonderful and so helpful in making everyone aware of our plight. Madeleine’s family are so grateful to you all. Please keep Madeleine in your thoughts and prayers. We pray that she will be returned to us safe and well.”
http://www.findmadeleine.com, first version may 2007

Mr McCann smiled as he described Madeleine’s personality saying that she was a “ringleader” and had enjoyed her holiday tiring her parents out with a game in which she would shout “Be a monster, be a monster”.
Mrs McCann said, smiling: “She likes talking, she really likes role play.”
Mr McCann joined in saying: “She’s very good at that actually for someone so young, she really can talk...considering that she was not even four.
“She likes activity and sport, she’s very active, even at home when we are going for a jog she says ’Can I come jogging with you mummy’?”
The couple looked relaxed as they spoke about Madeleine’s love of swimming, going swimming on Saturdays and of her favourite television programme - Dr Who as well as films such as Shrek and Finding Nemo.
Gerry and Kate McCann, Daily Express 26/5/07

Mr McCann said his daughter had been so excited about the holiday that she had barely complained when she tripped and grazed her shin.
"She was really brave. She started crying but stopped almost immediately," he said. "When we got to the top of the steps I saw she had grazed her shin. It looked really sore - the step was just the right height for her leg.
"It was something that usually would have caused 10 minutes of crying rather than 10 seconds."
Gerry McCann, The Herald 29/5/07.

The only point at which Mr and Mrs McCann struggled to keep their composure was when they were asked what message they would give to Madeleine.
Both looked down at their hands and there was a long silence before Mrs McCann said quietly: “She knows we love her.”
Her cardiologist husband added, referring to their two-year-old twins: “And she loves us. We just all want to be together again, with Sean and Amelie.”
Kate and Gerry McCann, Daily Express 6/6/07

“They are quite similar in looks. Kate was a quiet child, never liked to be centre of attention, very very gentle. Madeleine is quite exuberant. She’s full of life and probably really relishes being the centre of attention. Lovely little girl, a funny character, too special to just disappear, far too special just not to be with us anymore. But as I say, almost a ‘mini Kate’ to look at. And Kate feels that way too. ‘Mini me’ she calls her. She’s so close to Madeleine, it’s hard to imagine how Kate must be feeling.”
Sue Healy, The Mayo News, 3/7/07

"Madeleine has the first three Harry Potter books and first three DVDs. Like most other children the world over, she loves the stories."
Kate McCann, BBC News 16/7/07

She says: "As I put her to bed, she smiled at me and said, 'Mummy I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun'."
Kate reveals Madeleine had been practising a dance at the club which she was looking forward to showing her mum the following day - "but I never got to see it".
(..) Kate now wears a silver locket round her neck with a picture of Madeleine inside and the words "Tower of Strength" engraved on it. She says a friend gave it to her because "that's what Madeleine was to us, a tower of strength".
(..) Conscious to speak of her in the present tense, she adds: "Despite her small size she just has this huge presence. She brings a lot of joy."
Kate McCann, Sunday Mirror, 5/8/07

She revealed that as she tucked Madeleine into bed that night, the little girl said: "Mummy, I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun."
Kate McCann, Daily Express 5/8/07

In her interview Mrs McCann paints a vivid picture of her daughter as a sociable and funny child.
She said: "She has a lot of personality and her name actually means 'tower of strength'. But she hated it when we called her Maddie - she'd say, 'My name is Madeleine', with an indignant look on her face. I bet she's giving whoever she's with her tuppence worth."
Kate McCann, Daily Express 13/8/07, quoting from the ‘Woman’s hour interview.

K- We had a super week. We came with a group of friends who themselves have children. Ours had more small friends. There was this club for children with lots of activities. They spent there great moments.
G.- Madeleine, in particular, has a lot of fun. One day, she even did sailing with the club.
K- She played tennis.
G- In the evening, adults stood together and the children were on their side. It was fun sometimes to hide and they were pursuing us.
P.M- How was Madeleine during these holidays?
K- She is very intelligent, very sociable and engaging. She loves to talk, she is funny, she has a lot of energy.
G- She is still very active, she loves to organize everything, she is very good in the role-playing. At the day nursery of the hotel, she loved to organize things… For her age, her vocabulary is very good, better than mine! She understands a lot of stuff, she twigs quickly, she is very perspicacious.
Kate and Gerry McCann, Paris Match, September 2007

She said the strongest medicine they would ever have used was Calpol, and the strongest rebuke ever meted out to Madeleine was to make her sit on the “naughty step”.
Philomena McCann, Daily Express 11/9/07

Kate McCann complains frequently that her children are "hysterical" and says that Madeleine is a hyperactive child who tires her out to the point of despair.
First Post, quoting Correio de Manha 14/9/07

Missing Madeleine would run around 'screaming...shouting for my attention', the mother-of-three said.
In an interview given to a Portuguese magazine before she was named as a suspect in the case of the four-year-old's disappearance, Kate also said the first six months of Madeleine's life were "very difficult" and that the girl had suffered from colic.
Speaking about Madeleine's upbringing, Kate, a 39-year-old GP, told Portugal's Flash! magazine: "She cried practically for 18 hours a day. I had to permanently carry her around."
This period explained "the strong bond between mother and daughter", she said.
Although the arrival of the twins Sean and Amelie shook up Madeleine's life, she accepted them very well, said Kate.
"She managed to deal perfectly with this new reality, although she herself at the time was still a baby.
"The worst thing is that she started to demand lots of attention, especially when I was breast-feeding them.
"She would run up and down screaming in the background, shouting for my attention”.
Kate McCann, Daily Mail 17/9/07, quoting Portugese magazine Flash

“As Madeleine’s mummy I feel in my heart that she is there. I don’t know how anyone could harm anyone as beautiful as Madeleine. I don’t mean her appearance. I mean as a beautiful person.”
The mother of three, who has spoken of her desire to be involved in childcare, became emotional towards the end of the questioning, recorded yesterday, as she talked personally about her eldest child.
“I feel sad and I feel lonely and our life is not as happy without Madeleine,” she said, adding: “I feel anxious she is not with us.”
Asked about the last time she saw Madeleine, she said: “She was very happy and very loving and I know Madeleine was very happy with her life. She is special.”
Kate McCann, Daily Express 24/10/07, quoting from the Antena 3 interview.

Mr McCann described the last time he saw her - at 9.05pm as he checked on his daughter as she lay sleeping - before returning to the tapas bar to carry on with his evening meal.
“I was the last to see her. I saw her and thought how beautiful she was and thought how lucky I was to be a father of three children,” he said.
Gerry McCann, Daily Express 24/10/07, quoting from the Antena 3 interview.

These days it was rare for Madeleine to wake up at all once she was in bed. If she did, she’d normally wander into her parents’ bed, whether they were there or not. At home in Rothley, sometime earlier, they had begun a star chart for Madeleine staying in her own bed. The chart, still on display in the kitchen, was full of stars.
David James Smith Timesonline 16 December 2007

“Gerry paused over Madeleine, who – a typical doctor’s observation, this – was lying almost in "the recovery position" with Cuddle Cat, the toy her godfather, John Corner, had bought her, and her comfort blanket up near her head, and Gerry thought how gorgeous, how lovely-looking she was and how lucky he was.”
David James Smith Timesonline 16 December 2007

“So beautiful, astonishingly bright, and I’d have to say very charismatic. She would shine out of a crowd,” family friend Jon Corner says of the child. “So—God forgive me—maybe that’s part of the problem. That special quality.
Jon Corner, Vanity Fair, 10/1/08

“Wee Madeleine knows better than to wander away”
Philomena McCann quoting Gerry McCann in Vanity Fair, 10/1/08

Madeleine was born in May 2003 – a long-awaited and very much longed for little girl. She lives in the village of Rothley in Leicester, with her mummy and daddy and little brother and sister, Sean and Amelie.
Madeleine is a very happy little girl with an outgoing personality. She has always been a very popular little person, appealing to both children and adults alike with her funny and engaging chatter. She has many friends who obviously miss her dearly. Despite her young age, it often felt like Madeleine had been on this earth before!
Like most girls her age, she likes dolls and dresses (and anything pink and sparkly) but with a definite taste for action-adventure too! She has an incredible amount of energy and even as a little baby, didn’t seem to need much rest. She enjoys running and swimming and is an Everton fan like her mum and granddad.
Madeleine has always been a wonderfully loving and caring big sister to Sean and Amelie. It was certainly not the quietest house on the planet with lots of giggling, singing and the inevitable odd bit of mischief! For Sean and Amelie, there is without doubt, a very important person missing in their life.
Madeleine is a warm, life-enriching little person and will never fail we’re sure, to bring joy into the life of anyone she may encounter.
http://www.findmadeleine.com, update 1/2/08

…she was happy, bubbly, err relatively headstrong on previous meetings actually she seemed to have mellowed a little bit when we went on holiday, you know a girl, you know a little girl full of, full of life, full of beans, and err you know E**a and her, we hadn’t seen much of each other, they were just having a wonderful time together you know they’re so similar in age err I think that’s all I can say. She just appeared to be a you know that time of life is gorgeous isn’t it you know they’re, they’re in, they’re, you know they’re, they’ve not been sullied by school and lots of other external influences you know they’re still you know just in, they’re speaking, they’re developing personality and nothing about Madeleine would suggest, which I presume the implication here is, that she was having an unhappy life, that she was being neglected or that she was being you know brought up in a, in a, in a threatening or a dangerous environment, you know she was you know just a you know normal, happy four year, you know three year old girl.”
Russell O’Brien in a statement to the Leicestershire Police, 10/4/08

…she was you know, a very bubbly little girl, erm very cheery, erm very sort of caring, she was very good with er smaller children, erm you know I just remember Grace falling over and sort of Madeleine going to pick her up and help her, erm you know, sort of full of fun, lots of energy, running around, sporty, erm one game that sort of we used to play in the evenings by the recreation area was you know, somebody would pretend to be a monster and they’d all sort of say, ‘chase me, chase me’ and Madeleine was always kind of the one who started that off, erm sort of say, ‘oh let’s play monsters’ and so you know it would be Matt or Dave or Russell sort of running around chasing all the kids, erm”.
1578 “What about her intelligence”?
Reply “Erm a bright little girl I think, erm I mean oh, her, I suppose I don’t know her well enough to, to really comment on that but I mean, she was, you know she was sort of very together and certainly acted her age or sort of you know older than her age, she was very sort of self aware, erm”.
Rachael Mampilly in a statement to the Leicestershire Police, 10/4/08

"Mm, err Madeleine’s err a very striking err beautiful child, I’d almost if I want a better phrase call her doll-like, you know she was very, you know I think, you know very unique looking child err, she’d got very pretty, you know blonde hair err in a bob, she was quite a petite err child and you know she was very bubbly, very err you know she was a very good child to, to interact with. She was very bright, you could have a lot of fun with Madeleine err and you know she, she was, you know Kate and Gerry’s, you know pride and joy. They’d had a lot of trouble conceiving, you know with IVF and everything and you know Madeleine was their miracle. She was obviously very unique with the fact that she’d got the, you know the iris defect err but you know she was certainly a happy go lucky child you know she was, she would interact with the other children very well, as I said on the other, earlier recording, you know she played very happily with L*** and you know indeed the other children. She was, you know, very, she is a very beautiful child and good fun.”
1485 "Mm.”
00:15:30 Reply "You know I, you know a fact I’ve come across already you know she was a, she’s a very bright child you know, she wouldn’t be the kind of mischievous child who you know and just try and get out of the flat and you know get up to mischief and that, you know, there’s fun in all children but she certainly wasn’t that kind of child. She was very bright.”
David Payne a statement to the Leicestershire Police, 10/4/08

“There was one occasion, on Thursday, 3rd of May 2007, around 10H30 in the morning, where she cried at the launch of the yellow safety boat in the ocean where all the children were sailing. She was scared and fearful and cried on my lap “I am scared, I am scared.” We only used the launches to transport the children to the small yellow boats. When we returned to the other boat she was happy again. She sailed in the small boat and even though some children had the opportunity to return to the port, she stayed for a second time as she appeared to be having a good time. Jane Tanner’s daughter also took part in my group and together they would play. Apart from being a happy child in the club, she always seemed very content when she saw her parents. Madeleine did not demonstrate any fear with the return launch to land.”
OC nanny Catriona Baker in a statement to the Leicestershire Police, 14/4/2008

Eileen McCann: She would never have got up and gone off on her own, it just wasn't in her nature.
"She wouldn't have left the twins, she was like a wee mother figure to them.
"If someone lifted her out of bed Madeleine would have screamed the place down. That girl could throw a tantrum if she wanted to and she and the twins were quite shy about meeting new people.”
Eileen McCann, Sunday Mail, 27/4/08

“She just very casually really said ‘Where were you last night when me and Sean cried?’ And we immediately looked and said, you know ‘When was this Madeleine, was this when you were going to sleep?’ and she didn’t answer. “And then she just carried on playing, totally undistressed.”
Kate McCann quoting Madeleine in the Liverpool Echo, 30/4/08

Madeleine was very close to Gerry; she was always at his side. (...) When Madeleine was small she would cry a lot. She was a very active baby who did not sleep well. She liked to be carried. She liked people to move around with her and to sing to her. Kate and Gerry found that she craved a lot of attention and were grateful for the help from other members of the family. (...) Madeleine would normally go to bed around 19:30 – 20:00 and Sean and Amelie around 18:30 – 19:00. As already mentioned, together Kate and Gerry were very precise about sleep time. (...) Because Madeleine did occasionally have bad nights, Kate arranged a bonus system. She would get up in the middle of the night, would go to her parent’s room to ensure they were there and would return to her own bed. This situation had gotten better before they went to Portugal.
(...) Madeleine is a normal child who likes challenges. She is smart, active, required a lot of attention, participates, loves to play, and who had a wonderful imagination. She is a fantastic little girl.
I never noted that Madeleine was unhappy at home. Life has its ups and downs. She had falls and incidents, as does any child. When the twins were born, it took her a while to adapt, but she surpassed this moment. She loves the twins and teaches them and shares with them. Madeleine is very wise for her age.
On the day before the Portugal trip, I went to their house to keep the children occupied whilst Kate and Gerry packed their bags. We went to the garden and Madeleine recited the book “We’re going on a bear hunt”. She recited this fantastically and without any evidence of unhappiness. (...)
Madeleine frequented the crèche three times per week and the twins two times per week.
Janet Kennedy in a statement to the Leicestershire police 14.4.08

Madeleine was a normal girl, she loved being Sean and Amelie’s older sister. Being the first daughter and due to the difficulties in conceiving her, she was very pampered by her parents. Madeleine is happy, very sure of herself, friendly, open and serene. Madeleine is much loved and desired by the whole family.
Madeleine began to play tennis, she had lessons in Syston. She was also learning to swim – in fact she is a very good swimmer. Before she disappeared she was keen to start school. She a very intelligent little girl who loved to read books, who loved participating in activities with the family and who was learning to play cards.
Madeleine would never have gone off with anyone, she was not the kind of girl to disappear.
Patricia Cameron in a statement to the Leicestershire police 15.4.08